Headquartered in Valley City, Ohio, the company began in 1932 and is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Stanley Black & Decker.

Prior to Stanley Black & Decker's acquisition in December 2021, MTD Products was a majority family-owned, private company.

It originated as a tool and die maker MTD's main competitors are Ariens, Briggs & Stratton, Husqvarna, John Deere, Stiga, Stihl, and The Toro Company .

Over the years, MTD acquired the Troy-Bilt, Bolens, Cub Cadet, Craftsman (owned by its minority partner), and Yard-Man brands and companies.

Theo Moll, Emil Jochum and Erwin Gerhard formed a partnership to purchase the assets of Modern Tool and Die Company located on Power Avenue in Cleveland.

With this MTD began to manufacture pedal bikes, velocipedes, kiddie cars and playground equipment.

In 1959 MTD began manufacturing self-propelled lawn mowers, garden tractors and other power equipment.

In addition, Stanley Black & Decker had the option to acquire the remaining 80% of MTD starting July 1, 2021,[4] which it did on August 17, 2021.

Furthermore, with the acquisition of Craftsman by Stanley Black & Decker, the brand's products are now produced by MTD through this partnership.