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The company's history began in 1886 when George B. DeArment, a blacksmith from Evansburg, Pennsylvania, began hand-forging farrier's tools and selling them from town to town out of the back of a wagon. The business eventually became known as the Champion Bolt and Clipper Company. In 1904, the company moved to a 12,000 square-foot facility in Meadville, Pennsylvania and added nippers, pinchers and open-end wrenches to its product line. George B. DeArment’s two sons, Almon W. and J. Howard DeArment, became partners in the company in 1911 and expanded the product line again to include hammers. In 1923, the company moved again to a 33,000-square-foot facility at its current location in Meadville. Four years later, the name of the company was changed to the Champion–DeArment Tool Company. In 1933, Chief Engineer Howard Manning developed the tongue-and-groove, slip-joint pliers for which the company is known. In 1934, a patent for this design was granted, and in 1949, a trademark for the name "Channellock" was granted, with a first-use date of May 1, 1932. From this point to the 1960s, the company began to focus more on the fast-growing pliers side of its business, developing improvements to the original design. The word “Channellock” eventually became so synonymous with their product that the company changed its name to Channellock, Inc. in 1963 to capitalize on the popularity of its product. Channellock, Inc. is now run by the fifth generation of the DeArment family with William S. DeArment serving as president and CEO. The company is based out of two facilities, equaling a total of 230,000 square feet, in Meadville. With nearly 400 full-time associates, Channellock, Inc. is among the largest employers in Crawford County, Pennsylvania. The company has more than 4,000 U.S. wholesale and retail customers and ships to customers in 45 countries.