ITW 2011 ANNUAL REPORT
A New Century
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GROWING A GLOBAL COMPANY
When Byron L. Smith and a group of inventors founded ITW in 1912, they could not have imagined the scope and breadth of the company 100 years later. Today, ITW businesses are operating in nearly every corner of the globe, in both firmly established industries and exciting, emerging markets. In fact, more than half of our total company revenue comes from countries outside of North America, and it is a number that we expect to keep growing.
We are working hard to ensure that our next century is a story of industry leadership on a global scale. We believe the values and tools that have served us so well will be just as relevant in the next century, and we look forward to a future of continued profitable growth.