Who Makes Knipex Pliers And Where Are They Manufactured?

For decades, products sporting the "Knipex" label have earned a reputation for quality and are widely considered to be the gold standard for pliers. Knipex even made it to SlashGear's list of the best hand tool brands. A German company that has been making pliers since 1882, Knipex is unique because it has a steadfast focus on a single product category. Unlike typical toolmaker brands that started with a single product before diversifying into selling everything under the sun, Knipex has focused on one single category: pliers.

Given that Knipex has been around for over a century, it's natural that the company's product portfolio has evolved extensively. It has a plier for almost any purpose you could think of, which is why Knipex is often referred to as a "specialist" brand. Despite its ever-widening product portfolio, one thing that hasn't changed in over a century is that almost all of its products are manufactured at its own facility located in Wuppertal, Germany; the key word here being "almost."

However, despite prominently displaying the text "KNIPEX Tools Quality — Made in Germany" on its website, Knipex has also outsourced production of select tools to manufacturing partners outside of Germany. Some Knipex products like these Angled Electricians' Shears and 9 1/2" Crimping Pliers, now clearly state that they are made in Taiwan.

There is no denying that Knipex's reputation has been built over its relentless obsession with quality, and it's arguably one of the best German tool brands out there. One way it ensured this was by making all of its products itself, although this has changed over the years. In an "Ask Me Anything" post on Reddit, Knipex product manager Marc-André Schild said these changes were implemented because the company faced several "technical manufacturing limitations" that prevented it from producing some tools in-house.

However, Schild said that all outsourced products undergo a mandatory quality inspection at Knipex's facilities in Wuppertal, Germany, before being released for sale. The official also noted that it's really only "a handful of products" in Knipex's range that are manufactured by third parties. We couldn't find any publicly available information online regarding who its partners in Taiwan are. Nevertheless, it appears that several dedicated Knipex users are aware of the company's decision to outsource some production, and the general consensus among them is that Knipex's Taiwan-made products meet its excellent quality standards.