The history of FACOM marches in step with the industrial progress of the 20th century.

The FACOM brand is associated with the great advances of the century. The automotive industry, rail, aviation, aerospace, and great adventures such as deep-sea exploration, space travel, medical progress, high technology, extreme sports, monuments and the greatest construction projects of the time carry the brand’s seal.

From the original simple but unique adjustable spanner to the thousands of lines and innovations offered in our latest catalogue, Facom has become the leading brand of hand tools in Europe.

Its history is distinguished by fidelity to a tradition: to better serve men of all trades, to heighten their professional performance and improve the quality of their daily work.

In the heat of a small workshop, in the din of metal being hammered and the hiss of steel being tempered, was born a small spanner in forged steel, thirty centimetres long and with two rounded jaws, at the end of a simple handle of Ardennes cast iron.

We are close to the Gare de Lyon in the working quarters of Paris in 1918. The First World War has definitively sanctioned the triumph of mechanics and technique over Man’s strength and courage. Machines are about to revolutionise the work environment as they have overwhelmed the art of warfare.

France is anxiously awaiting this victory which will kick-start the economic machine. After four years of slaughter in the trenches, those young Europeans who survived are eager to enjoy the peace: they crave speed, wealth and novelty, in all domains.

The first spanner generated by “the” Facom is a unique model: rustic, simply burnished. For one year, this was to be the only object manufactured by the company. Under the code name “101 spanner”, more colloquially “Madam 101”, this spanner will be sold to the railway companies of the time. To be honest, we must admit that it bore an uncanny resemblance to the Clyburn adjustable spanner. But that was common practice at the time …

Almost unchanged, the 101 would end its long career in the sixties. Nowadays collectors are snapping up the rare tools made in the era, survivors of that heroic age.