9 years ago, Stanley Black & Decker acquired the Craftsman tool brand from Sears. They pledged to “leverage existing & expand US manufacturing footprint.”
Here are some of the other things they said at the time:
We are committed to bringing Craftsman’s manufacturing back to the United States, using materials from around the world…
Stanley Black & Decker will focus on U.S. manufacturing, using global materials…
Stanley Black & Decker also believes it can bring innovation and investment back to Craftsman…
It was only a few years earlier that Craftsman was still known for hand tools that were predominantly made in the USA.
Back in 2008, Sears was still able to boast in their Craftsman tool catalog that all of their sockets and wrenches were made in the USA.
At that time ALL Craftsman sockets and wrenches were “proudly made in the USA.”
Sears gave up on that.
When Stanley Black & Decker bought the Craftsman brand from Sears, things were surely going to turn around. Right? They would do things differently. I was sure of it because they sounded so confident. They’d “leverage and expand” their USA tool manufacturing.
For emphasis:
We are committed to bringing Craftsman’s manufacturing back to the United States.
Stanley Black & Decker will focus on U.S. manufacturing, using global materials.
What have they done to honor that commitment?
There used to be some USA-made Craftsman air compressors, but I can only find imported ones now.
The newest Craftsman steel storage product – tool carts – are made in Asia.
A few years ago there was a batch of Craftsman cordless power tools that were assembled in the USA. I haven’t seen such labeling in a long time.
My Craftsman shovel from around 12 years ago had “USA” on it. Their new ones don’t.
It seems to me that Craftsman is moving further away from USA manufacturing.
Does Craftsman have any USA-made hammers? Screwdrivers? Pliers? Ratchets, sockets, or wrenches? Pin punches, cold chisels, and center punches? Aviation snips? Hand saws?
It has been 9 years. Where are Craftsman’s USA-made tools?
What upsets me, aside from the waiting, is my belief that they can honor their commitment, but that Craftsman and Stanley Black & Decker just no longer care to.
