FLEX has been manufacturing specialty tools for the stone and masonry trades for over 80 years. 

All archive photos courtesy FLEX and Chervon Group

Above, left: Hermann Ackermann, Above, second from left: Hermann Schmitt Above, Second from right: “Das Original,” the original FLEX right-angle grinder, 1954 model, and 1996 Braxton-Bragg catalog page. Above, right: This is something known all too well to stone fabricators, stone masons, stone sculptors, and hardscape professionals. In the shop or on the job site, FLEX tools have been the go-to solutions for fabricators for decades, including the FLEX LW-1503 Center Water Feed Grinder.

Above, left: Hermann Ackermann, Above, second from left: Hermann Schmitt 

Above, Second from right: “Das Original,” the original FLEX right-angle grinder, 1954 model

Above, right: 1996 Braxton-Bragg catalog page.

The FLEX story starts in Stuttgart, Germany, in 1922. The first product produced by Hermann Ackermann and Hermann Schmitt was a portable grinding machine powered by an electric motor and featuring a flexible shaft: the MS 6, the first serial-produced, hand-held grinding machine. This flexible-shaft feature was the inspiration and origin of the new brand’s name: FLEX.

From that humble beginning, FLEX is now an industry leader in wet and dry tools for concrete, stone, masonry and metals. For over 80 years, Flex has been committed to developing products that provide the stone industry with longer tool life and improved performance. 

Today, the Flex family of products includes wet and dry grinders, wet and dry polishers, wet edge milling machines, wet hand-held and stationary core drills, angle grinders, dustless concrete grinders, concrete wall slotters and a pneumatic wet stone grinder.

Present-day motor testing and grinder assembly at the FLEX factory: all tools must pass the strictest standards for quality.

Present-day motor testing and grinder assembly at the FLEX factory:  all tools must pass the strictest standards for quality.

Braxton-Bragg has recommended FLEX tools to stone fabricators afor 25 years, beginning with the first Braxton-Bragg catalog published in 1994, and introduced to the stone industry in early issues of the Slippery Rock Gazette (see 1998 issue ad, below). 

Natural stone has its own rules, peculiarities and sensitiveness. This is something known all too well to stone fabricators, stone masons, stone sculptors, and hardscape professionals.

In the shop or on the job site, FLEX tools have been the go-to solutions for fabricators for decades, including the FLEX LW-1503 Center Water Feed Grinder.

From the first high-speed angle grinder in 1954, to today’s advanced 5-inch grinders with long-life motors and brushes, and the longest service life in the industry, FLEX continues to lead in developing better tool technology for the stone industry. “Quality tools for specialists,” is their motto. After 87 years of development – they really mean it.

In 1954, the FLEX DL 9 was launched on the market — the world’s first high-speed angle grinder.