Wow! On Wednesday, Stanley Black & Decker announced that they are making a $90 million investment to move Crasftmans production back to the United States.
The popular power tool company is pouring the money into a plant in Fort Worth, Texas in an effort to bring business back to American soil. The plant will produce a wide variety of tools, including: sockets, ratchets, and wrenches.
Stanley Black & Decker President and CEO Jim Loree said, “When we purchased Craftsman in 2017 we were determined to revitalize this iconic U.S. brand and bring back its American manufacturing heritage," he continued, “From the launch of Craftsman's refreshed brand identity last year to our announcement of the first new manufacturing facility in many years, we’re demonstrating our continued commitment to grow the brand and bring even more production of these great products back to the United States.”
Sears used to own Craftsman, but began struggling some years back. During that time, they outsourced most of the production to China and Mexico in an attempt to cut costs and save money. However, they still sold to Stanley in 2017.
During its most recent earnings call, Stanley said its growth in North America continued to be fueled by its Craftsman brand rollout, where it said it saw expansion across all categories.
Meanwhile, the company cited tariffs as a significant headwind.
The company is focusing on automation, artificial intelligence, 3-D printing, virtual reality and other advanced manufacturing technologies in order to enhance productivity. Technologies that will be included at the Fort Worth plant in particular are pre-flattening steel technologies, which could “improve material yield by almost 25 percent,” according to the company.
Stanley said on Wednesday that Craftsman was on track to reach $1 billion in incremental revenues by 2021. It operates 30 manufacturing facilities in the U.S. – and more than 100 around the world.
The Fort Worth plant is expected to be finished building by late 2020, and will provide 500 new full-time jobs.
