The brand did not reach the United Kingdom until 1972 and, the following year, DIPT Protrade became the official distributor of Makita power tools. Nearly fifty years later, Makita remains a key brand for Protrade, both in terms of strong inventory and customer service, backed by our official status as a warranty service and repair agent. Milwaukee began in the same decade as Makita, under the name A, H. The automotive magnate, Henry Ford, was looking for a manufacturer to produce a compact, lightweight and portable electric drill.
Petersen had been producing tools and dies for Ford Motor Company for many years, and created the “Hole-Shooter”, the first single-handed drill capable of handling heavy workloads. Unfortunately, in 1923, a devastating fire followed by a deep recession caused A, H. Petersen Company will close its doors. The following year, Petersen's business partner, A, F.
Siebert bought the company's remaining assets at auction and, in 1924, Milwaukee Electric Tool Corporation was founded, named after his hometown in the U.S. UU. Makita began its global expansion in the 1970s, opening subsidiaries in numerous countries around the world, establishing the brand as a serious “player” in the professional power tool market. Milwaukee, on the other hand, focused on its own North American market and was not really “known” outside the United States, until the turn of the millennium.
Atlas Copco “persevered” in the professional power tool market for two more years, but in 2004 it announced its intention to sell its power tool business, citing a lack of synergy with its other business interests and being “far away” from the desired position of number one or two in its markets around the world. Oddly enough, this was a position that Makita undoubtedly held at this time. Techtronic Industries (TTI) acquired the Milwaukee and AEG brands, together with its global manufacturing facilities, a fledgling company with great aspirations. Founded in 1985, TTI began as an OEM manufacturer for several major organizations, but soon realized that owning its own brands was the way to go.
Before buying Milwaukee and AEG, they had already purchased other well-known brands, such as Vax, Ryobi, Homelite and Dirt Devil. With three different brands with three completely different colors and three different performance levels, there was absolutely no chance of confusion. Milwaukee, on the other hand, has only three 18 V combination drills in its range, and they even have a sub-brand for greater clarity, see the Milwaukee wireless range explanation. There is no short answer to the question “which brand is better?” — so I'm going to divide the ranges into categories and even subcategories.
Makita started out as a manufacturer of electric motors, so it should come as no surprise that its heritage continues to this day. Top quality materials and components are used to produce their engines, with 19 exhaustive tests on each of them before leaving the factory. The Milwaukee cable range is excellent, especially the large hammers, which were undoubtedly inherited when Kango was leaked to the Milwaukee range in the Atlas Copco days. Based exclusively on an incredible range of products, although you'd have to go with Makita to get a full cable offer.
Makita invested heavily in the outdoor electrical equipment market in 1991 with the acquisition of Dolmar, a very high-quality German manufacturer of gasoline-powered gardening, forestry and agriculture equipment. Compared to the traditional 2-stroke engine, the new MM4 4-stroke engine increased power output by up to 30% and reduced emissions by an astonishing 90%. Milwaukee has never produced gasoline-powered tools or equipment, but has recently ventured into a battery alternative called MX FUEL, more on that later. Makita recently upgraded its 10.8 V sub-compact battery to 12 V.
The new 12 V “slidable” lithium-ion battery has multi-contact terminals to ensure more stable contact, even under extreme operating or vibration conditions. It was a bold step, which has proven to be crucial in establishing and maintaining Makita as one of the best-selling brands in this category. Before making a decision about which brand to select, I would research exactly what tools you need, looking for the one that best suits your needs. If you were to pressure me to make a decision, I would personally opt for the Milwaukee M18, but you'll only notice the difference with the high-end M18 FUEL tools.
Milwaukee has been a success when it comes to wireless solutions, which is not surprising, since the original TTI company, founded in 1985, was created essentially to produce rechargeable battery packs for use in tools and appliances, it is its culture and its legacy. The phenomenal growth of battery-powered tools, often in favor of wired or gasoline products, demonstrates that the market is rapidly moving towards wireless solutions. There's no doubt that battery technology is Milwaukee's core competency, as the brand pushes boundaries to offer a completely cable-free workplace. Spread the cost with Klarna financing on orders over 99€ including VAT.
Get access to exclusive commercial pricing and more when you apply today, find out more. All of this was prompted by another recent comment from a reader who insists that Dewalt, Makita and Milwaukee are all owned by the same company. And while Dewalt and Milwaukee have sister tool brands, Makita has no relationship with any other tool brand. Of all the major brands of power tools, Makita is the most competent and complete in OPE.
They have a very wide range of tools on the X2 18 V and 18 V platforms, together with professional-level gas equipment that has its 4-stroke MM4 technology. Freud Produzioni Industriali S, P, A, Freud America, Inc., Bosch will acquire the accessories business for power tools from the Freud Group, based in Milan (Italy). Apex Tool Group is owned by Bain Capital and was formerly a joint venture between Danaher and Cooper Tools. I just wanted to add that I know it's not exactly a tool company for merchants, but I'm guessing it's someone's tool company: Oreck vacuums are also owned by TTI.
Milwaukee was the first power tool brand to launch lithium-ion battery technology, just a few months before Makita, with its V18 range. They are not their own entity, but a subsidiary company of Milwaukee's famous technology giant for manufacturing tools. Sometimes it seems that Milwaukee and its sister tool brands work closely together, such as when Milwaukee, Ridgid* and Ryobi launch similar types of products in the same year, but we've asked several people and they've assured us that it's always just a coincidence. This is a valid opinion, but I must point out that Milwaukee Tool has also invested heavily in new factories and in the expansion of existing facilities, which means more jobs.
As you said, Milwaukee has been beating the crap out of Dewalt in terms of 12V tools, especially mechanical tools. Therefore, Dewalt's tool development could be supported by dedicated and group efforts, while Milwaukee tends to operate more autonomously. It looks like Empire could be taking advantage of some of TTI's overseas production capabilities, and Milwaukee Tool is also taking advantage of some of Empire's domestic capabilities. The Milwaukee M12 range has featured the same style of 12 V red lithium-ion “attachable” battery since its creation, meaning that all tools are compatible with older and advanced versions, i.
The high-end brand position and simplistic approach alerted Milwaukee's power tool brand to Protrade: the synergy between the two companies was too similar to ignore. . .
