> Scott Hall wrote [in part]: ... but I never could figure
out who makes the [Craftsman] hand tools.
This is a message I received on another list on this same
server, the author seems to know what he is talking about.
Larry Hoy
=========================================
On March 26, 1999 Greg Hutmacher wrote:
I'm not the final word on tools by any means, but since I
work in the
business, I've learned a little bit about it. Okay, here's
more than you
ever wanted to know. As someone pointed out in a previous
post, Lowes now
(as of earlier this year) is selling a line of Mechanics
Tools called Kobalt
which is made by Snap-On. They are good tools. Home Depot's
Husky brand is
made by Stanley Mechanics Tools, a division of the Stanley
Works. Husky are
also good tools and have a good lifetime warranty (they'll
even replace your
broken Craftsman with an equivalent Husky). Until 1994 or
so, Stanley also
made Sears Craftsman tools. Sears Craftsman is now made by
Danaher Tools.
They beat out Stanley on the contract over price. Danaher
also manufactures
MatCo Tools, the third largest player in the Mobile
Automotive industry
(behind MAC and Snap-On). Odds are, if you own any Craftsman
tools that are
older than about five years ago, they were made by Stanley
in plants in
Dallas, Texas, Witchita Falls, Texas, and Sabina, Ohio.
Stanley also owns
MAC Tools and manufactures MAC tools in the same plants. Now
here's the
kicker: MAC Tools, Proto Tools (a very expensive industrial
brand), Husky
Tools, and, (prior to five or so years ago) Craftsman Tools
are all made
from the same forgings in the same plants. Proto is unique
because it goes
through addtional testing and certification because it is
used by NASA, the
military, and industrial customers (including General
Motors). There are
three MAJOR players in the USA mechanics tool business:
Stanley, Danaher,
and Snap-On. Stanley and Danaher (almost identical in sales
revenue at about
$28 billion each) are the biggest followed by Snap-On. Each
of these three
manufacture and sell tools under a variety of brands (there
are many other
brands that Stanley makes that I haven't even named). The
quality between
these three manufacturers is roughly the same. I know its a
bit of a
let-down to hear that, but its a simple fact. Then there are
a hand full of
other minor players (Vermont American, etc) and an endless
list of Taiwanese
import tool companies (some of which Stanley own as well as
Danaher to serve
the lower end consumer import brands at WalMart, etc). How
do I know all of
this? I work for Stanley Mechanics Tools, specifically with
the Proto
Industrial brand. I personally do not think that MAC, MatCo,
or Snap-On
branded tools are worth the extra markup since they use the
same forgings
and manufacturing processes that make Husky and Kobalt and
pre-1994
Craftsman. Where you need to pay attention are things like
ratchets and
torque wrenches. There are different specifications of
ratchets and you do
pay for the difference. Some mechanics require a finer, more
precise
ratcheting mechanism than guys like me who just bang around
in the garage on
the weekends. By the way, Metwrench is basically considered
a "gimick"
infomercial tool brand that is not considered as a serious
competitor to
Danaher, Snap-On, or Stanley. Then again, IBM once didn't
see Microsoft as a
serious force in the personal computer business. Hmmmm....
Regards, Greg Hutmacher (now back in lurk mode)
|