In the mid 60's, Joe Sumner was the worldwide general foreman for the Sam P. Wallace Co, a large US mechanical contractor, and he realized that there was a great need for good welding tools and lifting equipment to make the job of installing pipe easier and safer.
Because there was little available on the market, Joe designed and fabricated his own equipment and used them on Wallace jobs. The results far exceeded his expectations. With Joe's tools, jobs were being completed well before scheduled completion dates and way under budget.
From his success in the contracting field, Joe started Sumner Manufacturing by building products for the mechanical contractor based on his first hand knowledge of what was required in the field. As the demand for Sumner equipment spread across the country, the range of Sumner products grew as well. Today Sumner tools are used daily in over 50 countries and Sumner branches are available in Canada, the UK and The Netherlands to better serve these markets.
While Sumner is recognized as the leader in pipe handling equipment, our product range includes equipment for a wide variety of contractors. All Sumner products are built with the concept of providing safe, common sense tools which are priced right.