KMTF was established in 1969 by Polish and Ethiopian investors as a private limited company and is engaged in the manufacture of various hand tools like pickaxes, axes, shovels, hammers, and crowbars required by the construction and agriculture sectors. The plant was nationalized in 1975 and put under the ex-National Metal Works Corporation (NMWC).When the NMWC was dissolved by the current Ethiopian government, the supervision of the KMTF was passed to the Privatization and Public Enterprises Supervising Agency (PPESA) until it was sold and handed over to Nigat Mechanical Engineering S.C. as of March 1, 2006.