Both brands are owned by much larger parent companies, Stanley Black & Decker in the case of Craftsman, and Techtronic Industries (TTI) in the case of Milwaukee. As such, neither brand makes most of their tools in the U.S. Department of State at this time. Craftsman is a line of tools, lawn and garden equipment and workwear.
Originally a private brand created by Sears, the brand is now owned by Stanley Black & Decker. Five years ago, when Stanley Black & Decker acquired the Craftsman tool brand from Sears, they committed to focusing on American production. Brands such as Ryobi, Dirt Devil, Oreck, Milwaukee Electric and Hoover, for example, are owned by Techtronic Industries, based in Hong Kong. Stanley Black & Decker, based in Connecticut, owns many brands beyond its name, including Lenox, Craftsman, Irwin Tools, DeWalt and CribMaster.
It seems like everyone wants tools from USA Craftsman, but it will be interesting to see if those customers are willing to pay the price that a high-quality tool made in the USA is likely to demand. UU. When Emerson's 30-year contract to manufacture Craftsman tools expired, Emerson had to return equipment owned by Sears. I really like Craftsman's V Series tools, and maybe there's room here, in this seemingly online-only product line, for tools made in the USA.
The knowledge, skill and craftsmanship that went into making yesterday's Craftsman tools are gone forever. Fair enough in the Proto comparison, but to be honest, there are so many high-quality, rarely used old Craftsman tools that sell almost for nothing on eBay, that I don't see why anyone would want to buy something new. It is now supplied with the Montezuma Tool Storage model 714 prefix, but the Craftsman tool storage sold in Lowes is still manufactured in Waterloo. The standard Craftsman line is marketed as comparable in quality to other mid-priced brands, such as UltraPro (NAPA), Westward, Husky and Kobalt.
Craftsman's main licensees in the rest of Europe were Bosch and they sold products at retailers and Amazon. If, for any reason, your Craftsman hand tool doesn't offer total satisfaction, return it to any Sears store or other Craftsman outlet in the United States for free repair or replacement. So bringing the Craftsman brand back to life isn't an easy challenge in this crowded marketplace, even if that's what SBD really wants to do. Perhaps SBD wanted a quick way to test the market for true premium Craftsman tools before finalizing the US designs.
I would follow the advice of another publication and buy used American-made Craftsman tools on eBay, Etsy, or at your local flea market. When they bought Craftsman with 95% new products, it probably wasn't going to change the rules of the game or translate into anything good, but 5% of me hoped it would be a renewed future for such an iconic brand.
