Allen D. Petersen [63692]

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Allen D. Petersen: 1941 - 2007
Graydon Megan, Special to the TribuneCHICAGO TRIBUNE

Allen D. Petersen built a global company around the Vise-Grip locking pliers his grandfather had invented, but friends said he never lost touch with his small-town Nebraska roots.

Mr. Petersen built the family-owned Petersen Manufacturing Co., which had one product, into American Tool Cos., a $500 million international corporation.

"He was very intelligent and very worldly, but at the same time he was always a guy from DeWitt, Nebraska," said Jeremy Hobbs, a friend and business partner.

Mr. Petersen, 66, of Barrington Hills, died Sunday, Oct. 28, of septic shock at Advocate Good Shepherd Hospital in Barrington, Hobbs said.
The grandson of Danish immigrant William Petersen, who invented the first locking pliers in his Nebraska blacksmith shop, Mr. Petersen graduated from Colorado College in Colorado Springs in 1963. He was a member of the Army ROTC and spent two years in Vietnam, leaving the military as a first lieutenant.

He attended Northwestern University's Kellogg School of Management and worked briefly in Chicago before relatives asked him to return to DeWitt and join Petersen Manufacturing Co.

Mr. Petersen started as an assistant sales manager in 1966. He and a cousin became co-chief executive officers and co-chairmen until 1985, when Mr. Petersen bought out other relatives with a minority investment by Newell Rubbermaid Inc.

At the time, Petersen Manufacturing was a one-product company, said Hobbs, who worked with Mr. Petersen as an attorney in 1994 before becoming his partner.

"Allen and his management team did a roadshow and got equity financing," he said. "His vision was to create a company with a collection of high-quality branded tools and accessories. He went around the world collecting those products."

Mr. Petersen built a $42 million company into the $500 million American Tool Cos. It was the largest privately held hand tool and power tool accessory company in the world, said John Healy of Healy & Schulte, a business associate.

In 1993, American Tool acquired the Irwin Co. of Ohio. The headquarters for the combined companies was moved to Hoffman Estates. In 1994, Mr. Petersen moved from Nebraska to Barrington Hills.

Mr. Petersen sold his controlling interest in American Tool to Newell in 2002 and co-founded Draupnir of Chicago.

Healy said Draupnir was a holding and operating company with interests in manufacturing, sales and marketing companies. The name comes from a Danish legend, said Hobbs, a co-founder of the company.

"Draupnir was a golden armband that Odin wears," he said. "It's supposed to replicate itself every nine days if protected."

Mr. Petersen founded and supported The Lifeboat Foundation in Chicago, which helps not-for-profit organizations that provide educational opportunities for at-risk youths. The foundation also offers scholarships.

"He was very interested in education," said his sister, Ane Shields. "He was the best teacher I've ever had. He always let you know that there was a way to find an answer to just about everything. You just had to know the right tools to use."

Mr. Petersen was active as Draupnir's chairman until a few days before he died.

"Business was very much his passion," Hobbs said.

Mr. Petersen is also survived by a brother, Richard Petersen Jr.

Mr. Petersen's life will be celebrated at 2 p.m. Friday in the Grand Ballroom of the Ritz-Carlton Chicago, 160 E. Pearson St.