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In 1912, Chicago financier Byron Smith published an advertisement in the Economist seeking to raise funds for the deployment of what he termed "a high-class, preferably industrial, business" in or near Chicago. He declined several initial proposals, waiting for the right proposal. When a group of inventors with the idea to improve the grinding process responded to the announcement, Illinois Tool Works was born. Starting from this humble origin, the company endured the uncertainties of war and recession, expanding its business around the world and transforming entire industries with the introduction of ingeniously simple solutions.