| The
following excerpts were posted on one of the mailing list I
subscribe to. I though the information was worth
sharing. |
|
| I've
tried to contact the original authors to get their permission, but
did not get any replies to my emails. Since this
information is available via one of several archives, I feel
that I can present it here. However, the authors names
have been removed from the discussions. (If they would like
credit - please contact me.) |
|
| (ED.
I was informed on July 5, 2000 that Stanley has a complaint
filed against them via the Federal Trade Commission as of June
2, 1999.) |
|
| Someone
wrote [in part]: |
|
| To
which someone else replied: |
|
| 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. |
|
| Loews
now (as of earlier this year) is selling a line of Mechanics Tools
called Kobalt
which is made by Snap-On.
Snap-On.
They are good tools. |
|
| Home
Depot's
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
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, Wichita 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 additional 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. |
|
| 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 Wal-Mart, 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 "gimmick"
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.... |
|
| Then
there was this discourse on FACE brand tools: |
|
FACOM has been around forever. French company, says
"American" in the name
; though I forget the whole acronym. |
|
| FACOM
is Franco-American de Construction d'Outillage Mecanique.
French for "French-American Mechanical Tool
Manufacturing". Got points in my French class for that. |
|
It's now one of the largest tool conglomerates in Europe.
SK, I think, is an American company that recently has had a
large part of;
its stock purchased by FACOM. |
|
| FACOM
owns S-K outright. You'll notice (if you look through the
catalogs from preceding years) that the tools are becoming
more and more alike. The S-K "pro" screwdrivers are
now FACOM ergo twist screwdrivers. The "tuff1"
ratchets are S-K pro ratchet handles avec FACOM innards.
FACOM's ratcheting flare wrench now has S-K stamped on the
side of it. I don't like it because we could get FACOM
tools from S-K dealers for over 10 years, but now they're
getting more and more reluctant to give us FACOM stuff, they'd
rather sell S-K stuff. Which is why you get S-K catalogs
instead of FACOM. If you specifically request (demand) a FACOM
catalog, you get their _American_ catalog, which is
abbreviated, along with a note to contact Griot's Garage.
I've asked a French friend to get me a French market FACOM
catalog, as they have all the good stuff that hasn't yet been
absorbed into the S-K line. Ultimate Garage is a FACOM
dealer as well as Griot's, and I've been told (by Richard?)
they've got a catalog, don't know if it's FACOM's, but I'll order
something and find out. |
|
| I
was also wondering what the deal was with the S-K foundry?
Presumably they still make some stuff stateside? No?
I know there are others not mentioned, Cornwell has a foundry
in Ohio, I think? |
|
| I'd
kind of doubt that Williams uses the _exact_ same dies for Kobalt and
Snap-On. I compared the Kobalt combo wrench to one of my Snap-On's,
and they aren't the same. The Kobalt handle is pretty
much rectangular in cross-section, and really does hurt your
hand when you pull hard. The Snap-On is more rounded.
As well, the Kobalt is visibly looser on the fastener.
Maybe these are Snap-On rejects? Can't explain the handle
differences, though. The breaker bars seem to share the same
grip, though, it just seems the Kobalt doesn't have those
nifty machined indentations at the base. |
|
|
| I
know Stanley owns Mac and Blackhawk (didn't know about Husky), but
the Blackhawk stuff doesn't seem similar to the Mac stuff.
These look awfully different to be from the same dies, shape
wise. So the price difference is different steel in the
better tools? Surely they can't be charging Mac prices
for better plated Blackhawk stuff? |
|
| FACOM also owns (large parts of) USAG (Italian?) and Beissbarth...
|
|
| Addendum |
|
| I
received the following info from Dan Peronto a Tool Designer for
Snap-on Tools at the Kenosha Mfg Plant: |
|
From:
"Peronto, Daniel J."
To: "John T. Blair"
Subject: Hand tools
Date: Wed, 23 Aug 2000 13:44:50 -0500 |
|
| I
just wanted to add my 2 cents. Well a nickel really,
considering that I work for Snap-on and we over charge for
everything :>) |
|
| I
was reading on your site about 'who makes what tools' http://www.team.net/
One part explains that the various manufactures use 'the exact
same forgings' for all the various brands they sell.
This is NOT true for Snap-on tools. Our retail brand
Kobalt sold through Lowe's stores, shares very little if any traits
with our traditional Snap-on line. They are made in the
same plants, but most of the manufacturing tooling is
different. They are made by the same UNION skilled
machinists using the same tried and true processes. The
designs for these tools are completely different. They use
different material and are heat treated differently. |
|
|
I
hope this clears things up slightly
Dan Peronto
Tool Designer
Snap-on Tools
Kenosha Mfg Plant
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