Another acquisition-Stanley Tools buys Black & Decker

John D · **Joined:** Mon Aug 23, 2004 2:28 pm **Posts:** 485

http://www.courant.com/business/hc-stan ... 8493.story

Curious that the smaller (by sales) company is buying the larger. Preservation tie-in: do you use any tools/supplies made only by Black and Decker, and could that product line be discontinued at some point in the future as a result of this merger?

Bobharbison · **Joined:** Fri Dec 03, 2004 9:42 pm **Posts:** 3011

I think more folks would be worried about Stanley tools than Black & Decker.

There are a lot of competitors to the Black & Decker line out there, and so I don't think there's a lot of concern over not being able to get replacements.

On the other hand, Stanley makes a very nice line of industrial railroad tools. Track drills, saws, spikers, that sort of thing. They do have competitors of course (nature abhors a vacuum) but not nearly as many. Glad to know they'll still be around.

superheater · **Joined:** Sun Aug 22, 2004 11:54 pm **Posts:** 2606

Curious that the smaller (by sales) company is buying the larger.

In the 80's this was called the "PAC MAN" strategy, after the ubiquitous maze game of the time.

Termite7 · **Joined:** Thu Aug 21, 2008 8:29 pm **Posts:** 397

To the common observer one would never know that many of the consumer end power tool companies are all now owned by the same group. B&D, DeWalt and I think Porter-Cable are blood brothers. B&D has slipped into the lowest spot in the pack. The B&D that made Grand Pa's sander is no longer in business. Their market is now DIY folks who buy the tool, use it once and then sell it in a tag sale. They are cheap and in some cases they barely work. Porter-Cable (which was once innovative and durable) has become somewhat of a specialty shop tool AND throw-away cheapy. DeWalt has kept it's position of being the construction industries tool of choice. Some of them are well-respected tools.

For quality and innovation in wood tools you can look towards Makita, Milwaukee, Rigid and sometimes Bosch. (Skil is now owned by Bosch and is their low-end consumer entry.) Festool offers some amazing tools imported from Germany but man oh man are they expensive (you get what you pay for).

Stay away from B&D, Craftsman and Ryobi. You will occasionally find a gem among these offerings but usually they are such junk. Craftsman has a great hybrid table saw for example...but most of their tools are flimsy. Mixed reviews for Hitachi.

The heavy shop tool market is completely dominated by imported castings. Even stalwart Delta relies on castings from Taiwan...smaller parts applied in the US. Powermatic and Grizzly are on the top of the heap and offer some amazing tools...Grizzly has gained a great respect for the quality of their affordable tools, they carry metal shop tools as well. Jet gets better all the time.

If you need cheap "disposable" tools for rough service (angle grinders for example) you might try Harbor Freight...they offer a 30-day return policy that they stand by. These are not the best tools in the world but if you are putting them in the hands of volunteers why would you spend $150 for a 4" grinder when a very usable tool could be had for $29? (They are also a great source of Vinyl-Nitrile gloves, clamps, sanding pads, air hose connectors and electric fly-zappers.)

I have no financial interests in any tool company...I just thought this would be informative for people who buy and use power tools for restoration purposes. (I cannot be held responsible for the deaths of flies swatted by afore mentioned electric fly swatter.)

Ed Kapuscinski · **Posted:** Wed Nov 04, 2009 11:52 am

This is quite timely!

Thanks for the rundown.

Brian Norden · **Posted:** Thu Nov 05, 2009 4:12 am

superheater wrote:

Curious that the smaller (by sales) company is buying the larger.

To me it sounds more like a combination of equals. But look for consolidation of head office, production and distribution facilities:

CNN money wrote:

The merger will save about $350 million in costs over the next three years, the statement said.

Once the deal is complete, Stanley shareholders will own approximately 50.5% of the equity of the combined company and Black & Decker shareholders will own about 49.5%. Six members from Black & Decker's board of directors will join the nine current Stanley members.