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DeWalt

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For the place name in Missouri City, Texas, see DeWalt, Missouri City, Texas.
DeWalt
Company typeSubsidiary
IndustryManufacturing
Founded1924; 100 years ago (1924)[1]
HeadquartersTowson, Maryland, U.S.
ProductsPower tools
ParentStanley Black & Decker
Websitewww.dewalt.com

DeWalt (trademarked as DᴇWALT) is an American worldwide brand of power tools and hand tools for the construction, manufacturing and woodworking industries. It is a subsidiary of Stanley Black & Decker.

History

The original company was started in 1924 by Raymond E. DeWalt, the inventor of the radial arm saw. The company grew quickly and was reorganized and re-incorporated in 1947 as DeWalt Inc.

After buying the company in 1949, American Machine & Foundry Co., Inc. sold it to Black & Decker in 1960.

Black & Decker divested itself of the radial arm saw manufacturing branch in 1989, selling it to two executives. Radial arm saws that use the original DeWalt design can still be obtained from the Original Saw Co.[2]

In 1992, Black & Decker started a major effort to rebrand its professional quality and high-end power tools to DeWalt. Currently, DeWalt manufactures and sells more than 200 different power hand-tools and 800 accessories. In 1994, DeWalt took over the German wood-working power tool producer ELU. DeWalt increased their line of tools using ELU's technology. DeWalt is now a popular brand of tools for commercial contractors.

In 2004, Black and Decker bought rival power tool manufacturer Porter-Cable and combined it with DeWalt in Jackson, Tennessee.[3]

In 2011, DeWalt launched a line of contractors' hand tools (including utility knives, pliers, adjustable wrenches, tape measures, saws, and hammers).[4] In 2013, the line was expanded to include mechanics' tools (wrenches, ratchets, and sockets).[5][6]

On Veterans Day of 2013, DeWalt issued a press release stating it would be bringing some assembly of a small selection of their products to the US using globally manufactured parts from Brazil, China, the Czech Republic, Italy, Mexico, the UK, and the US. The products assembled in the US would be branded under the label, "Built in the USA with global materials."[7]

As of 2015, DeWalt has seven manufacturing facilities building DeWalt branded products in the US: New Britain, CT, Hampstead, MD, Shelbyville, KY, Greenfield, IN, Cheraw, SC, Charlotte, NC, and Jackson, TN.[8]

In April 2016, DeWalt created an Android-powered smartphone designed for building industry workers. The device costs £379 ($544), is designed to survive a 2m drop onto concrete and can operate in temperatures ranging from -20C to 60C. [9]

On September 1, 2016, DeWalt debuted an industry-first hybrid voltage battery pack it branded "FlexVolt". The pack runs at either 20V (18V nominal) or 60V (54V nominal) depending upon whether it is placed into a 60V FlexVolt tool or one of their 20V Max tools. The pack switches between connecting the battery cells in series (60V, 2Ah) or parallel (20V, 6Ah) depending upon the activated pin configuration determined by the power tool. [10]

Black & Decker

Main article: Black & Decker

Black & Decker was long associated with lighter-weight consumer tools such as household appliances, and not the heavy-duty equipment professional builders want. In the late 1980s Michael Hammes, executive vice president and president of the company's power tools and home improvement group, introduced the "Acura concept," a notion Honda utilized to enter the upscale automobile market. Black & Decker found it useful to relinquish a name with little appeal to many consumers in the market for construction tools.[11]

DeWalt was acquired in 1960 and continued to produce radial arm saws and other large, stationary, power equipment, Black & Decker expanded the DeWalt name and used this to replace their "Construction Grade" trademark in 1992.[12] In a US-wide market survey done by Black & Decker before its reintroduction, the name DeWalt was recognized by 70 percent of tradesmen. The black and yellow DeWalt design, often associated with safety equipment and advertised on display, helped propel Black & Decker's profits to new heights.

Racing

DeWalt Ford Fusion in 2008, driven by Matt Kenseth.

DeWalt Tools sponsored NASCAR driver Matt Kenseth from 1999 through to the 2009 season. In this time period, Kenseth won 18 races, the 2000 Sprint Cup Rookie of the Year Award, 2003 Sprint Cup Series Championship, 2004 Sprint Cup All Star Race and the 2009 Daytona 500. However, in July 2009, DeWalt announced that they would not be renewing their sponsorship deal with Kenseth and Roush Fenway Racing due to the poor economic conditions in the construction industry. DeWalt had also sponsored MotoGP rider, Ben Spies, for the 2010 racing season. DeWalt returned to NASCAR sponsorship in 2011, but on the #9 Richard Petty Motorsports Ford Fusion driven by Marcos Ambrose. This sponsorship ended after 2014, when Ambrose departed the Sprint Cup Series, with DeWalt choosing to re-unite with Kenseth, who now drives the #20 for Joe Gibbs Racing, for six races a year beginning in 2015.

References

  1. ^ "DeWalt History". DeWalt. Retrieved 18 May 2015.
  2. ^ "The Original Saw Company". Retrieved 12 December 2012.
  3. ^ Milani, Kate (2005-04-15). "Black and Decker shuttering N.C. plant". Baltimore Business Journal. Retrieved 2015-07-01.
  4. ^ Deutsch, Stuart (2011-04-05). "Dewalt Launches New Line of Hand Tools!". ToolGuyd. Retrieved 2014-03-12.
  5. ^ Amstutz, Jay (2013-04-22). "Dewalt Mechanic Hand Tools & Complete Sets". Cop Tool. Retrieved 2014-03-12.
  6. ^ Deutsch, Stuart (2013-04-16). "New Dewalt Ratchets, Sockets, and Mechanics Tool Sets". ToolGuyd. Retrieved 2014-03-12.
  7. ^ "Frequently Asked Questions". Archived from the original on 24 December 2013. Retrieved 22 December 2013. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  8. ^ "Tools made in the USA with global materials | DEWALT". americanpride.dewalt.com. Retrieved 2015-12-17.
  9. ^ "Construction giant Dewalt unveils smartphone". BBC News. Retrieved 19 April 2016.
  10. ^ "DeWalt FlexVolt Technology". Pro Tool Reviews. Retrieved 23 June 2016.
  11. ^ Sellers, Patricia (1992-02-24). "Black & Decker New Selling Tool: The Acura Concept". Fortune. Retrieved 2015-07-01.
  12. ^ Slaton, Hunter R. Vault Guide to the Top Manufacturing Employers. Vault Publishing, 2006, p.71
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