WHO WE ARE
Keson LLC is an alliance of two industry leaders
WE ARE A FAMILY OWNED COMPANY.
In 2018, the Nosek and Scheyer families joined together to form a new company – Keson LLC. Keson and SOLA are both family-owned, third generation companies currently led by the grandsons of the company founders. Keson started in 1968 in the basement of the Nosek family home in Berwyn, Illinois. SOLA started in 1949 with a leveling tool invented on the roof of the Scheyer family home in Goetzis, Austria. Both companies are leaders in measuring and marking tools, offer complementary product lines, and share very similar values. With a combined 120 years of market experience, Keson LLC builds upon Keson’s U.S. manufacturing, existing distribution network and strong relationships by adding SOLA’s European manufacturing expertise, precision engineering and industry-leading technology.
Keson is headquartered in Aurora, Illinois, and is well known in North America for providing reliable, innovative, and easy-to-use measuring and marking products to professional tradespeople who are passionate about their work. SOLA is headquartered in a state-of-the-art manufacturing facility in the shadow of the Austrian Alps and is a market leader in spirit and screeding levels in 30 countries around the world. Now united, and operating from Aurora, Keson LLC will provide the outstanding products and service that will continue us to earn and keep the trust of tradespeople and of those who supply them with the tools they need.
WE ARE AN AMERICAN MANUFACTURER.
We make and supply the highest quality measuring and marking products. We design them for use and occasional abuse (accidental, of course) for professional tradespeople. What’s more, we’re growing as a manufacturer. Currently, over 50% of our sales consist of products we make right here in the USA. Every year, that percentage is growing. We’re proud of that, and of the fact that the Keson name has meant quality for almost 50 years.
WE MAKE MEASURING WHEELS.
We mold plastic wheel hubs, rubber tires, and many other component parts right here at our factory in Aurora, Illinois. We have some of the other parts built to our specifications by trusted partners. Then we put the wheels together at a rate of up to 1,200+ a day, any day of the week. That’s why we know they are the best. We offer an industry-leading Limited Lifetime Warranty on our mechanical Metal Professional and RoadRunner® wheels (and a 2-year limited warranty on our MP401E, RRT12 and RRT6 wheels).
We make Levels.
Our alliance with SOLA gives us direct access to the world’s best levels. Keson has two brands in North American that will deliver levels with superior durability, unparalleled accuracy, and a better experience for the user.
The SOLA-branded levels are positioned at the high-end of the market and will be the best-of-the-best, just as SOLA levels have been in Europe and around the world for the last 70 years.
The Keson-branded levels are the best of the mid-tier priced levels with SOLA technology, backed by the reputation Keson has built over the last 50 years.
WE MAKE CHALK.
Somebody’s got to make it, right? With calcium carbonate mined from local Illinois quarries and with pigments sourced from around the world, we make it right here. Two hundred and eighty feet from where our President, Aaron Nosek, steers the ship, our Chalk Room Manager facilitates the production of hundreds of thousands of bottles of chalk. We have seven colors, three degrees of permanence/brilliance, and nine different sizes.
WE MAKE CHALK LINE REELS.
Our highly recognized and highly regarded Giant® chalk reels are an industry standard. Our classic GB1, GB1Neon, K3X, K3XPRO and other chalk reels are standing up to the harsh environments of jobs sites all over the world. Our injection molding department makes the parts, and a fantastic team of workers assemble, test and package our chalk reels right here.
WE BRING IN WHAT WE NEED.
To fill out our product offering, we do source some products from experienced outside vendors. We work closely with these partners so that our designs fit our customers’ needs. We choose products that have the same quality as those we make in-house. Often we will source component parts, combine them with parts we make here, assemble the final products, and test them here so that we can be assured of their quality and performance. All the items we distribute will serve you well. When a product has our name on it, you can trust it to be the best.
Our grandfather and Keson’s founder, Roy Nosek, often said: “If a job is worth doing, it’s worth doing right.” We know he didn’t say it first, but he said it first to our fathers who said it first to us. He showed us what it means through the way he lived his life and the way he treated people.
