Illinois Tool Works

Illinois Tool Works Inc. or ITW is a Fortune 500 company that produces engineered fasteners and components, equipment and consumable systems, and specialty products. It was founded in 1912 by Byron L. Smith.

Today, it employs nearly 48,000 people in hundreds of businesses across 57 countries, and is based in Glenview, Illinois, a suburb of Chicago, Illinois.

In 2011, ITW had more than 20,000 unexpired patents and pending patent applications worldwide, including 2,900 U.S. patents and 1,116 pending U.S. applications.[citation needed] The company typically ranks in the top 100 of patent issuers in the U.S. It is ranked 414 on the Forbes Global 2,000.