Posted on 07/23/2023 8:34:39 AM PDT by rod5591
Stanley Black & Decker acquired the Craftsman brand in 2017 to revitalize it and bring manufacturing back to the United States. The Fort Worth factory, announced in 2019, was meant to take this vision further by forging iconic Craftsman wrenches, ratchets, and sockets from American steel. The company believed that advanced automation would allow the plant to compete cost-effectively with imported products while meeting consumer demand for U.S.-made tools.
Former employees revealed that the factory’s automated system experienced critical problems that couldn’t be resolved before the company closed the facility. The pandemic also disrupted the production timeline, preventing proper testing of the new system at scale. Some adjustments required new tooling from overseas suppliers, causing delays of weeks. The factory struggled to achieve its production goals despite spending millions of dollars on making the machines work.
Attrition among experienced tool-making experts and turnover within Stanley’s tool division further contributed to the factory’s struggles. The absence of seasoned employees with deep knowledge of the manufacturing process hindered problem-solving efforts.
Stanley Black & Decker’s ambitious plan to automate the manufacturing of Craftsman tools in Fort Worth, Texas, faced insurmountable challenges, leading to the eventual closure of the factory. The difficulty of automating manual tasks and replicating the skills of human workers in a fully automated system became evident. While reshoring manufacturing is a growing trend, this case highlights the importance of considering the complexities of transitioning to automated processes. The search for the right balance between automation and human expertise remains a significant challenge for the tool industry and manufacturers across various sectors.
(Excerpt) Read more at msn.com ...
So, knowledgeable employees are an valuable asset. Gee, who knew?
The machines were probably imported from China, Korea, or Mexico and didn’t speak English machine language.🤔🤔🤣🤣
Bttt
Even back in the 1970s Craftsman power tools were mediocre.
Their hand mechanic tools were decent for a hobby mechanic but true professionals bought Proto, MAC or SnapOn.
I have a Craftsman Router I bought when Sears Essentials was going out of business.
It is a Bosch with the Craftsman name on it.
K
None of their power tools are professional grade.
Just like Black and Decker are crap too.
Stanley hasn’t made a good tool since the 1970s.
When WWII started we didn't suddenly have all these skilled workers. Industry trained them. And industry of that time did a darn fine job.
Stanley screwdrivers are something you might buy at the the 7-11 or
drugstore on Christmas day when everything else is closed.
“Their hand mechanic tools were decent for a hobby mechanic but true professionals bought Proto, MAC or SnapOn.”
I got my first Craftsman tool set in the 1980’s and have broken and replaced all the ratchets many times. I also got set of Craftsman tools made from the 60’s or early 70’s from my father. Once again I have broken all of those rachets a few times too.
These ratchets are made with nylon gears that have a real smooth action but will break if you use them hard. I must have ten of these and I have a special drawer in my tool cabinet for the broken ones. Once I have a few, I take them back in to replace them as they have a lifetime warranty. I first replaced them at Sears, then K-mart, and now Lowes.
“apocalyptic offshoring of manufacturing to China”
The fundamental question is why has that happened.
Stanley Black and Decker are low end items they don’t make good tools like Craftsman did.
“Because no one needs food or medicine, that will show ‘em!!”
If we need them that much we will make our own.
Necessity is the mother of invention.
I remember when Sears Essentials had a file cabinet in the front of the store with Craftsman rachets in it.
I asked the manager once. He said they replaced almost one a day
The thing is I remember buying a couple Stanley chisels at a estate sale for $1 each.
They were very old.
Probably early 1900s. They actually have really good steal in them.
Just like the old Stanley planes were good quality.
If we need them that much we will make our own.Necessity is the mother of invention.
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Permitting and enviro regs say that the process will take years - in some cases, it has taken a decade without resolution in the courts. Raw material mining is limited every day - more and more. Major rare earth deposits are locked up. Same for many other essential minerals obtained by mining.
Medicines - we do not manufacture the precursors to make the drugs, and are subject to the same permitting processes as mining.
Food. We have been a net importer of food for 40 years due to the same problems as above.
You cannot invent your way out of materials shortages.
I bought my first set of METRIC Craftsman socket set when I was 14(1977) so I could work on my Kawasaki KDX 175 enduro motorcycle.
My dad who was an owner operator truck driver only had standard English sockets. He had Snap On tools mostly. Although he had a MAC 1” drive socket set that we would use when we were working on the lug nuts and wheel bearings of the Semi tractor.
The MAC socket wrench was about 18” long. We would then put a 4’ long 2” diameter steel pipe on the handle of that to break loose the lug nuts on the front semi tractor wheels. If that didn’t work we had a 1 1/2” 6’ long steel bar that you could stick into the other end of the pipe.
I still have that 6’ steel bar out in my shed. It was made for loosening rocks when you were digging post holes. Think of a bench press bar squared on one end and angled to a point. They just do not make tools like that anymore.
Even before Snap On there was another hand tool company called Blue-Point. Those wrenches were even better quality than Snap On. I have a some adjustable wrenches and sockets made by them. They are all pre 1950s. I have my dads Snap On mechanics tool chest in my garage. It is one of the red 12 drawer models from the 1950s.
The guy who owns my local lumber yard has a collection of Stanley planes in his office. Many are the old moulding planes. From back when they made quality tools.
NO.
Goverment enforced panic, at all levels including Federal, also disrupted.
Government at all levels from President down to City Council deserve blame for the economic and social disruption associated with the over-hyped Wuhanic Plague.
Our industrial problems are almost entirely GOVERNMENT INFLICTED. They will not be solved by tariffs or port closures. They will only be solved by reducing the size, scope, power, and cost of government.
They will only be solved by reducing the size, scope, power, and cost of government.
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true, but that does not effect envirowacko lawsuits, regulations, public perceptions - which they have been trained to believe are facts - like anthropomorphic climate change, etc.
All changes that the Dems and most women will reject. So you start out with ~50% of the public against any real changes to bring back actual manufacturing where the process is entirely in-house from raw resources to finished product - what H. Ford invented, what the Chinese have successfully copied, and which we have forgotten.
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