Lisle Corporation is an American manufacturer of auto mechanic's specialty tools.[1] It is an independent, private corporation that has been operated in Clarinda, Iowa by members of the Lisle family since its founding in 1903.
Company type | Private |
---|---|
Industry | Manufacturing |
Founded | 1903 |
Founder | C.A. Lisle |
Headquarters | Clarinda, Iowa |
Products | Automotive tools |
Website | www |
The company manufactures more than 400 different automotive tools and related items, including the Jeepers Creepers line of mechanic's creepers,[2] and its products are sold at US retailers, including Carquest Auto Parts and Sears.
Lisle was founded in 1903 by C.A. Lisle, originally manufacturing horse-powered well-drilling machines.
Lisle's product for the automotive market was an aftermarket master vibrator for the Ford Model T engine, replacing the engine's four trembler coils with a cheaper and more easily adjusted single unit.[3] It then introduced its first tool, an engine valve refacer, a type of lathe for reshaping a cylinder head's valve seats.
In the 1930s, the company added a line of magnetic oil pan drain plugs, which were used by the military in World War II. In 1943, the company was one of several to win the Army-Navy "E" Award.[4] After the war, the company began to focus on specialty automotive tools.[5]