About Empire Tool Rental

Air Tool Sales & Repair Co., Inc. was founded by Waldemar Meyer as Universal Air Tool Co.

Mr. Meyer passes and his 3 sons, Walter, Alfred, and Howard take over the family business.

Walter partners with skilled machinist Alois Muller and sets up partnership in Brooklyn.

Universal Air Tool Co. incorporates as Air Tool Sales and moves to Long Island and continues work in the pneumatic tools industry for military and shipping.

ATS machine shop rapidly developed the reputation as the best machine shop in New York City with clients like General Electric and George A. Fuller Construction Co. Also helped Fuller refurbish St. Patrick’s Cathedral.

ATS designs, builds, and successfully markets a forerunner small hand-held rock drill called the ‘RHandi-Drill’

Worked with Fuller to create one of the first prototypes of what became the rotary air compressor. Also invented the Boom Mounted Post hole Digger – the first automatic air tool for the installation of highway rail guards.

ATS invents ‘The Stomper’ concrete breaker, a telephone wire connecting device (precursor to the Automatic Splicer, and the ‘The Klemat’ – a horizontal rock drilling machine.

ATS develops prototype for housing magnets used in electronic microscopes, made a prototype for the ‘Perspectograph’ allowing for automatic perspective drawings rather than manual, made the prototype for a device sealing plastic pipe at the job site, and also patented the brass skeleton for a cigarette holder, into which honeycomb filter paper was inserted, resulting in the first filtered cigarette holder.

ATS contribution was the introduction of the “Air Pen”. This tool was the first air operated etching tool in the industry and is a patented device. Along with the needle scaler, it is one of the two most significant new products in the modern air tool industry.

The company also created the “Erector Set Compressor” which allowed large air compressors, required in maintenance and renovation of high-rise buildings to be dismantled easily into components that fit into elevators, and then quickly reassembled at the building level.

Businessmen Roger H. Lourie and Lloyd W. Milne purchase ATS and continue focusing on servicing the construction, utilities, and marine trades.

Terrance Fuhrman of Empire Tool Rental purchases Air Too Sales expanding the firm’s tool rental and repair capabilities while looking to continue its legacy of innovation and excellence in the industry.