Stanley sell Delta

[Gil Knowles]

This could be either good news or bad. Hopefully good.
http://blog.woodworking-magazine.com/blog/Stanley+Sells+Delta+Will+Move+To+SC.aspx?utm_sourc e=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+woodworkingmagazine+%28Woodwo rking+Magazine%29&utm_content=Google+International

[Van Huskey]

I suppose we will find out...

It concerns me in that we can't afford to lose many more woodworking equipment companies. With fewer and fewer around to press the competition innovation will stagnate and prices will rise.

[Chris Padilla]

I'm waiting for he VanHuskey line.... ;)

[mickey cassiba]

Oh brave new world...

[Van Huskey]

I'm waiting for he VanHuskey line.... ;)


I am 100% sure I could make a small fortune in the machine business, but I have the get the large fortune to start with. :)

Plus my line would be all bandsaws, 12"+ jointers and drill presses with TIR measured in nanometers, thus my powerball winnings would be scratch-off winnings probably before the prototypes were even finished.

I think one can make half a living making things they are passionate about or a lot of money making a product they are ambivalent about, it is the RARE person/company that can do very well making something they are passionate about.

Delta's business model has baffled me over the last few years, they have some really great gems in their line and then seem to just lose interest. They owned the hobby shop 8" jointer market with the DJ-20 and when the patent expired they just let PM make the really cool PJ-882 and everyone else sell a PERFECT copy and they had nothing to top their previous effort. They don't even bother to put a helical head on it and it still have "only" 1.5hp. They build a great table saw kinda in the US but it ends up fighting with the SS PCS which has its appeal and the PM2000 which is also a "large" TS and WMH is willing to discount on a regular basis. The fight they may actually win is the 800-1000 drill press "war" but last time I checked 800-900 dollar woodworking DPs don't make much of a dent in a balance sheet. There was a long time where Delta, PM and Walker Turner were the kings of light duty woodworking machines WT is gone, Delta seems to be on life support and PM is plodding along trying to stay ahead in the new world.

[Paul McGaha]

I hope they do business something like General does. Offer both the imports and the American made stuff. Something for everybody.

And pattern their customer service after Grizzly.

I hope it works.

PHM

[Steven Hsieh]

Here’s the company website
http://www.toty.com.tw/english/index.php
It would be interesting what they do next.

[Matt Meiser]

I'm sure the sale to a Taiwanese company can only mean good things to American manufacturing. :rolleyes:

[Peter Quinn]

This should be a very high profile beginning to a long term trend where Asian manufacturers move from being foreign suppliers of machinery and other goods for US domestic brands to being owners of the domestic distribution chain. PM may be a venerable US brand, but in case nobody had noticed, WMH is not. They are as foreign as Toty, just not Asian. So is PM really a US company?

My thoughts? At least Delta is no longer being run by either a hair dryer company or a toaster oven manufacturer, so that should help focus their product line. In that regard, I do wonder what level of support will be offered for their present and former line up, and what direction the new bosses will take the brand. B&D sure didn't do anything positive for this brand in terms of long term planning, and Stanley, a world leader at making a profit making tools handed them off like a hot potato. I do hope they get things transitioned quickly and have the capitol to survive this move. Who in their right mind would buy anything from Delta in light of that announcement? I have been eyeballing their bench top lathe but I'd hate to have to make my own parts down the road should they drop the product and quit supporting it as part of this reorganization

[Chip Lindley]

I'll be waiting for a nice, clean VanHuskeyLine machine to appear on CL! Even IF I could afford to buy new, not sure I would in many instances.

[Bruce Wrenn]

So if I get this correct, Ryobi now owns Delta?

[Van Huskey]

I'll be waiting for a nice, clean VanHuskeyLine machine to appear on CL! Even IF I could afford to buy new, not sure I would in many instances.

I can tell you this, my (never gonna happen) line of bandsaws would look very Art Deco much like many of the high end Delta bandsaws from the past but even more so. They would have external belts covered with AD guards, completely tool free guides and beautiful colors with many options for color combinations. The idea being (apart from the guides) is that if nobody buys them to cut wood maybe I could sell them to the NYC loft crowd as kinetic sculture, that and I would enjoy them. Also, be aware my SMC friend would get them at cost, thats why I would be a horrible owner of a good company.

[Van Huskey]

So if I get this correct, Ryobi now owns Delta?

My understanding is they are a SUPPLIER to Ryobi and do not own them, that is One World. Ryobi's US base is right around the corner from where they are locating though.

[Jack Pinkham]

Milwaukee is also a Taiwanese-owned brand
http://www.ttigroup.com/en/our_brands

[Rick Fisher]

The purchase makes a bunch of sense.. The machinery is made in Taiwan or China already, for a Taiwanese manufacturer to be independant, they need a brand name to stick on there machinery..

People are not likely to pay $2000 for a Chang Type or Tru-Pro Jointer.. but paint it grey and put a Delta badge on it..

Delta is a dogs breakfast.. As Van said.. where is the Helical cutterhead ? Even Felder and SCM will supply machinery with a Byrd head ... The woodworking community has become owners of more expensive sanding machinery in the past 5 years.. other than one small machine, what has Delta done to keep up ? Delta has been falling behind for a long time.. If the new owners market the company right, there is lots of room for improvement and growth..

[Ron Bontz]

And to think I just ordered a Delta 18-900L.

[Steven Hsieh]

Milwaukee is also a Taiwanese-owned brand
http://www.ttigroup.com/en/our_brands

Nope it isn't
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Techtronic_Industries

[Jack Pinkham]

Nope it isn't
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Techtronic_Industries

You're right, they have nothing to do with Taiwan. They are headquartered in Hong Kong, and their Asian assembly plants are in "Greater China", otherwise known as, PRC.
http://www.ttigroup.com/en/contact_us/divisions/asia

[David Prince]

I am 100% sure I could make a small fortune in the machine business, but I have the get the large fortune to start with. :)

Plus my line would be all bandsaws, 12"+ jointers and drill presses with TIR measured in nanometers, thus my powerball winnings would be scratch-off winnings probably before the prototypes were even finished.

You can definitely say your 12 inch jointer is set up correctly if you can slide a scratch off lottery ticket across it and it scrapes off the gray matter and leaves the ticket. :D

That could be your gimmick! Sure other power tools will stop if you put your finger into them, but can they scratch off a lottery ticket? LOL

[David Thompson 27577]

Perhaps I have had the wrong impression.......

I thought that Black & Decker has been buying up power tool companies; that they own Porter Cable, Delta, Dewalt, and some others. I'm thinking that they also bought Stanley, but thought it would be a good idea to incorporate that name into the corporate name (could be wrong there, maybe it was a merger).

And IMO, most of the stuff they make under all of those various names, is mediocre-quality stuff. There are exceptions, like Dewalt's 12" slider, most of the PC routers......

So when you titled the thread "Stanley sells Delta", I was thrown off a bit.........


And here's one more thought on what the article says....... The new company will be investing "more than $3.6 million and expects to generate 40 new jobs". For an equipment manufacturer that will be building tablesaws, jointers, planers, and such, that investment is much like spitting in the ocean. If that's how the new owners will be handling their business, perhaps they should expect Black-and-Decker style results.

And maybe we should too.

[Jim O'Dell]

I guess Porter Cable doesn't move. That will be odd, not thinking of the two as different product lines of the same company. Of course, that line in the sand has been obliterated in the past few years by B&D, but it would be nice to see them back in their former glory. Jim.

[Dave MacArthur]

But NOW the B&D thinking of shifting the production of some of the old "Delta" items to the PC line becomes clear! Drill press, 14" band saw, etc... "What? We've been making that with PC for a while, you don't own all the rights to that stuff...".

[Rick Fisher]

Stanley and Black and Decker merged.. both companies where about the same size.. Stanley however remained in control, essentially taking Black and Decker into their own operation.

40 jobs and 3.6 million dollars is simply the distribution warehouse and perhaps moving the Unisaw plant. The rest of the machinery is made in Asia...

The company that purchased Delta appears to be a company that makes smaller electric tools for DeWalt, Ryobi etc.. Motors and Aluminum castings etc.. They produce for Sears and Home Depot.. basic, retail type product. They do not appear to be a heavy machinery company.

Buying Delta does not mean they have to start manufacturing heavier machines.. they can simply use the same manufacturers that Delta was buying from already. I think its a positive move. The line should be expanded and upgraded with stuff that became popular in the last decade..

[David Weaver]

I suppose we will find out...

It concerns me in that we can't afford to lose many more woodworking equipment companies. With fewer and fewer around to press the competition innovation will stagnate and prices will rise.

From a US toolmaker standpoint, which innovations are really needed? Sawstop is really the only thing I can think of for years, at least a game changing innovation. Generally, the high quality thoughtful design has been coming out of europe, and a lot of the stuff in the US has become more affordable but not necessarily a lot better than any older designs aside from some increases in safety (which is also still behind europe on tablesaws, etc).

[Howard Acheson]

>>>> So if I get this correct, Ryobi now owns Delta?

No, Delta is owned by TOTY. TOTY is not affiliated with TTI who owns Ryobi. TOTY makes some tools sold under the Ryobi brand name as I understand it.

[Howard Acheson]

<<<< Milwaukee is also a Taiwanese-owned brand

Not quite. Milwaukee is owned by TTI. TTI is a Hong Kong company. Milwaukee has retained its development and manufacturing facilities under the TTI ownership as far as I know.

[Michael Schneider]

This could be either good news or bad. Hopefully good.
http://blog.woodworking-magazine.com/blog/Stanley+Sells+Delta+Will+Move+To+SC.aspx?utm_sourc e=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+woodworkingmagazine+%28Woodwo rking+Magazine%29&utm_content=Google+International

We sell to many manufacturing companies. It is getting really hard to be an American manufacturing company. Darned shame.......

[Greg Portland]

It concerns me in that we can't afford to lose many more woodworking equipment companies. With fewer and fewer around to press the competition innovation will stagnate and prices will rise.I am hard pressed to think of any meaningful innovations from 'old' US tool companies. How long did it take to get a riving knife on a Unisaw? The real innovation is happening with startup companies (Sawstop, Incra, Byrd, etc.). As long as those companies (+ European manufacturers) are pushing the envelope we will see competition and innovation.

[Van Huskey]

Regarding innovation and US "importers". I agree with the exception of SS there has not been much in the way of large innovation by the American importers and the real ideas are coming from Europe. However, the American importers have been slowly adopting some of this design BUT at a price point that more people can swallow. WMH, Grizzly and Rikon have jointer/planer combo machines. Byrd and helical clone heads are really penetrating the market. I am not saying the US importers are leading the charge BUT they are leading the charge in the lower cost market. If we whittle the importers of this equipment down to one or two the only thing they need to do to hold or gain market share is keep the cost low to the consumer, as long as it is well below the European machines they have no pressure to incorporate any of the higher dollar machines innovations.

[Paul Wunder]

This whole thread reminds me of the old Abbott and Costello baseball routine: "Who's on First"

[Rod Sheridan]

If we whittle the importers of this equipment down to one or two the only thing they need to do to hold or gain market share is keep the cost low to the consumer, as long as it is well below the European machines they have no pressure to incorporate any of the higher dollar machines innovations.

Boy, you're a ray of sunshine aren't you?:D

Unfortunately I fear that you're correct.

I guess General is left, they make machinery in Canada, and import machinery from Asia.

They would be a good company to be able to provide two grades of equipment, as well as field service, something they do at present.

Unfortunately they aren't innovating anything that I'm aware of, so they're following instead of leading.

As for Delta's new 3.6 million dollar facility and 40 employees in South Carolina, sounds to me like just enough investment to open a warehouse to distribute Asian machinery, and provide 40 low paying warehouse jobs...........Big deal..........Regards, Rod.

[Brian Penning]

A bit more news.....

DELTA® Woodworking Machinery Has A New Home - In Anderson, South Carolina

(Anderson, SC, January 18, 2011) - Chang Type Industrial Co. Ltd., a Taiwan-based manufacturing company, has agreed to purchase the Delta brand of woodworking equipment and machinery from Stanley Black & Decker. The deal is expected to close on February 4, 2011.

The new, independent company, Delta Power Equipment Corporation, will be based in Anderson County, South Carolina and led by Bryan Whiffen, who has been named President & Chief Executive Officer. Norm MacDonald has also joined the company as an Executive Vice President & Chief Operating Officer. Both Whiffen and MacDonald have years of experience in the power tool industry, and have been responsible for manufacturing and marketing such brands as Ryobi, Homelite, Milwaukee and Ridgid.

The new Delta company will continue to provide a complete line of professional woodworking equipment and machinery, and will continue to build the world-class Unisaw, as well as the Biesemeyer® accessories, in the United States. Plans are to move the manufacturing equipment from Jackson, Tennessee to the company's facility in Anderson.

Once fully operational, the Anderson facility will include manufacturing, R&D, engineering, sales and administrative functions.

"We are pleased to be able to say that the Unisaw will continue to be made in the USA," said Whiffen. "We are also excited for this opportunity to invest in the great Delta brand so that we can bring high quality, innovative woodworking equipment to Delta's loyal customers.

Delta Power Equipment Corp. is working to ensure that the fine sales and service that Delta dealers and woodworkers have come to expect will continue.

"Stanley Black & Decker has been very supportive of this sale and have agreed to help us make the transition as seamless as possible for our dealers and our customers," added Whiffen.

Customers and dealers can continue to obtain information on sales and service for Delta woodworking equipment at www.deltamachinery.com.