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About Us: Our History

2007

Following the acquisition of ProQuest Business Solutions, on November 28, 2006, Snap-on announced that ProQuest Business Solutions has been renamed Snap-on Business Solutions and will be part of Snap-on's Diagnostics and Information Group.

The Diagnostics and Information Group consists of Snap-on Diagnostics, Mitchell 1, Snap-on Equipment Solutions and Snap-on Business Solutions divisions. Collectively the Group provides diagnostics equipment, vehicle-service information, business management systems, equipment repair services and other solutions for customers in the worldwide vehicle parts and service marketplace. Through the years the Snap-on Diagnostics and Information Group has been guided by a vision of becoming the customer's total solutions provider. The increasing complexity of vehicles with advanced electronics has led to rising demand for superior diagnostics and information solutions in the vehicle parts and service marketplace. Committed to meeting customers' rapidly changing needs, the company has continued to enhance its leadership position by increasing the capabilities it offers.

Snap-on Business Solutions continues to be a global leader in the development and deployment of parts and service-oriented electronic catalogs for the automotive, powersports, heavy equipment and outdoor power industries providing seamless integration from the dealership's parts and service operations to the dealer management system. We also provide a wide variety of commercial grade hardware solutions, including servers, clients, stand-alone workstation units, printers and other peripherals. Training and installation, award winning customer service and equipment maintenance all ensure that customers operate with the greatest efficiency. Snap-on Business Solutions also provides retail performance improvement services including business management and dealer network development services.

2006

In 2006, ProQuest Business Solutions was acquired by Snap-on Incorporated.

About Snap-on:
Snap-on Incorporated is a leading global innovator, manufacturer and marketer of tools, diagnostics and equipment solutions for professional users. Product lines include hand and power tools, tool storage, diagnostics software, information and management systems, shop equipment and other solutions for vehicle manufacturers, dealerships and repair centers, as well as customers in industry, government, agriculture and construction. Products are sold through its franchisees, company-direct sales and distributor channels, as well as over the Internet. Founded in 1920, Snap-on is a $2.4 billion, S&P 500 Company headquartered in Kenosha, Wisconsin.

2005

In 2005, ProQuest acquired Active Web Services (AWS) the leading provider of post-production software solutions design to help companies achieve superior business execution in their warranty and service parts operations. With AWS, companies can lower costs across the entire warranty management lifecycle by automating the enforcement of warranty policies, streamlining claim adjudication and developing more collaborative relationships with service providers and suppliers. AWS is the most comprehensive, scalable, and flexible software available, enabling companies to better manage with their aftermarket processes and drive down warranty costs. Active Web Services has helped some of world's leading manufacturing companies realize rapid improvements in such processes as Warranty Claims Processing, Policy Management, Return Parts Management, Supplier recovery, Service Parts Ordering and Product Quality/Early Warning analysis.

2004

In September 2004, three business units within ProQuest Business Solutions were integrated into one functional organization under the ProQuest Business Solutions name. The new organization is structured to optimize the development of Parts & Service and Performance Measurement products, while dedicating global teams across all market segments to emphasize customer focus.

2001-2002

In 2001, Bell & Howell changed its name to ProQuest Company as part of a restructuring aimed at making the company the global leader in electronic content publishing for both the academic and library markets, as well as the automotive and powersports industries. Focusing on growing those two markets, ProQuest Company created two divisions, ProQuest Information and Learning and ProQuest Business Solutions, in 2002.

ProQuest Business Solutions is a global leader in the development and deployment of parts and service-oriented electronic catalogs for the automotive, powersports, heavy equipment and outdoor power industries. Its products transform complex technical data, like parts catalogs and service manuals, into easily accessed electronic information. For the world's automotive manufacturers and their dealer networks, ProQuest also provides business-to-business information and retail performance measurement services.

Also, in 2001, ProQuest successfully began using its new "Change Only" data processing methodology with several OEMs to keep data in electronic parts catalogs as accurate as possible.

1998

Bell & Howell developed a series of Internet and e-Commerce EPC solutions.

1997

Bell & Howell introduced the world's first multi-byte language EPC.

1995

In May 1995, Bell & Howell again issued public stock and returned to the New York Stock Exchange, where a new focus emerged: one on transforming information through software and services.

1988

Bell & Howell was taken private by a management team led by financier Robert Bass. During its seven years as a private company, Bell & Howell reinvented itself to stay ahead of rapidly changing information technologies.

1987

In 1987, the company changed the face of automobile parts departments with the introduction of the electronic parts catalog (EPC). The EPC replaced paper and microfiche parts catalogs to provide a powerful and flexible technical reference system using CD-ROM technology. The advent of the EPC has increased revenues and reduced costs in automotive parts and service operations around the world.

1970s

By the 1970s, specialized business equipment became the company's rising star, and Bell & Howell expanded yet again into new markets to serve the growing need for businesses to better manage information.

1962

Bell & Howell Publishing Services traces its history in data retrieval technology to 1962 when Bell & Howell purchased Micro Photo, a Cleveland, Ohio-based microfiche provider.

1940s to 1970s

From the 1940s to the 1970s, Bell & Howell continued to play a critical role in the Information Age with its advances in film equipment, optical equipment, electronic instrumentation, educational publishing, technical training and micrographics.

1907

Snap-on Business Solutions traces its roots to 1907 when movie projectionists Donald Bell and Albert Howell pooled their talents and resources to create a small camera company in Chicago, then the motion picture capital of the United States. Little did they know they would survive the Great Depression, two world wars and the dawning of the Information Age.

Despite their technical and business acumen, Bell & Howell could not have predicted a time in which capturing, storing and transmitting information would play such a crucial role in everyone's lives, both at work and at home. The duo's first film projection systems revolutionized the motion picture industry by removing the "flickers" from early movies. Later innovations led to four Academy Awards for advances in camera and projection technologies.