who makes matco torque wrench?

[nuklbstr83]

does anyone know who makes the torque wrenches that matco sells?

i have to buy a 3/4" one, so i'm shopping around....

matco's is:
TRD600R 3/4" DRIVE TORQUE WRENCH
Features & Benefits

45 tooth reversible round head ratchet design
Torque range: 100 - 600 ft. lbs..
Chrome-plated, hardened steel body
Comes in protective steel storage case


Detailed Specs

Graduation
2.5 ft.lbs
Head Style
Round/Fixed
Overall Length
40-1/2"
Range
100-600 ft.lbs.

 

[Cope]

Look on eBay at CDI. They are a division of Snap On, and have good torque wrenches for a very nice price.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/CDI-TORQUE-...847?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item1e568ab557

 

[Turbo_Prop]

I thought they were made by Armstrong.

 

[dnschmidt]

They are actually made by Mitt Romney. Bain Capitol owns APEX Tool group which includes Gearwrench, K-D, Armstrong and Matco.

 

[Cope]

They are actually made by Mitt Romney. Bain Capitol owns APEX Tool group which includes Gearwrench, K-D, Armstrong and Matco.

Matco, KD, Jacobs, Easco, Fluke and others were owned by Danaher. When did they sell?

 

[firebox40dash5]

Matco, KD, Jacobs, Easco, Fluke and others were owned by Danaher. When did they sell?

I do believe Bain Capital had divested itself Apex or Danaher (I don't recall which they'd bought into ATM) as well.

No idea on who really "makes" them. Dunno about the 3/4 either, but the smaller ones are shared with other Apex/Danaher brands... even the Husky pear-heads at HD are US-made and identical except for stamping and the grip.

 

[Steinmetz]

"...They are actually made by Mitt Romney…"

Who?

 

[Tarheelgarage]

Home Depot....

 

[Treeman]

They are actually made by Mitt Romney. Bain Capitol owns APEX Tool group which includes Gearwrench, K-D, Armstrong and Matco.

Add the old U.S. Craftsman and NAPA to the list of torque wrenches (also the current Home Depot ones). All of them "are/were" made by JS Technology Inc. in Georgia. The current Matco and Gearwrench still have the same handle style, suggesting JS Technology, but I cannot confirm if JS Technology is part of APEX. They don't show up on the APEX website.

 

[wild cowboy]

The best torque wrenches are made by the company that made the ones that made Snap-On's reputation, Precision Instruments. Still made in USA, they are the most accurate USA made torque wrench, and sell for a fraction of the Snap-On price, since you are buying direct OEM.

Shop around for good pricing on these at the larger online tool companies (Tooltopia, etc.)

 

[dnschmidt]

Mitt bought APEX from Danaher. APEX tool I believe is now privately owned by Bain Capitol. I'll check into this.

 

[dnschmidt]

Here's the details: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apex_Tool_Group

 

[woody 73]

Home Depot....

They sure look the real deal and made in the USA

 

[Hootbro]

Mitt bought APEX from Danaher. APEX tool I believe is now privately owned by Bain Capitol. I'll check into this.

How did "Mitt" buy APEX when he effectively left Bain Capital in 2002 and was basically bought out by 2004 from the remaining partners?

People need to get their facts straight rather than interject incorrect political dogma.

 

[nuklbstr83]

so... who makes the matco ones? js?

 

[PBCampbell]

It's a good possibility Utica makes the Matco torque wrenches as Utica was the torque product wing of Cooper Tools, now Apex Tools. I'm thinking prior to the merger that Danaher had it's own torque product division but the name escapes me. JS Technologies did make SK torque wrenches prior to their bankruptcy and Ideal industries taking over that brand.

Upon further reading it appears Matco wasn't included in the merger or at least the subsequent sale (hard to keep up on what is what in the business world) to Bain .

 

[Bigblue&Goldie]

so... who makes the matco ones? js?

Just curious, but why are you looking specifically for who makes Matco's? Are you trying to match your existing tools?

 

[firebox40dash5]

Upon further reading it appears Matco wasn't included in the merger or at least the subsequent sale (hard to keep up on what is what in the business world) to Bain .

Correct, Matco stayed with Danaher when Danaher spun off most (all?) its tool brands into Apex, and AFAIK it remains a subsidiary of Danaher currently.

One way or another, they obviously didn't just abandon whatever suppliers might belong to or have supplied Apex... a decent little bit of Matco stuff is still the same as GW stuff, like torque wrenches, or ADV sockets.

My Matco driver generally tries to claim Matco doesn't have anything to do with Apex since the split, but he has said that the mechanism of the torque wrenches is identical to the Apex ones, the heads (to the extent a Matco head differs from a GW head, for that matter) and handles are the difference. The Matco torque wrenches have knurled aluminum handles, while GW and others usually have rubber or plastic grips.

 

[ihateminimumwage]

so... who makes the matco ones? js?

Armstrong was the original offering, Matco is just a different logo stamped in the head, and they are also sold under Gearwrench and Husky with a rubber grip added over the handle.

TRA200 1/4" Torque Wrench (30-200 in/lbs) - Gearwrench 85050, Armstrong 64-032

TRB250 3/8" Torque Wrench (50-250 in/lbs) - Gearwrench 85051
TRB100 3/8" Torque Wrench (10-100 ft/lbs) - Husky H3DTW, Gearwrench 85052, Armstrong 64-046
TRB75F 3/8" Flex Head Torque Wrench (5-75 ft/lbs) - Armstrong 64-146
ETWB100A 3/8" Drive Electronic Torque Wrench (10-100ft/lbs) - Gearwrench 85070

TRC250A 1/2" Torque Wrench (25-250 ft/lbs) - Husky H2DTW, Gearwrench 85054, Armstrong 64-086
TRC250FA 1/2" Flex Head Torque Wrench (25-250 ft/lbs) - Armstrong 64-186
ETWC250A 1/2" Drive Electronic Torque Wrench (25-250ft/lbs) - Gearwrench 85071

TRD600R 3/4" Torque Wrench (100-600 ft/lbs) - Gearwrench 85055, Armstrong 64-095, KD 2953

http://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=249851

 

[nuklbstr83]

Just curious, but why are you looking specifically for who makes Matco's? Are you trying to match your existing tools?

nah, just trying to find out what kind of product i may purchase. $400-600+ is a bit of money, and i want to make an informed decision. I plan on using this 3/4" wrench for 10+ years.


thanks to everyone for answering my question.

 

[ihateminimumwage]

nah, just trying to find out what kind of product i may purchase. $400-600+ is a bit of money, and i want to make an informed decision. I plan on using this 3/4" wrench for 10+ years.


thanks to everyone for answering my question.

I only have experience with the 1/2" & 3/8" drive Armstrong, Matco and Husky torque wrenches, and they are solidly built and do the job great. The 3/4" is a different round head design, and I've only had experiences with the MAC/Proto 3/4" torque wrenches (which are great, but just as pricey as what Matco asks), but I wouldn't expect Armstrong to put out anything but a solid, quality torque wrench.

Personally I'd go with the Armstrong route, since they won't be changing out the design anytime soon vs Matco/Gearwrench who could decide to discontinue or ship overseas when the contract is up with Armstrong (the whole Apex and Danaher split).

Whatever route you go, I wouldn't worry too much about warranty, as long as you keep it safe in its case when not in use and turn it back down after each use. If you know you'll be using it enough to get your money's worth, it would be a worthwhile purchase.

 

[nuklbstr83]

i'll be using it weekly. the shop one is becoming harder to track down, and borrowing co-workers isn't in the cards.