Brothers that work together and actually like each other.
The brothers and founders of Tough Trade Tools, Howard and Gordon, grew up in Central Michigan. Their dad was a mechanic; their stepfather was a farmer, so they grew up watching and learning how to do and fix things to work better. And their grandfather was a tinkerer and had an invention in the early 1900s that improved the Hay Tedder.
They grew up in a family where solving problems and helping others was just how they lived. Both brothers worked on the farm and then worked as contractors. As contractors, they saw firsthand many of the struggles contractors faced, especially when the contractor was a one-man show.
Making tools (initially metal roofing tools and accessories) that were easier and faster to use for one man or a crew drove the brothers to build tools differently. This drive led to the development of their first metal roofing tool, the Ridge-3:10. Now Tough Trade Tools has 15 tools, including many metal roofing tools and accessories, with more to come. And through it all, the brothers still like each other.