Ryobi’s battery promise from 1996 is still going strong, just like its tools

The Ryobi brand was founded in Japan in 1943 and made its first power tool in 1968. Eventually, popularity grew thanks to die-cast products in the 80s, but everything changed in 1996 with the introduction of its first 18V cordless drill. It had a nickel-cadmium (NiCad) battery with a simple connector rail on a plastic housing. Three decades later, that design remains the same.