<PAGE>

                                                      Registration No. 333-_____

    As filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on August 13, 1998
================================================================================
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

                      SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
                            Washington, D.C. 20549

                                   FORM S-8

                            REGISTRATION STATEMENT
                                     UNDER
                          THE SECURITIES ACT OF 1933

                              ------------------

                              APPLIED POWER INC.
            (Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)

               WISCONSIN                                     39-0168610
    (State or other jurisdiction of                       (I.R.S. Employer
     incorporation or organization)                      Identification No.)


     13000 West Silver Spring Drive
           Butler, Wisconsin                                 53007-1093
(Address of Principal Executive Offices)                     (Zip Code)

                              ------------------

                               ZERO CORPORATION
                          RETIREMENT SAVINGS PLAN(1)
                           (Full title of the plan)

                              ------------------

           ROBERT C. ARZBAECHER                               Copy to:
Vice President and Chief Financial Officer           ANTHONY W. ASMUTH III, ESQ.
            Applied Power Inc.                             Quarles & Brady
      13000 West Silver Spring Drive                  411 East Wisconsin Avenue
       Butler, Wisconsin 53007-1093                  Milwaukee, Wisconsin  53202

                    (Name and address of agent for service)

                                (414) 781-6600
         (Telephone number, including area code, of agent for service)

<TABLE>
<CAPTION>
                        Calculation of Registration Fee
=============================================================================================
                                                  Proposed         Proposed
                                                  Maximum          Maximum        Amount of
  Title of Securities        Amount to be      Offering Price     Aggregate      Registration
    to be Registered          Registered         Per Share      Offering Price       Fee
    ----------------          ----------         ---------      --------------       ---
          <S>              <C>                 <C>              <C>              <C>
Class A Common Stock,
par value $.20 per share   25,000 shares(2)     $29.9375(3)     $748,437.50(3)     $220.79
=============================================================================================
</TABLE>

(1)  This Registration Statement is being filed by the Registrant and the ZERO
     Corporation Retirement Savings Plan, as amended (the "Plan"), to register
     shares of Applied Power Inc. Class A Common Stock, par value $.20 per share
     ("Common Stock"), to be distributed pursuant to the Plan. On July 31, 1998,
     ZERO Corporation ("ZERO") became a wholly owned subsidiary of the
     Registrant through the merger of STB Acquisition Corporation
     ("Acquisition"), a wholly owned subsidiary of the Registrant, with and into
     ZERO pursuant to an Agreement and Plan of Merger by and among the
     Registrant, ZERO and Acquisition dated as of April 6, 1998 (the "Merger
     Agreement"). Pursuant to the Merger Agreement, the Registrant agreed to
     maintain the Plan or a substantially comparable plan for individuals who
     were employees or former employees of ZERO on July 31, 1998.

(2)  Pursuant to Rule 416(c) under the Securities Act of 1933, this Registration
     Statement covers, in addition to the above stated 25,000 shares, an
     indeterminate amount of interests to be offered or sold pursuant to the
     Plan.

(3)  Pursuant to Rule 457(h), estimated solely for the purpose of computing the
     registration fee, based upon $29.9375 per share, which is the average of
     the high and low sales prices of the Common Stock reported on the New York
     Stock Exchange Composite Tape on August 7, 1998.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
================================================================================
<PAGE>
 
                                    PART I

             INFORMATION REQUIRED IN THE SECTION 10(a) PROSPECTUS

          Information specified in Part I of Form S-8 (Items 1 and 2) will be
sent or given to Plan participants as specified by Rule 428(b)(1) under the
Securities Act of 1933.

                                    PART II

              INFORMATION REQUIRED IN THE REGISTRATION STATEMENT

Item 3.  Incorporation of Documents by Reference.

          The following documents filed by Applied Power Inc. (the "Registrant")
(Commission File No. 1-11288) with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the
"Commission") pursuant to Section 13 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as
amended (the "1934 Act"), and by the Plan pursuant to Section 15(d) of the 1934
Act, are incorporated herein by reference by the Registrant and the Plan:

          (a)  The Registrant's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year
               ended August 31, 1997 (as amended by Amendment No. 1 thereto on
               Form 10-K/A filed June 19, 1998);

          (b)  The Registrant's Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q for the quarterly
               periods ended November 30, 1997, February 28, 1998 and May 31,
               1998;

          (c)  The Registrant's Current Reports on Form 8-K reporting events
               occurring on October 3, 1997 (as amended by Amendment No. 1
               thereto on Form 8-K/A filed December 17, 1997), November 4, 1997,
               April 6, 1998, April 16, 1998, June 5, 1998 (as amended by
               Amendment No. 1 thereto on Form 8-K/A filed July 1, 1998) and
               July 31, 1998;

          (d)  The Registrant's Current Report on Form 8-K dated August 12,
               1998, including specifically the description of the Common Stock
               in Item 5 thereof, which updates and supersedes the description
               of the Common Stock contained in the Registrant's Registration
               Statement on Form 8-A filed on August 11, 1987, as previously
               updated by the Registrant's Current Report on Form 8-K dated
               January 28, 1991; and any amendment or report filed for the
               purpose of updating such description; and

          (e)  The Plan's Annual Report on Form 11-K for the fiscal year ended
               December 31, 1997.

          All documents subsequently filed by the Registrant and the Plan
pursuant to Sections 13(a), 13(c), 14 and 15(d) of the 1934 Act, prior to the
filing of a post-effective amendment which indicates that all securities offered
hereby have been sold or which deregisters all securities then remaining unsold,
shall be deemed to be incorporated by reference herein and to be a part hereof
from the date of the filing of such documents.

          Any statement contained in a document incorporated or deemed to be
incorporated by reference herein shall be deemed to be modified or superseded
for purposes hereof to the extent that a statement contained herein or in any
other subsequently filed document which also is or is deemed to be incorporated
by reference herein modifies or supersedes such statement. Any statement so
modified or superseded shall not be deemed, except as so modified or superseded,
to constitute a part hereof.

Item 4. Description of Securities.

     Not applicable.  See Item 3(d) above.

                                      -1-
<PAGE>
 
Item 5.  Interests of Named Experts and Counsel.

     The legality of the shares of Common Stock registered hereunder will be
passed on for the Registrant by Quarles & Brady, the Registrant's legal counsel.
The Registrant's Secretary, Anthony W. Asmuth III, is a partner of Quarles &
Brady.

Item 6.  Indemnification of Directors and Officers.

     The Registrant is incorporated under the Wisconsin Business Corporation Law
("WBCL"). Under Section 180.0851(1) of the WBCL, the Registrant is required to
indemnify a director or officer, to the extent such person is successful on the
merits or otherwise in the defense of a proceeding, for all reasonable expenses
incurred in the proceeding if such person was a party because he or she was a
director or officer of the Registrant. In all other cases, the Registrant is
required by Section 180.0851(2) of the WBCL to indemnify a director or officer
against liability incurred in a proceeding to which such person was a party
because he or she was an officer or director of the Registrant, unless it is
determined that he or she breached or failed to perform a duty owed to the
Registrant and the breach or failure to perform constitutes: (i) a willful
failure to deal fairly with the Registrant or its shareholders in connection
with a matter in which the director or officer has a material conflict of
interest; (ii) a violation of criminal law, unless the director or officer had
reasonable cause to believe his or her conduct was lawful or no reasonable cause
to believe his or her conduct was unlawful; (iii) a transaction from which the
director or officer derived an improper personal profit; or (iv) willful
misconduct. Section 180.0858(1) of the WBCL provides that, subject to certain
limitations, the mandatory indemnification provisions do not preclude any
additional right to indemnification or allowance of expenses that a director or
officer may have under the Registrant's articles of incorporation, bylaws, a
written agreement or a resolution of the Board of Directors or shareholders.

     Section 180.0859 of the WBCL provides that it is the public policy of the
State of Wisconsin to require or permit indemnification, allowance of expenses
and insurance to the extent required or permitted under Sections 180.0850 to
180.0858 of the WBCL for any liability incurred in connection with a proceeding
involving a federal or state statute, rule or regulation regulating the offer,
sale or purchase of securities.

     Section 180.0828 of the WBCL provides that, with certain exceptions, a
director is not liable to a corporation, its shareholders, or any person
asserting rights on behalf of the corporation or its shareholders, for damages,
settlements, fees, fines, penalties or other monetary liabilities arising from a
breach of, or failure to perform, any duty resulting solely from his or her
status as a director, unless the person asserting liability proves that the
breach or failure to perform constitutes any of the four exceptions to mandatory
indemnification under Section 180.0851(2) referred to above.

     Under Section 180.0833 of the WBCL, directors of the Registrant against
whom claims are asserted with respect to the declaration of an improper dividend
or other distribution to shareholders to which they assented are entitled to
contribution from other directors who assented to such distribution and from
shareholders who knowingly accepted the improper distribution, as provided
therein.

     Article VIII of the Registrant's Bylaws contains provisions that generally
parallel the indemnification provisions of the WBCL and cover certain procedural
matters not dealt with in the WBCL. Directors and officers of the Registrant are
also covered by directors' and officers' liability insurance under which they
are insured (subject to certain exceptions and limitations specified in the
policy) against expenses and liabilities arising out of proceedings to which
they are parties by reason of being or having been directors or officers.

Item 7.  Exemption From Registration Claimed.

     Not applicable.

                                      -2-
<PAGE>
 
Item 8.  Exhibits.

     See Exhibit Index following the Signatures page in this Registration
Statement, which Exhibit Index is incorporated herein by reference.

Item 9.  Undertakings.

          (a)  The undersigned Registrant hereby undertakes:

               (1)  To file, during any period in which offers or sales are
                    being made, a post-effective amendment to this Registration
                    Statement:

                    (i)    To include any prospectus required by Section
                           10(a)(3) of the Securities Act of 1933;

                    (ii)   To reflect in the prospectus any facts or events
                           arising after the effective date of the Registration
                           Statement (or the most recent post-effective
                           amendment thereof) which, individually or in the
                           aggregate, represent a fundamental change in the
                           information set forth in the Registration Statement.
                           Notwithstanding the foregoing, any increase or
                           decrease in volume of securities offered (if the
                           total dollar value of securities offered would not
                           exceed that which was registered) and any deviation
                           from the low or high end of the estimated maximum
                           offering range may be reflected in the form of
                           prospectus filed with the Commission pursuant to Rule
                           424(b) if, in the aggregate, the changes in volume
                           and price represent no more than a 20% change in the
                           maximum aggregate offering price set forth in the
                           "Calculation of Registration Fee" table in the
                           effective Registration Statement;

                    (iii)  To include any material information with respect to
                           the plan of distribution not previously disclosed in
                           the Registration Statement or any material change to
                           such information in the Registration Statement;

               Provided, however, that paragraphs (a)(1)(i) and (a)(1)(ii) of
this section do not apply if the Registration Statement is on Form S-3 or Form 
S-8, and the information required to be included in a post-effective amendment
by those paragraphs is contained in periodic reports filed by the Registrant
with the Commission pursuant to Section 13 or Section 15(d) of the Securities
Exchange Act of 1934 that are incorporated by reference in the Registration
Statement.

               (2)  That, for the purpose of determining any liability under the
Securities Act of 1933, each such post-effective amendment shall be deemed to be
a new registration statement relating to the securities offered therein, and the
offering of such securities at that time shall be deemed to be the initial bona
fide offering thereof.

               (3)  To remove from registration by means of a post-effective
amendment any of the securities being registered which remain unsold at the
termination of the offering.

          (b)  The undersigned Registrant hereby undertakes that, for purposes
of determining any liability under the Securities Act of 1933, each filing of
the Registrant's annual report pursuant to Section 13(a) or Section 15(d) of the
Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (and each filing of an employee benefit plan's
annual report pursuant to Section 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934)
that is incorporated by reference in the Registration Statement shall be deemed
to be a new registration statement relating to the securities offered therein,
and the offering of such securities at that time shall be deemed to be the
initial bona fide offering thereof.

          (h)  Reference is made to the indemnification provisions described in
Item 6 of this Registration Statement.

                                      -3-
<PAGE>
 
          Insofar as indemnification for liabilities arising under the
Securities Act of 1933 may be permitted to directors, officers and controlling
persons of the Registrant pursuant to the foregoing provisions, or otherwise,
the Registrant has been advised that in the opinion of the Securities and
Exchange Commission such indemnification is against public policy as expressed
in the Act and is, therefore, unenforceable. In the event that a claim for
indemnification against such liabilities (other than the payment by the
Registrant of expenses incurred or paid by a director, officer or controlling
person of the Registrant in the successful defense of any action, suit or
proceeding) is asserted by such director, officer or controlling person in
connection with the securities being registered, the Registrant will, unless in
the opinion of its counsel the matter has been settled by controlling precedent,
submit to a court of appropriate jurisdiction the question whether such
indemnification by it is against public policy as expressed in the Act and will
be governed by the final adjudication of such issue.

                                      -4-
<PAGE>
 

                                  SIGNATURES

     Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Act of 1933, the Registrant
certifies that it has reasonable grounds to believe that it meets all of the
requirements for filing on Form S-8 and has duly caused this Registration
Statement to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned, thereunto duly
authorized, in the City of Butler, State of Wisconsin, on August 12, 1998.

                                       APPLIED POWER INC.
                                       (Registrant)


                                       By: /s/ ROBERT C. ARZBAECHER
                                           -------------------------------------
                                           Robert C. Arzbaecher
                                           Vice President and
                                           Chief Financial Officer


                               POWER OF ATTORNEY

     KNOW ALL MEN BY THESE PRESENTS, that each person whose signature appears
below constitutes and appoints Richard G. Sim and Robert C. Arzbaecher, and each
of them, his true and lawful attorneys-in-fact and agents, with full power of
substitution and resubstitution, for him and in his name, place and stead, in
any and all capacities, to sign any and all amendments (including post-effective
amendments) to this Registration Statement, and to file the same, with all
exhibits thereto, and other documents in connection therewith, with the
Securities and Exchange Commission, and any other regulatory authority, granting
unto said attorneys-in-fact and agents, and each of them, full power and
authority to do and perform each and every act and thing requisite and necessary
to be done in and about the premises, as fully to all intents and purposes as he
might or could do in person, hereby ratifying and confirming all that said
attorneys-in-fact and agents or any of them, or their substitutes, may lawfully
do or cause to be done by virtue hereof.

     Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Act of 1933, this
Registration Statement has been signed by the following persons in the
capacities and on the date indicated.*

<TABLE>
<CAPTION>
            Signature                                Title
<S>                                   <C>

/s/ RICHARD G. SIM                    Chairman of the Board, President and
----------------------------------    Chief Executive Officer; Director
Richard G. Sim


/s/ ROBERT C. ARZBAECHER              Vice President and Chief Financial Officer
----------------------------------    (Principal Financial Officer)
Robert C. Arzbaecher


/s/ RICHARD D. CARROLL                Treasurer, Controller and
----------------------------------    Principal Accounting Officer
Richard D. Carroll


/s/ H. RICHARD CROWTHER               Director
----------------------------------
H. Richard Crowther


/s/ JACK L. HECKEL                    Director
----------------------------------
Jack L. Heckel


/s/ RICHARD A. KASHNOW                Director
----------------------------------
Richard A. Kashnow
</TABLE>

                                      S-1
<PAGE>


<TABLE>
<CAPTION>
<S>                                   <C>

/s/ L. DENNIS KOZLOWSKI               Director
----------------------------------
L. Dennis Kozlowski


                                      Director
----------------------------------
John J. McDonough
</TABLE> 

-----------
*Each of the above signatures is affixed as of August 12, 1998.

                                      S-2
<PAGE>
 

     Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Act of 1933, the trustees
(or other persons who administer the employee benefit plan) have duly caused
this Registration Statement to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned
thereunto duly authorized, in the City of Los Angeles, State of California, on
August 12, 1998.

                                       ZERO CORPORATION RETIREMENT
                                       SAVINGS PLAN


                                       By: /s/ Anita J. Cutchall
                                           -------------------------------------
                                           Anita J. Cutchall
                                           Chairperson, Administrative Committee


                                      S-3
<PAGE>

                              APPLIED POWER INC.
                              (the "Registrant")
                         (Commission File No. 1-11288)

                                 EXHIBIT INDEX
                                      TO
                        FORM S-8 REGISTRATION STATEMENT

<TABLE>
<CAPTION>

Exhibit                                                        Incorporated Herein                      Filed
Number                   Description                             By Reference To                       Herewith
-------                  -----------                           -------------------                     --------
<C>       <S>                                              <C>                                     <C>
 4.1      Restated Articles of Incorporation of the        Exhibit 4.1 to the Registrant's
          Registrant (dated as of February 13,             Registration Statement on
          1998)                                            Form S-8 (File No. 333-46469) 

 4.2      Amended and Restated Bylaws of the               Exhibit 3.2 to the Registrant's
          Registrant (effective as of January 8,           Form 10-K for the fiscal year
          1997)                                            ended August 31, 1997 
                                                      
 5*       Opinion of Quarles & Brady                                                                     X

23.1      Consent of  Deloitte & Touche LLP, the                                                         X
          Registrant's independent accountants
          (and independent accountants for Versa
          Technologies, Inc.)

23.2      Consent of Deloitte & Touche LLP,                                                              X
          ZERO's independent accountants

23.3      Consent of Ernst & Young, VERO                                                                 X
          Group plc's independent accountants

23.4      Consent of Quarles & Brady                                                               Contained in
                                                                                                   Exhibit 5

24        Power of Attorney                                                                        Contained in
                                                                                                   Signatures page to
                                                                                                   this Registration
                                                                                                   Statement
</TABLE>

--------------------------------------

     *The Registrant hereby undertakes that it will submit or has submitted the
Plan and any amendment thereto to the Internal Revenue Service ("IRS") in a
timely manner, and has made or will make all changes required by the IRS in
order to qualify the Plan under section 401 of the Internal Revenue Code.

                                     EI-1
[{"type": "S-8", "sequence": "1", "description": "FORM S-8", "secsgml_size_bytes": 24818}]
{"company-data": {"conformed-name": "APPLIED POWER INC", "cik": "0000006955", "assigned-sic": "3590", "irs-number": "390168610", "state-of-incorporation": "WI", "fiscal-year-end": "0831"}, "filing-values": {"form-type": "S-8", "act": "33", "file-number": "333-61389", "film-number": "98686385"}, "business-address": {"street1": "13000 WEST SILVER SPRING DR", "city": "BUTLER", "state": "WI", "zip": "53007-1093", "phone": "4147816600"}, "mail-address": {"street1": "PO BOX 325", "city": "MILWAUKEE", "state": "WI", "zip": "53201"}, "former-company": {"former-conformed-name": "APPLIED POWER INDUSTRIES INC", "date-changed": "19730123"}}
Registration No. 333-_____

    As filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on August 13, 1998
================================================================================
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

                      SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
                            Washington, D.C. 20549

                                   FORM S-8

                            REGISTRATION STATEMENT
                                     UNDER
                          THE SECURITIES ACT OF 1933

                              ------------------

                              APPLIED POWER INC.
            (Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)

               WISCONSIN                                     39-0168610
    (State or other jurisdiction of                       (I.R.S. Employer
     incorporation or organization)                      Identification No.)

     13000 West Silver Spring Drive
           Butler, Wisconsin                                 53007-1093
(Address of Principal Executive Offices)                     (Zip Code)

                              ------------------

                               ZERO CORPORATION
                          RETIREMENT SAVINGS PLAN(1)
                           (Full title of the plan)

                              ------------------

           ROBERT C. ARZBAECHER                               Copy to:
Vice President and Chief Financial Officer           ANTHONY W. ASMUTH III, ESQ.
            Applied Power Inc.                             Quarles & Brady
      13000 West Silver Spring Drive                  411 East Wisconsin Avenue
       Butler, Wisconsin 53007-1093                  Milwaukee, Wisconsin  53202

                    (Name and address of agent for service)

                                (414) 781-6600
         (Telephone number, including area code, of agent for service)
Calculation of Registration Fee
=============================================================================================
                                                  Proposed         Proposed
                                                  Maximum          Maximum        Amount of
  Title of Securities        Amount to be      Offering Price     Aggregate      Registration
    to be Registered          Registered         Per Share      Offering Price       Fee
    ----------------          ----------         ---------      --------------       ---
Class A Common Stock,
par value $.20 per share   25,000 shares(2)     $29.9375(3)     $748,437.50(3)     $220.79
=============================================================================================
(1)  This Registration Statement is being filed by the Registrant and the ZERO
     Corporation Retirement Savings Plan, as amended (the "Plan"), to register
     shares of Applied Power Inc. Class A Common Stock, par value $.20 per share
     ("Common Stock"), to be distributed pursuant to the Plan. On July 31, 1998,
     ZERO Corporation ("ZERO") became a wholly owned subsidiary of the
     Registrant through the merger of STB Acquisition Corporation
     ("Acquisition"), a wholly owned subsidiary of the Registrant, with and into
     ZERO pursuant to an Agreement and Plan of Merger by and among the
     Registrant, ZERO and Acquisition dated as of April 6, 1998 (the "Merger
     Agreement"). Pursuant to the Merger Agreement, the Registrant agreed to
     maintain the Plan or a substantially comparable plan for individuals who
     were employees or former employees of ZERO on July 31, 1998.

(2)  Pursuant to Rule 416(c) under the Securities Act of 1933, this Registration
     Statement covers, in addition to the above stated 25,000 shares, an
     indeterminate amount of interests to be offered or sold pursuant to the
     Plan.

(3)  Pursuant to Rule 457(h), estimated solely for the purpose of computing the
     registration fee, based upon $29.9375 per share, which is the average of
     the high and low sales prices of the Common Stock reported on the New York
     Stock Exchange Composite Tape on August 7, 1998.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
================================================================================
PART I

             INFORMATION REQUIRED IN THE SECTION 10(a) PROSPECTUS

          Information specified in Part I of Form S-8 (Items 1 and 2) will be
sent or given to Plan participants as specified by Rule 428(b)(1) under the
Securities Act of 1933.

                                    PART II

              INFORMATION REQUIRED IN THE REGISTRATION STATEMENT

Item 3.  Incorporation of Documents by Reference.

          The following documents filed by Applied Power Inc. (the "Registrant")
(Commission File No. 1-11288) with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the
"Commission") pursuant to Section 13 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as
amended (the "1934 Act"), and by the Plan pursuant to Section 15(d) of the 1934
Act, are incorporated herein by reference by the Registrant and the Plan:

          (a)  The Registrant's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year
               ended August 31, 1997 (as amended by Amendment No. 1 thereto on
               Form 10-K/A filed June 19, 1998);

          (b)  The Registrant's Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q for the quarterly
               periods ended November 30, 1997, February 28, 1998 and May 31,
               1998;

          (c)  The Registrant's Current Reports on Form 8-K reporting events
               occurring on October 3, 1997 (as amended by Amendment No. 1
               thereto on Form 8-K/A filed December 17, 1997), November 4, 1997,
               April 6, 1998, April 16, 1998, June 5, 1998 (as amended by
               Amendment No. 1 thereto on Form 8-K/A filed July 1, 1998) and
               July 31, 1998;

          (d)  The Registrant's Current Report on Form 8-K dated August 12,
               1998, including specifically the description of the Common Stock
               in Item 5 thereof, which updates and supersedes the description
               of the Common Stock contained in the Registrant's Registration
               Statement on Form 8-A filed on August 11, 1987, as previously
               updated by the Registrant's Current Report on Form 8-K dated
               January 28, 1991; and any amendment or report filed for the
               purpose of updating such description; and

          (e)  The Plan's Annual Report on Form 11-K for the fiscal year ended
               December 31, 1997.

          All documents subsequently filed by the Registrant and the Plan
pursuant to Sections 13(a), 13(c), 14 and 15(d) of the 1934 Act, prior to the
filing of a post-effective amendment which indicates that all securities offered
hereby have been sold or which deregisters all securities then remaining unsold,
shall be deemed to be incorporated by reference herein and to be a part hereof
from the date of the filing of such documents.

          Any statement contained in a document incorporated or deemed to be
incorporated by reference herein shall be deemed to be modified or superseded
for purposes hereof to the extent that a statement contained herein or in any
other subsequently filed document which also is or is deemed to be incorporated
by reference herein modifies or supersedes such statement. Any statement so
modified or superseded shall not be deemed, except as so modified or superseded,
to constitute a part hereof.

Item 4. Description of Securities.

     Not applicable.  See Item 3(d) above.

                                      -1-
Item 5.  Interests of Named Experts and Counsel.

     The legality of the shares of Common Stock registered hereunder will be
passed on for the Registrant by Quarles & Brady, the Registrant's legal counsel.
The Registrant's Secretary, Anthony W. Asmuth III, is a partner of Quarles &
Brady.

Item 6.  Indemnification of Directors and Officers.

     The Registrant is incorporated under the Wisconsin Business Corporation Law
("WBCL"). Under Section 180.0851(1) of the WBCL, the Registrant is required to
indemnify a director or officer, to the extent such person is successful on the
merits or otherwise in the defense of a proceeding, for all reasonable expenses
incurred in the proceeding if such person was a party because he or she was a
director or officer of the Registrant. In all other cases, the Registrant is
required by Section 180.0851(2) of the WBCL to indemnify a director or officer
against liability incurred in a proceeding to which such person was a party
because he or she was an officer or director of the Registrant, unless it is
determined that he or she breached or failed to perform a duty owed to the
Registrant and the breach or failure to perform constitutes: (i) a willful
failure to deal fairly with the Registrant or its shareholders in connection
with a matter in which the director or officer has a material conflict of
interest; (ii) a violation of criminal law, unless the director or officer had
reasonable cause to believe his or her conduct was lawful or no reasonable cause
to believe his or her conduct was unlawful; (iii) a transaction from which the
director or officer derived an improper personal profit; or (iv) willful
misconduct. Section 180.0858(1) of the WBCL provides that, subject to certain
limitations, the mandatory indemnification provisions do not preclude any
additional right to indemnification or allowance of expenses that a director or
officer may have under the Registrant's articles of incorporation, bylaws, a
written agreement or a resolution of the Board of Directors or shareholders.

     Section 180.0859 of the WBCL provides that it is the public policy of the
State of Wisconsin to require or permit indemnification, allowance of expenses
and insurance to the extent required or permitted under Sections 180.0850 to
180.0858 of the WBCL for any liability incurred in connection with a proceeding
involving a federal or state statute, rule or regulation regulating the offer,
sale or purchase of securities.

     Section 180.0828 of the WBCL provides that, with certain exceptions, a
director is not liable to a corporation, its shareholders, or any person
asserting rights on behalf of the corporation or its shareholders, for damages,
settlements, fees, fines, penalties or other monetary liabilities arising from a
breach of, or failure to perform, any duty resulting solely from his or her
status as a director, unless the person asserting liability proves that the
breach or failure to perform constitutes any of the four exceptions to mandatory
indemnification under Section 180.0851(2) referred to above.

     Under Section 180.0833 of the WBCL, directors of the Registrant against
whom claims are asserted with respect to the declaration of an improper dividend
or other distribution to shareholders to which they assented are entitled to
contribution from other directors who assented to such distribution and from
shareholders who knowingly accepted the improper distribution, as provided
therein.

     Article VIII of the Registrant's Bylaws contains provisions that generally
parallel the indemnification provisions of the WBCL and cover certain procedural
matters not dealt with in the WBCL. Directors and officers of the Registrant are
also covered by directors' and officers' liability insurance under which they
are insured (subject to certain exceptions and limitations specified in the
policy) against expenses and liabilities arising out of proceedings to which
they are parties by reason of being or having been directors or officers.

Item 7.  Exemption From Registration Claimed.

     Not applicable.

                                      -2-
Item 8.  Exhibits.

     See Exhibit Index following the Signatures page in this Registration
Statement, which Exhibit Index is incorporated herein by reference.

Item 9.  Undertakings.

          (a)  The undersigned Registrant hereby undertakes:

               (1)  To file, during any period in which offers or sales are
                    being made, a post-effective amendment to this Registration
                    Statement:

                    (i)    To include any prospectus required by Section
                           10(a)(3) of the Securities Act of 1933;

                    (ii)   To reflect in the prospectus any facts or events
                           arising after the effective date of the Registration
                           Statement (or the most recent post-effective
                           amendment thereof) which, individually or in the
                           aggregate, represent a fundamental change in the
                           information set forth in the Registration Statement.
                           Notwithstanding the foregoing, any increase or
                           decrease in volume of securities offered (if the
                           total dollar value of securities offered would not
                           exceed that which was registered) and any deviation
                           from the low or high end of the estimated maximum
                           offering range may be reflected in the form of
                           prospectus filed with the Commission pursuant to Rule
                           424(b) if, in the aggregate, the changes in volume
                           and price represent no more than a 20% change in the
                           maximum aggregate offering price set forth in the
                           "Calculation of Registration Fee" table in the
                           effective Registration Statement;

                    (iii)  To include any material information with respect to
                           the plan of distribution not previously disclosed in
                           the Registration Statement or any material change to
                           such information in the Registration Statement;

               Provided, however, that paragraphs (a)(1)(i) and (a)(1)(ii) of
this section do not apply if the Registration Statement is on Form S-3 or Form 
S-8, and the information required to be included in a post-effective amendment
by those paragraphs is contained in periodic reports filed by the Registrant
with the Commission pursuant to Section 13 or Section 15(d) of the Securities
Exchange Act of 1934 that are incorporated by reference in the Registration
Statement.

               (2)  That, for the purpose of determining any liability under the
Securities Act of 1933, each such post-effective amendment shall be deemed to be
a new registration statement relating to the securities offered therein, and the
offering of such securities at that time shall be deemed to be the initial bona
fide offering thereof.

               (3)  To remove from registration by means of a post-effective
amendment any of the securities being registered which remain unsold at the
termination of the offering.

          (b)  The undersigned Registrant hereby undertakes that, for purposes
of determining any liability under the Securities Act of 1933, each filing of
the Registrant's annual report pursuant to Section 13(a) or Section 15(d) of the
Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (and each filing of an employee benefit plan's
annual report pursuant to Section 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934)
that is incorporated by reference in the Registration Statement shall be deemed
to be a new registration statement relating to the securities offered therein,
and the offering of such securities at that time shall be deemed to be the
initial bona fide offering thereof.

          (h)  Reference is made to the indemnification provisions described in
Item 6 of this Registration Statement.

                                      -3-
Insofar as indemnification for liabilities arising under the
Securities Act of 1933 may be permitted to directors, officers and controlling
persons of the Registrant pursuant to the foregoing provisions, or otherwise,
the Registrant has been advised that in the opinion of the Securities and
Exchange Commission such indemnification is against public policy as expressed
in the Act and is, therefore, unenforceable. In the event that a claim for
indemnification against such liabilities (other than the payment by the
Registrant of expenses incurred or paid by a director, officer or controlling
person of the Registrant in the successful defense of any action, suit or
proceeding) is asserted by such director, officer or controlling person in
connection with the securities being registered, the Registrant will, unless in
the opinion of its counsel the matter has been settled by controlling precedent,
submit to a court of appropriate jurisdiction the question whether such
indemnification by it is against public policy as expressed in the Act and will
be governed by the final adjudication of such issue.

                                      -4-
SIGNATURES

     Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Act of 1933, the Registrant
certifies that it has reasonable grounds to believe that it meets all of the
requirements for filing on Form S-8 and has duly caused this Registration
Statement to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned, thereunto duly
authorized, in the City of Butler, State of Wisconsin, on August 12, 1998.

                                       APPLIED POWER INC.
                                       (Registrant)

                                       By: /s/ ROBERT C. ARZBAECHER
                                           -------------------------------------
                                           Robert C. Arzbaecher
                                           Vice President and
                                           Chief Financial Officer

                               POWER OF ATTORNEY

     KNOW ALL MEN BY THESE PRESENTS, that each person whose signature appears
below constitutes and appoints Richard G. Sim and Robert C. Arzbaecher, and each
of them, his true and lawful attorneys-in-fact and agents, with full power of
substitution and resubstitution, for him and in his name, place and stead, in
any and all capacities, to sign any and all amendments (including post-effective
amendments) to this Registration Statement, and to file the same, with all
exhibits thereto, and other documents in connection therewith, with the
Securities and Exchange Commission, and any other regulatory authority, granting
unto said attorneys-in-fact and agents, and each of them, full power and
authority to do and perform each and every act and thing requisite and necessary
to be done in and about the premises, as fully to all intents and purposes as he
might or could do in person, hereby ratifying and confirming all that said
attorneys-in-fact and agents or any of them, or their substitutes, may lawfully
do or cause to be done by virtue hereof.

     Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Act of 1933, this
Registration Statement has been signed by the following persons in the
capacities and on the date indicated.*
Signature                                Title
/s/ RICHARD G. SIM                    Chairman of the Board, President and
----------------------------------    Chief Executive Officer; Director
Richard G. Sim

/s/ ROBERT C. ARZBAECHER              Vice President and Chief Financial Officer
----------------------------------    (Principal Financial Officer)
Robert C. Arzbaecher

/s/ RICHARD D. CARROLL                Treasurer, Controller and
----------------------------------    Principal Accounting Officer
Richard D. Carroll

/s/ H. RICHARD CROWTHER               Director
----------------------------------
H. Richard Crowther

/s/ JACK L. HECKEL                    Director
----------------------------------
Jack L. Heckel

/s/ RICHARD A. KASHNOW                Director
----------------------------------
Richard A. Kashnow
S-1
/s/ L. DENNIS KOZLOWSKI               Director
----------------------------------
L. Dennis Kozlowski

                                      Director
----------------------------------
John J. McDonough
-----------
*Each of the above signatures is affixed as of August 12, 1998.

                                      S-2
Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Act of 1933, the trustees
(or other persons who administer the employee benefit plan) have duly caused
this Registration Statement to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned
thereunto duly authorized, in the City of Los Angeles, State of California, on
August 12, 1998.

                                       ZERO CORPORATION RETIREMENT
                                       SAVINGS PLAN

                                       By: /s/ Anita J. Cutchall
                                           -------------------------------------
                                           Anita J. Cutchall
                                           Chairperson, Administrative Committee

                                      S-3
APPLIED POWER INC.
                              (the "Registrant")
                         (Commission File No. 1-11288)

                                 EXHIBIT INDEX
                                      TO
                        FORM S-8 REGISTRATION STATEMENT
Exhibit                                                        Incorporated Herein                      Filed
Number                   Description                             By Reference To                       Herewith
-------                  -----------                           -------------------                     --------
4.1      Restated Articles of Incorporation of the        Exhibit 4.1 to the Registrant's
          Registrant (dated as of February 13,             Registration Statement on
          1998)                                            Form S-8 (File No. 333-46469) 

 4.2      Amended and Restated Bylaws of the               Exhibit 3.2 to the Registrant's
          Registrant (effective as of January 8,           Form 10-K for the fiscal year
          1997)                                            ended August 31, 1997 
                                                      
 5*       Opinion of Quarles & Brady                                                                     X

23.1      Consent of  Deloitte & Touche LLP, the                                                         X
          Registrant's independent accountants
          (and independent accountants for Versa
          Technologies, Inc.)

23.2      Consent of Deloitte & Touche LLP,                                                              X
          ZERO's independent accountants

23.3      Consent of Ernst & Young, VERO                                                                 X
          Group plc's independent accountants

23.4      Consent of Quarles & Brady                                                               Contained in
                                                                                                   Exhibit 5

24        Power of Attorney                                                                        Contained in
                                                                                                   Signatures page to
                                                                                                   this Registration
                                                                                                   Statement
--------------------------------------

     *The Registrant hereby undertakes that it will submit or has submitted the
Plan and any amendment thereto to the Internal Revenue Service ("IRS") in a
timely manner, and has made or will make all changes required by the IRS in
order to qualify the Plan under section 401 of the Internal Revenue Code.

                                     EI-1