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[tartarus97]

How The Owner Of Leatherman-Benjamin Rivera Builds The Multitools

There is a high chance that you are having a product of Ben Rivera - president of Leatherman. It could be in a trouser pocket, or it could be in a key chain.

If you do not have any products yet, yet worry, you will have one. Benjamin is always thinking of finding a way to bring Leatherman products to as many people as possible, to make it be one of the best multi tool brands .

Reporter: Who are you, and what did you do at Leatherman?

Ben:

Oh, actually, when I was in high school, I thought I was going to be an architect or an artist. You understand, I mean a sparkling job. And yet, I ended up choosing to become an engineer because I thought I could make a living with it.

I have been with Leatherman since 1991. It has been 24 years already. I remember back then, we only made two products: The original Pocket Survival Tool and Mini Pocket tool. As a manufacturing engineer, my daily job is to research how to improve the product quality, create the best compact multitool, increase productivity, and design machines to increase capacity and design production processes.

Then, in 1993, during a market survey and a distributor visit with Tim Leatherman, we stopped by a restaurant for dinner on the way back. Tim asked me: "I don't know how you can look at the design of a restaurant and imagine what it will look like." About a week after that, he came over to my desk and said: "If you can visualize a restaurant from a drawing, maybe you can do the same with pliers." And so we came up with the very first Supertool.

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❀❀❀ Find More Info:  Best multi tools available on the market

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In fact, from 1993 to 1996, I worked very little as a production engineer. I use most of my time concentrating on product research and development. I released Supertool (the latest version is Supertool 300), Micra (Leatherman Micra is a great project, it's still in production today). I started hiring more people to support production, and I focused my time on new product ideas. My next product is probably a leatherman wave, but Juice is the line I'm really proud of.

After that time, we no longer try to make significant changes but adapt the existing products little by little according to the customer's reflection. Around 2004 I started recruiting staff to help me with my design, drawing, design, and content writing. I became the vice president of the product management sector in 2005. After that, I moved from product design to business. However, more or less, I have contributed to the improvement of Supertool, making it a top multitool.

Reporter: How big is Leatherman company?

Ben:

I don't know whether we are big or small. Our revenue is just over 100 million USD / year. But we do everything in Portland, Oregon, from equipment, product design, packaging, and marketing. We have about 500 full-time employees and several hundred seasonal employees. We also have about 100,000 square feet of production and 6000 square feet of packaging.

➾➾➾ See This Page: What is the best multi-tool 

Reporter: Have you had any plans on creating more great products in the near future?

Ben:

Absolutely. We also want to make things for the elderly, women, and people living in the city. There are still countless difficulties out there that require Leatherman's help. Our objective is to create betters lives for others. You see, pliers are not the kind of product that can deal with every situation. You still need a decent number of tools in your toolbox.

Edited March 14 by tartarus97