Craftsman Tools Today

Well They own Proto for there high end tools and of cores there Stanly tools. I read that Stanly only bought Craftsman for the outdoor and garden tools. But who knows till it happens.
 
Stanley announced back in October that they were in the process of building a new US factory to shift production back stateside. They also announced a deal they cut with Lowes to begin selling Craftsman tools in mid to late 2018. The CEO of Stanley Black & Decker was quoted as saying "Craftsman is still an incredibly strong brand, albeit one that is largely manufactured overseas and basically situated within one major retailer,", "We believe this is an excellent opportunity to invest in, re-Americanize and revitalize this legendary brand, ramp-up product innovation and broaden its distribution.","We already manufacture many products cost effectively in this country and, in some cases, we've been able to bring manufacturing back to the U.S. at a lower cost than producing overseas,"
 
Finally ordered some Craftsman wrenches.

One 3/8" x 7/16" open end and two boxed end(or box end as Sears says it) ones.

We'll see!:)
 
Stanley announced back in October that they were in the process of building a new US factory to shift production back stateside. They also announced a deal they cut with Lowes to begin selling Craftsman tools in mid to late 2018. The CEO of Stanley Black & Decker was quoted as saying "Craftsman is still an incredibly strong brand, albeit one that is largely manufactured overseas and basically situated within one major retailer,", "We believe this is an excellent opportunity to invest in, re-Americanize and revitalize this legendary brand, ramp-up product innovation and broaden its distribution.","We already manufacture many products cost effectively in this country and, in some cases, we've been able to bring manufacturing back to the U.S. at a lower cost than producing overseas,"

I’ll believe it when I see it. Not holding my breath, though...
 
We had this very conversation at our local McDonalds drinking coffee this morning. Tim took a Craftmans wrinch and a Snap On and compaired them on a hold down flair nut. Craftman was loose fitting where the Snap On was right on. Nothing beats my old Bonney's but don't have the complete set any more.
 
Old Bonneys are nice. As are Thorsen. Been splitting Craftsman sockets since 1980, but loved their wrenches, ratchets et al. I always picked carefully between Matco, Mac, Cornwell & Proto for many of my tools. The benefit of Craftsman back in the day was getting a replacement tool same day. Waiting for a tool truck to come back around next week just was not the best option. I hope Stanley does leave Proto in peace. Unfortunately, Stanley has been in the business of ruining brand reputation for a hundred years. I check pawn shops for quality tools anymore. Price is Right.
 
I think Stanley bought Craftsman relatively recently 2016? 2017?.

Back in the late 90's and early 2000's Stanley started closing their manufacturing facilities in USA and moved them to Taiwan, China, India and even had a plant in Poland. At this same time they also started doing a fair bit outsourcing of their production to nameless manufactures in China. Quality started declining in this period.

I think it was the mid 80's that Stanley bought Proto from Ingersoll Rand. For quite a while Stanley produced a lot of tools for Home Depot that were sold under the Husky name. I think Stanley still does manufacture many Husky tools. Many Mac tools used to be manufactured in the same plants as Proto.

Proto used to be called Plomb tools until about 1950. Plomb bought P&C (Peterson and Carlsborg) tools in the 1941. Proto considered itself a decendant of P&C tools. Thorsen tools was created when the head saleman at P&C quit over a dispute with P&C and formed his own company around 1929.
 
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