Johan Petter Johansson

JP Johansson with a pipe wrench, in his breast pocket he does not carry an Englishman, but an adjustable wrench (1930s).

Johan Petter Johansson (born December 12, 1853 in Vårgårda , † August 25, 1943 ) was a Swedish inventor and industrialist. He invented a modern Englishman (received a patent on this Englishman on May 11, 1892) and registered a total of over 100 patents .

Johansson initially worked as an assistant on a steam engine in a local peat factory. In 1873 he left his native Vårgårda to work as an engineer in Motala . After his military service, he moved to Eskilstuna in 1874 and worked for Munktells . In 1878 he found a job in a mechanical workshop in Västerås . He then worked as a blacksmith on a nearby farm.

Around this time he made the decision to emigrate to the USA , which he never implemented. Instead, he accepted an offer for a better job at his former employer, Munktells .

In 1886 he founded the Enköpings Mekaniska Verkstad (mechanical workshop of Enköping ), which quickly became a successful company. During his time in the workshop, he invented the Englishman and the pipe wrench . From 1890, BA Hjort & Company sold its tools under the Bahco brand . To date, over 100 million pipe wrenches have been manufactured.

In 1916 Johansson handed the company over to his son, Hannes Brynge. He experimented with electric tools and opened a new factory in 1919, in which electric pendulums and various other devices were made.