Malco

About Malco

Malco Products, SBC got its start in 1950 when a young steel supply salesman, Mark W. Keymer, decided to manufacture and market a pipe crimper he had invented for use in installing the “new” sheet metal ductwork used with forced air heating systems. More tools soon followed, including the first hand seamer to employ compound leverage, a time saving hand notcher that made a V-shaped cut in one motion and a hand operated, snap lock punch to complete the basic sheet metal tool set. Now metal duct fabrication could easily be done at the job site and the tools were well received by contractor-installers. Mark Keymer’s manufacturing operations soon had to move from a garage to the more spacious basement of his Minneapolis home. Mr. Keymer relates that the origin of the Malco name came from combining his first name and the first name of an early associate named Al: Malco for “Mark and Al’s Company” (it was Al’s garage). The fledgling tool company’s humble move upward, so to speak, from a garage to a basement was the first of many moves and plant expansions. Over 68-years later, the legacy of that exciting start-up company lives on. The early Malco crimpers, seamers, notchers and punches have since been joined by hundreds of other specialty tools. Malco’s success continues to be built around service to the trades and a steady stream of new and exciting labor-saving tool designs. Our employee owners are committed to producing tools of lasting quality and performance that promote on-the-job safety and health for hands-on pros who have come to rely on the trusted Malco brand.