bullet power tools brands

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Ever wonder who owns Craftsman tools? How about Milwaukee, Mac Tools, or Skilsaw? It may surprise you to know that only a handful of power tool companies own your favorite tools. That’s right, most tool brands fall under a parent company that also controls additional power tool manufacturers and brands. We break it down for you…with charts!

Stanley Black & Decker (SBD) turned heads when it bought Craftsman Tools in 2017 after Sears closed 235 stores in 2015. The company owns many brands, however. Dating back to 1843 with a man named Frederick Stanley, the company quickly formed its roots. In 2010, it merged with another company that started in 1910—Black and Decker. As of 2017, the company maintains a $7.5 billion business in tools & storage alone. SBD brands include:

As it turns out, TTI owns Milwaukee Tool and a host of other power tool companies. It also licenses the RIDGID* and RYOBI names for cordless power tools (Emerson owns RIDGID). TTI stands for Techtronic Industries Company Limited (TTI Group). Founded in 1985 in Hong Kong, TTI sells tools all over the world and employs over 22,000 people. TTI is listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange and had worldwide annual sales of over US$6 billion in 2017. Their brands include:

Not anymore. In 2017, Chervon acquired Skil Power Tool Brands from Bosch. This added two big brands to their portfolio: Skilsaw and Skil. Chervon started its power tools business unit back in 1993, launching the EGO brand of cordless outdoor power equipment in 2013. In 2018, the company rebranded Skil (including the logo) and announced new 12V and 20V cordless power tools. Today, Chervon tools and products are sold by more than 30,000 stores in 65 countries. Chervon manufactures the following brands:

First off, Bosch Tools only represents part of the Bosch Group which includes Robert Bosch GmbH and over 350 subsidiaries across 60+ countries. In 2003 Robert Bosch GmbH combined its North American power tool and power tool accessory divisions into one organization, forming Robert Bosch Tool Corporation in North America. The company designs, manufactures, and sells power tools, rotary and oscillating tools, power tool accessories, laser and optical leveling devices, and range finding tools all over the globe. Bosch also manufactures the following tools:

Husqvarna Group manufactures chainsaws, trimmers, robotic lawn mowers, and ride-on lawnmowers. The Group also makes garden watering products as well as cutting equipment and diamond tools for the construction and stone industries. They have a presence in more than 100 countries and employ over 13,000 people in 40 countries. Husqvarna Group also owns the following tools:

JPW owns several large brands including Jet, Powermatic, and Wilton. The company has its headquarters in La Vergne, Tennessee but also has operations in Switzerland, Germany, Russia, France, Taiwan, and China. They sell products in 20 countries throughout the world. Their tool brands include:

Apex Tool Group has its headquarters in Sparks, Maryland, USA and employs more than 8,000 workers. They operate in more than 30 countries throughout North and South America, Europe, Australia, and Asia. Annual revenues exceed $1.4 billion on the sale of hand tools, power tools, and electronics tools for the industrial, automotive, aerospace, and construction/DIY markets. The following tool manufacturers belong to APEX Tool Group:

Headquartered in St. Louis, Missouri (USA), Emerson controls power tool manufacturers and products in the industrial, commercial, and residential markets. While TTI licenses the RIDGID name for power tools, Emerson controls the following tools (among others):

Based in Wendlingen, Germany, TTS or Tooltechnic Systems owns Festool (electric and pneumatic tools), Tanos (not to be confused with the guy who destroyed half the universe), Narex, Sawstop, and now Shaper Tools. TTS is truly behind the scenes as it doesn’t really have appear to have its own website (at least not in the US) or an official logo. In bullet point format, its subsidiaries include:

Yamabiko Corporation started in 2008 and has three core business segments: outdoor power equipment, agricultural machinery, and industrial machinery. Based in Japan, Yamabiko is a global company with major markets in Japan and North America, and a growing presence in Europe and Asia. Tool brands include:

Founded over 100 years ago, ITW manufactures specialized industrial equipment, power tools, hand tools, and consumables. ITW operates in 57 countries with over 50,000 employees. They also have more than 17,000 granted and pending patents. ITW brands include:

Who makes Harbor Freight Power Tools remains a mystery—possibly because they may have switched suppliers in the past. Some have suggested LuTool, a company established in June 1999 supplies their power tools. LuTool has headquarters in Ningbo, China, and a North American office in Ontario, Canada. LuTool is owned by Gemay (Ningbo Gemay Industry Co Ltd) which also has its headquarters in Ningbo, China.

Not to be outdone, others have suggested Powerplus as the manufacturer behind the Drill Master, Warrior, Bauer, and Hercules lines of tools. Powerplus is a division of European company Varo with headquarters in Belgium.

Hilti and Makita are just Hilti and Makita. Hilti doesn’t have any subsidiary companies underneath them or a parent company over them. Makita, on the other hand, did acquire the Dolmar brand, bolstering its already-impressive line of outdoor power equipment tools. It’s pretty impressive the market share each of these companies enjoys!

We can’t leave out the popular house brands available at those big-box retailers and home improvement warehouses. Note that many (if not all) of the brands below represent ODM or OEM solutions. That means the tools get specified by the store but executed by another manufacturer. In other scenarios, tools are “offered” to a retailer and then manufactured in bulk upon acceptance of a buyer’s order.

While you may have thought you knew who owned all those power tool manufacturers, consolidation has changed the playing field. By far, Stanley Black & Decker demonstrates the largest buyout pattern. Companies like TTI, Apex Tool Group, ITW, and others also enjoy adding to their numbers.

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The only affiliation between GE and Hitachi that I am aware of is their joint nuclear energy business. Hitachi power tools are not – to my knowledge – connected to GE in any way.

The lines are so blurred it’s hard to tell. Williams is a Snap-on Industrial brand. Even if certain tools appear similar, there might be small nuances that differentiate the Snap-on tools from Williams ones.

OEM and private label tools is tough to follow as well, as contracts and arrangements change every now and then. Right now, I have no clue as to who else Williams manufacturers tools for outside the Snap-on corporate family.

Williams is much better than bluepoint. A lot of Williams tools are US made, a lot of bluepoint tools are not. And besides, most bluepoint stuff is rebranded anyway.

Danaher is making Craftsman tools now, Danaher started making them in China, Its interesting to know Danaher is owned by Bain capitol which was founded an owned by Mitt Romney, no wonder Craftsman tools are being made in China, Romney absolutely hates American workers!, after finding this out I will never buy another Craftsman tool, I would rather overpay for SK, or Snap On than buy a piece of shit Chinese made Craftsman tool!!!!

Whilst Mitt Romney was a co founder of Bain Capital though his being a partner in the Bain and Company consulting firm, he was also a co owner, not THE owner. In any event he apparently retired as CEO of the firm in 2002, at which time Bain Capital also retired the position of CEO. Since that time Mr Romney has had nothing to do with Bain Capital’s management or with what acquisitions it has made. Sorry if you don’t like Mitt Romney, or believe that he hates American workers, because he had nothing to do with Danaher, Craftsmen tools being farmed out to China, or even Bain Capital purchasing the Apex Tool Group from Cooper Tools and Danaher.

Boy, you got that all wrong. Danaher never made anything in China. Danaher and Cooper group spun off their tool divisions to form Apex . They sold Apex to Bain Capital that has been closing tool divisions like Armstrong, Allen and KD and making tools in Taiwan. Mitt Romney has had nothing to do with Bain for many years so your attempt to tie him to the current situation is just you political viewpoint.

Regardless of when, from whom, or where these acquisitions and transfers took place, the story is fundamentally the same. These corporate conglomerates are nothing more than profit drones – machines in their own right. “They” have no concern for quality, American workers (or any workers for that matter), or the consumers who buy their tools.

Long gone is the norm of companies who took pride in the tools they produced, whose principle concerns were quality and reputation while making enough of a profit to keep the business going, i.e., companies who took satisfaction in creating something of real and lasting value. Sounds quaint doesn’t it?

So where’s the list of people like Thomas Lie-Nielsen of Lie-Nielsen Toolworks who created and carefully built a company based on the principles of quality and reputation, and whose success is one of the rare bright spots in an otherwise dismal industry? Yes, it would be a very short list of a few rare individuals, but it would be nice to provide some recognition for these folks who are not hell bent on destroying everything they touch for the sake of their personal wealth and power.

So where’s the list of people like Thomas Lie-Nielsen of Lie-Nielsen Toolworks who created and carefully built a company based on the principles of quality and reputation, and whose success is one of the rare bright spots in an otherwise dismal industry? Yes, it would be a very short list of a few rare individuals, but it would be nice to provide some recognition for these folks who are not hell bent on destroying everything they touch for the sake of their personal wealth and power.

I can’t praise individuals I haven’t met and don’t know much about. I don’t have experience with Lie-Nielsen tools, although I am quite aware of their reputation.

Other than Bosch (Germany) and TTI, all of the companies are headquarted in the US. It still burns me that TTI is a Chinese owned company and it produces Milwaukee tools. Not knocking their products, they make nice stuff, I just have a hard time seeing the profits go back to China too.

Cleveland, Bassett, Chicago-Latrobe, Cli-Line, Putnam Tools, and Vermont Tap & Die are part of Greenfield Industries, which is owned by Dalian Far East Tools, which is based in China.

It is not the Liberal government that is making all the regulations–many have been instituted under republican admins as well—It has to do with “not in my back yard” mentality. Every one wants energy independence and manufacturing jobs–but not in my backyard–don’t spoil my view. Ps, while I am fine with paying more for my American made tools, to ensure domestic workers have decent wages and conditions the rest of the Wal-mart connoisseurs are only about the cheap price with no regard to the fact their neighbor lost his job and now his kids qualify for free lunch at school because they refuse to look for the USA label.

The same way I would not underestimate Taiwan and Korea as industial powers. Some of the biggest brands in cell phones and computers and parts are from Taiwan. Just to mention a few – Asus, HTC, Acer.

Taiwan is very strong on tools, and I feel most on the tool inovations of the last decades came from there, such as the ratcheting wrench. In fact, the Gearwrench brand is owned by a Taiwaneese company (Lea way), now owned by the Apex group.

Not to mention the fact that TTI is also producing power tools for Ridgid under a negotiated contract. They are probably making those tools overseas to. It is unclear exactly what tools TTI is manufacturing for Ridgid? If anyone knows I would like to know.

TTI designs and manufacturers Ridgid power tools under a licensing agreement with Emerson (Ridgid’s parent company), exclusively for The Home Depot. TTI is the OEM for a lot of Ridgid power tools, but does not own the brand.

From the photos I’ve seen, many Ridgid tools are simply relabeled AEG in other parts of the world. So its not so much that there are two lines of tools, but rather two name plate stamps at the factory.

I would say its the opposite – TTI has the global brand AEG. In the USA they sell AEG tools under Home Depot’s private label Ridgid (Which, as mentioned above, is actually owned by Emerson, and made its name making plumber tools).

TTI develops and produces Ridgid tools and some Craftsman power tools. Chervon also produces certain Craftsman power tools, and Black & Decker produces the Craftsman Matrix modular power tools.

Craftsman’s hand tools come from EVERYWHERE. Apex Tool Group makes a lot of their mechanics tools, Vaughan makes some of their hammers, Stride used to make some of Craftsman’s wire strippers (and Klein’s as well), Knipex made two Craftsman water pump-style adjustable pliers, Keter makes some of Craftsman’s tool boxes, Waterloo makes a lot of Craftsman’s tool chests and cabinets, Bosch produces some of Craftsman’s power tools (e.g. Dremel-style rotary tools) and accessories, Wilde used to make Craftsman’s pry bars, and Western Forge produces (or used to produce) some of Craftsman’s screwdrivers and pliers.

Good article, now you should make one about where these brands produce their tools so that people aren’t surprised when they find out their products aren’t built here.

Under the Stanley-BD umbrella, the Facom brands are missing – Bost (France), USAG and Pastorino (Italy). Those companies still manufacture many of the global SBD tools – mostly under the FACOM name, but not only – for example, Stanley Fatmax screwdrivers (at least in Europe) are rebadged Bost.

The inconsistencies are not deliberate, but result from discretionary decisions. I refrain from mentioning some of the more esoteric industrial parts brands, but mention ITW’s Tapcon and Red Head brands. I tried to focus on tools, in a semi-strict sense, as much as possible.

Thanks for all the tool listings. It really surprised me to learn of the mother companies of a lot of tools I possess. I had no idea that Ideal owed S*K tools. Which is one of my most favorite brands. I always thought Faacom was affiliated with S*K. Tells you what I know.

A mechanical engineer friend of mine awhile back printed several pages of “Who Owned What Tool Company.” I’m sure it is very inaccurate now due to drastic changes in marketing. On the list it showed that Stanley tools formerly made Craftsman hand tools and this was taken over by Danaher. I was always under the impression that Danaher was still making the hand tools for Sears. It looks like to me that the process was part of the Cooper/Danaher merger that was sold to Bain Capital and made into a new company called Apex. Bain seems like such a dirty four lettered word to me. This company knowingly buys big conglomerate companies and breaks them up into little pieces and spits them out all over the place to maximize their profits. Being involved with Bain is what partly hurt Mitt Romney’s chances of election. I shudder when I hear that Bain is part of an acquisition, especially tools.

Danaher was the primary OEM for Craftsman mechanics tools before Danaher and Cooper joined forces, and then the Apex Tool Group took the arrangement with them. I believe the Apex Tool Group is still the primary OEM for Craftsman mechanics hand tools.

It’s hard to say which is the largest and most profitable tool company in the world, as some of these companies are involved in a lot more industries outside of tools, accessories, and related product categories.

According to data from Stanley Black & Decker, as discussed in a recent post, SBD is the largest and most profitable tool manufacturer in the world, at least in regard to construction and DIYer tools.

Very interesting, a list of companies that actually manufacture the tools for the retailers would be helpful to trace tool quality, and then money savings. In other words a list from the bottom up instead of the top down.

Like RIDGID brand power tools, TTI also makes Ryobi tools for the US market as a licensee. They do not own Ryobi which is a company based in Japan which offers totally different tools.

My understanding is that the Ryobi name is trademarked and used under license by OWT, but the entire Ryobi power tools and accessories business itself is owned by TTI. The arrangement TTI has with Ridgid is a little different.

What are you talking about. Danaher has sold off all of their tool businesses. The current owners are Apex owned by Bain Capital and Fortive. Danaher is now only in the the precision measuring equipment business. Medical or some such. NO TOOLS.

I get asked a lot who own/makes Kobalt Cordless Power tools, my research has produced a company called Chervon… What other brands do they own/make? Also… doesn’t Emerson also make Kobalt corded tools in addition to Rigid’s? Some of the models look identical.

Chervon makes some power tools for Craftsman as well, and certain tools for other brands. They’re an OEM. Chervon also makes HammerHead and EGO tools.

TTI designs, produces, and markets Ridgid power tools for Home Depot, and they also produce certain tools for Craftsman. TTI is also responsible for Ryobi power tools in the USA, North America, and Australia, perhaps in other regions as well.

It is explained in the original post. Ridgid plumbing tools are owned by Emerson Electric. Emerson owns the Ridgid name. They have licensed the name to TTI to make the Ridgid power tools sold exclusively by HD. Notice the orange and gray HD colors on the Ridgid power tools. Ridgid plumbing tools are red.

I’m just curious about Freud tools. I know Bosch owns the power tool accessory part of Freud (bits and blades etc.), but who owns the rest of Freud, e.g. the power tool part? Assuming that part is still in operation. I can’t find any info on the Freud site about any of their power tools, only their accessories.

Also, there is another line of professional tools that most people don’t know about in the US, or at least they aren’t that popular, but they do have some serious tools. It is Festool.

They are available from Woodcraft and made in Germany They are serious tools at even more serious prices. Their “domino”joiner has attracted a lot of attention. But $500 to $700 is more than most can spend on a hand power tool.

I believe Frued power tool division is or was still owned by the family that started it if my memory is right after they sold the accessories division. It’s been six years since I worked for BOSCH. Just so everyone knows. Bosch power tools North America has a cooperate office in Mt Prospect IL. It is huge and employs a lot of people. Also Bosch is privately owned and is owned in majority by a charity and others including the Bosch family. Robert Bosch was an inventor and invented a lot things. He worked in a Thomas Edison factory at one point.

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I wrote 52 bad reviews just on amazon warning folks to keep usa, not exchange but order kit repair their self, its easy. Amazon removed all but 4 a week later and stated I bent a rule? So I filed bbb complaint on Sears,Amazon,Menards, anyone else google sent me too selling crapsman tools for false advertising walk in warranty & all had made in USA on websites. They bent rules too…lol

Salesman told me that day Kmart/Sears built a huge manufacturing plant in china a few yrs back and been making craftsman engines & tools. They are junk & get returned daily! They still make money because of cost to make vs selling price, if they give you 100 returns they’re still ahead. Before then you’ll quit and buy another brand. Great company today. Sorry so long, Im almost over it as you can tell…lol

Husky THD950L tile saws are made by Chervon. Apparently according to Home Depots technical assistance line they are making quite a few Husky power tools for Home Depot.

That is a very nice article~! My company is in translation business for many tools companies and at the first it was difficult to get to the right person in this industry with our services, as almost all the companies are not independent!

Congratulations on this Herculean task – well done sir!! I have been interested in this topic for years. By virtue of our last name I had a special interest in HK Porter tools. My grandfather claimed a long lost relative had invented the double-action jaws of bolt cutters, but sold the patent for a pittance. He said if we ever came across those tools with the “HKP” initials molded into the handles we should hang on to them – I have collected 4 antique examples, I wrote to the company asking if they had a company historian who might fill me in on the company’s past. Below is what I received. BTW my genealogical research never turned up any links to that Henry K Porter. It’s also confusing that there was also another Henry K Porter with his own company in those days – they became the 3rd largest manufacturer of locomotives in the US. I’ve never found a link between those two Henrys or companies.

1900 to 1940 – As the horse and buggy gave way to motor power, “bolt cutters” were adapted to many new, modern cutting applications. New cutters were constantly being designed and refined to keep pace with all the new materials to be cut as industry expanded.

1950 to 1980 – During this period, H.K. Porter expanded its product lines to include ratchet, pneumatic and hydraulic cutting tools. Specialized tools were designed for every conceivable application; such as special equipment to help Astronaut Charles Conrad and Alan Bean salvage Surveyor III during their 1969 moon walk.

1988 – The H.K. Porter operation was relocated to the Wiss facility in Statesboro, GA. The H.K. Porter/Wiss/Plumb plant is one of the largest manufacturers of hand held cutting tools in the world.

Who Owns Chicago Electric Tools? I need assistance with a problem with Chicago Electric Tools parts and can not get assistance from Harbor Freight where I originally purchased the tools. Any help, any ideas.

Makita being one of the few independents. It has one of the largest ranges of cordless equipment and continues to add more products to their range faster than any other manufacturer. I have watched them continually add more brushless cordless tools and 36v (2x18V) cordless tools. They have one of the fastest chargers on the market.

Hi there. i’m a new auto body apprentice. I am looking for a socket set for my work. I wonder which of these tools are useful and last longer (Stanley socket set, mastercraft, or maximum)

I have 3 horizontal saws and one vertical saw in my machine shop, and used Lenox blades for a number of years because they outperformed other brands by a noticeable margin. Shortly after the acquisition by Rubbermaid, the quality deteriorated to a level approximately equal to that of Irwin which has always been a producer of hardware store quality cutting tools as opposed to the true industrial quality of Lenox.

As we might expect, the quality went down but the price continued to climb. Given the good quality level of SBD brands like DeWalt and Bostich, its obvious SBD management knows you have to produce a quality product to command a premium price from people who make their living with tools. Rubbermaid obviously doesn’t understand this.

“Our company is Michigan Industrial tools. M.I.T. offers the brands TEKTON, Maxcraft, Workshop, and we currently are a licensee of Goodyear air hose and reels.”

Working at a Woodshop for the several past years that have different brands of tools such as Delta, Porter Cable, Dewalt, Jet, Craftsman, Grizzly, Hitachi and some of that No-Name Chinese garbage, I found out an interesting thing. Many companies have and use the EXACT SAME PARTS on their machines, they only have different part numbers…….sometimes. Sometimes the part numbers are exactly the same as they don’t add any of their own numbers on to the Part Manufacturer’s Numbers.

Look at it this way. If you wanted to design and make your own line of Woodworking tools, you would not be making your own parts, for the most part, you would be purchasing them from an existing parts manufacturer. They have standard parts they make and sell to several different manufacturers. Some are proprietary and can only be sold to that company, but for the most part, to have that, it costs a lot of money so most parts are and can be interchanged. Take a Bandsaw wheel for example. There are only a few different sizes made, i.e. the reason most companies sell the same Bandsaw sizes. So you would pick from the sizes that company is already making, most likely for someone else. Bandsaws really only have two types of designs, the “Box” look and the “Half-Round” look. Take a look at how closely a Jet Bandsaw looks to a Grizzly. I am betting they are getting most of their parts from the same exact manufacturer. Delta may be as well.

My automotive tools are all SK. Very pricey, very good quality. But even then….I wonder how much has changed with them since I acquired alot of this stuff in the 1970’s.

Right now APEX is still mfg. Craftsman tools but that is coming to an end as their contract turns it over to Stanley Black & Decker, and from what I understand SBD is going to be building a factory in the US to mfg. Craftsman.

Danaher is still involved with tools as they still own MATCO. Much of the COBALT brand (Lowes) is made by JS Products out of Las Vegas, they also own Steelman. That may be coming to an end as Lowes will take on Craftsman tools as soon as the dust is settled.

Before I went into the Army, I was an appliance service man at sears in 1966-1967 and I still have many of my craftsman hand tools over 50 years old and still function as they did 50 years go.

Not sure about Wen and cobalt power but cobalt hand tools at this time are made by (imported) JS Products out of Las Vegas this will most likely change when Lowes takes on Craftsman Tools made by Stanley Black & Decker

Stuart, Matco stayed with the Fortive portion of the Danaher breakout. To answer some of the other questions: Prior to Apex the majority of Craftsman tools were built in USA. Places like Dallas, North Carolina, Arkansas.

Your project sounds like a very interesting one, but I am not envious of the challenges you face. Mapping the supply chain for a more complex multi-component product, such as a cordless power tool for instance, would be quite the endeavor.

There are private label brands as well – Husky for Home Depot, Kobalt for Lowes. Also, exclusivity arrangements. You cannot find Hitachi tools at Home Depot, or Milwaukee tools at Lowes. Home Depot has Klein, Lowes now has Southwire.

I’m wondering if anyone knows who manufactures the cordless battery-powered tools for professional mechanics tool lines, specifically the Snap-On, MATCO and MAC brands?

Anyone here remember SeberTech multi tools. I.e. the M4SeberTech USA tool or even the Craftsman 45505 during the 1990’s? Sure Leatherman came out in the late 1980’s, but this was truly a mini multi tool that was made in California and the M4 was the only mini multi tool back then that had a locking blade and tools you could access from the outside.

Well they were acquired by IDL Tools sometime before 2007 and IDL moved all production to China. RocWizard was introduced in 2007, Home Depot and Ace carried this for a while. From what I’ve gathered, Stanley Black and Decker bought IDL tools a while ago.

Wright hand tools is the last remaining 100% independent non multi national , excluding Cougar Pro, 100% American manufacturer for sockets, ratchets and potentially even ratchet left.

Folks let that sink in. There isn’t ANY independent USA manufacturer for power tools of any kind anymore and only Stanley Black Decker with their Dewalt/Craftsman line produces either a USA assembled and or with some unknown percentage of USA made parts.

I have all the tools I can use in 2 lifetimes, and I’m perfectly happy with what I have. The worst thing I have to worry about is my battery packs fading. All my packs fit a ubiquitous brand, and I will always be able to find them anywhere for cheap.

Thank you for all the tough work. I’m seeing Tacklife tools pop up more and more often. I haven’t seen you do a review of any and from their low price I’m guessing they are not the best available. Does anyone have experience with Tacklife tools? Thank you.

Dewalt air compressors, air tools, and air compressor accessories like hoses are versions of other companies’ products. Compressors seem to be a mix of companies under Stanley Black and Decker like Porter-Cable and Emglo an air hose and accessories come from a variety of sources like Sanborn Manufacturing.

Generally, Dewalt power tools are top tier but they’ve really spread out and some lines like their air compressors are no the best on the market. Dewalt has one of the broadest lines outpacing Milwaukee but a lot of it’s just upgraded Stanley Black and Decker or contract manufactured once you get away from the core power tools.

Given Harbor Freight’s growth in the last years, and the extension of their brand collection, that might not be a bad list of brands to add, even if they all are sold through their own outlet. I don’t know how or whether they manufacture their own tools (I assume not)

Furthermore, one might argue that some of the HF brand names were picked out of that hat with an aim to convey a marketing message that would obfuscate their origins – or even possibly deceive some unwitting buyers. Such names like :Chicago Electric or Pittsburgh – to convey some USA heritage or Bauer – to possibly suggest some Germanic woodworker origin? If I’m off-base in this – please excuse my cynicism. I do think that some of the more recent HF brand names – like Hercules may represent a departure away from fictitious naming practices – and hopefully represents a change at HF to sell tools that appeal based on their price and performance rather than on US or German sounding brand names.

I thing HF came into being to make decent tools affordable to everyone. Yes, they do make some throwaways for city dwellers that need to fix something once, then give the tools away of trash them.

Their suppliers (contractors) are quite capable of making superior tools that hang with the best, but they would be so expensive they wouldn’t sell many at HF. For example, their Mother’s wax and Goodyear air hose is just as expensive as the big box stores.

Einhell is produced at the same place where Parkside is produced – at Positec. That’s because on Parkside tools it’s said that they are produced by Grizzly Industries, which is Positec.

Kango Tools are a TTI big box store brand popular in New Zealand and Australia. Trade quality, with a focus on SDS/masonry. The multi purpose bits are amazing.

Where is Kobalt? I realize that they are mostly in China, but they seem to be Lowe’s Ryobi (HomeDepot). I have reviewed their 40v leafblower, 40v hedge trimmer, and 40v chainsaw, all of which are surprisingly powerful and durable enough for DIY/home use.

Atlas Copco (American Pneumatic, Chicago Pneumatic, Desoutter Tools, Fuji Air Tools, Greenfield, Precision Plus, Quincy, Saltus, Seti-Tec) – Nacka Sweden

AMERICAN GENERAL TOOL GROUP (Air Locker, American General Tools, Big Horn Tools, Fuller, Gladstone, Interstate Pneumatics, Superior Electric, Time Shaver Tools, Tool Designs)

AMES – USI INDUSTRIES INC. (Acorn Products, Ames, Dynamic Design, Hound Dog Products, Jackson Professional Tools, True Temper, Union Tool, Wooding-Verona)

Hello! I am wondering if anyone out there might know who made a Air framing nailer with the name RAM TOOLS on it? I have my parts catalog and know the part I need but the website is no longer active nor is the phone number? I believe I bought this about 15 years ago or more and have never had a problem with it.I’ve been looking online trying to see what brands have a similar build.Maybe Campbell Hausfeld or Husky but I can’t be sure. Any help would be great! Thanks!

Klein Tools is independently owned. They have a couple of subsidiaries, such as Ergodyne. Some Klein tools are made in the USA, others are imported from various countries.

As America"s leader in industrial workholding equipment and striking tools for more than 80 years, Wilton Tools has a reputation for quality, durability and reliability that is unmatched by any other brand.

Bullet Tools have been helping wood flooring installers achieve ultimate accuracy and efficiency for years thanks to their range of fixed blade cutting tools.