The Dremel Manufacturing Co. was founded in 1932 by inventor Albert J. Dremel, and is still located in Racine, WI. Dremel's first product was an electric razor blade sharpener. Dremel's handheld rotary tools were reportedly introduced in 1935, though the earliest mention we've found in a magazine was in February of 1936, as seen in the image below. Over the years Dremel also made a couple of small stationary machines, including a benchtop scrollsaw that was introduced in about 1954.

From February 1936 Popular Science

In 1973 Dremel was acquired by the Emerson Electric Co. In 1993 the Dremel business was acquired by Robert Bosch GmbH, and is now a division of the Robert Bosch Tool Corp.

Company Address:

• 1932-1947: Clark and 14th Streets, Racine.
• 1947-1968: 2420 18th St, Racine.
• 1968-2005+: 4915 21st St, Racine.

Information Sources

• September 1933 Popular Mechanics has a classified ad from Dremel Mfg. Co. for an "electric hone strop" for sharpening razor blades.
• October 1934 Popular Science has a small ad from Dremel Mfg. Co. for their electric hone strop.
• February 1936 Popular Science carried an ad introducing the Dremel Moto-tool. The February '36 Popular Mechanics carried the same ad.
• The Dremel web site has a history page that provided much of the information here.
• The Wikipedia page on Dremel provides more history on this firm.
• A search of the Wisconsin database of corporate registrations did not turn up any information relevant to Dremel Manufacturing Co. Either Dremel was registered in another state or Wisconsin's records do not go back far enough.