Newer SK adjustable wrenches USA made?

[vssjim]

I have been a long time customer of SK Tools starting around 1970 and this is the final chapter of a long time great tool company as now they are a name for imports. I don't expect the so called US made line will ever happen maybe the X frame ratcheting wrenches for awhile until they ship it overseas or discontinue all US products.

 

[ecotec]

I was bummed out when they bought Arrow Stapler from Masco. I haven’t bought any Arrow products at retail since.

I refuse to buy Arrow staples made in USA from foreign and domestic…

I buy older boxes that say Made in USA/hecho in EEUU. I probably have enough for the rest of my life. My staples come from New Jersey, like god intended.

 

[zendriver]

Wasn't it SK continuing to make US made tools, that put them in the crapper in the first place?

One wouldn't think the Chinese would repeat that process.

 

[ecotec]

Wasn't it SK continuing to make US made tools, that put them in the crapper in the first place?

One wouldn't think the Chinese would repeat that process.

Maybe they want one line of USA for government and industrial contracts with USA content requirements?

 

[zendriver]

Maybe they want one line of USA for government and industrial contracts with USA content requirements?

If it was a requirement they'd probably already have it.

I think quite a few common things the Military uses, are made overseas.

 

[dnschmidt]

S-K made numerous stupid decisions. Before they began flag waving S-K imported from KABO a dynamite set off deep offset reversible ratcheting box wrenches that were miles better than anything else available. They discontinued them once the all American edict came down. This is an example of biting off your nose to spite your face. What they should have done is what Snap-On and all the other tool trucks do. Make stuff in America and import the other stuff you can't make or that isn't profitable for you to make in America. There is no shame in mix and match if it enables you to stay in business.

 

[ecotec]

If it was a requirement they'd probably already have it.

I think quite a few common things the Military uses, are made overseas.

I see Williams tools that sometimes come with sections of assembly line.

Old timey speeder wrenches, too.

I have never used one of these tools. I see engine builders on tv using them… but I have never seen one used, in person, my whole life.

I own 3… and have never used one.

 

[neophyte]

Wasn't it SK continuing to make US made tools, that put them in the crapper in the first place?

One wouldn't think the Chinese would repeat that process.

SK went into the crapper after a manager buyout of the company.
At the time, SK was part of SK/Facom, which was a large tool conglomerate, owner buy a French financial investment firm.
Not that long after the Manager buyout, Stanley bought the rest of the Facom tool conglomerate (which owned a number of tool brands/manufacturers other than just Facom).
It seems likely that the Managers at SK knew that the Stanley buyout was planned or likely, and arranged to buyout SK to prevent Stanley from acquiring SK and killing the brand or killing the manufacturing plant, since Stanley really didn’t need either at the time.
The whole thing happened around the time Amazon started selling tools, and internet price discounting started heavily, and the new Managers/owners of SK screwed up.
SK tools could apparently be purchased from Amazon at lower cost than SK distributors could purchase the tools, so SK distributors dumped the brand. (I presume Amazon purchased large orders with heavy discounts and sold slightly above cost, which was way lower than the single purchase cost a distributor got for supplying customers with individual orders of items the distributor didn’t normally stock)
SK’s managers wound up in a cash crunch, and did stupid stiff like stopping payment on worker health insurance without telling workers.
There were also seconds and rejects of SK items entering the internet market, maybe due to pissed off workers or just thieving workers, resulting in the SK brand having a potential questionable reputation.
SK then went bankrupt and Ideal bought the brand and a bunch of the assets and had to completely restart production in a new plant.
It took new Ideal/SK a while to get things somewhat functioning.

 

[zendriver]

SK went into the crapper after a manager buyout of the company.
At the time, SK was part of SK/Facom, which was a large tool conglomerate, owner buy a French financial investment firm.
Not that long after the Manager buyout, Stanley bought the rest of the Facom tool conglomerate (which owned a number of tool brands/manufacturers other than just Facom).
It seems likely that the Managers at SK knew that the Stanley buyout was planned or likely, and arranged to buyout SK to prevent Stanley from acquiring SK and killing the brand or killing the manufacturing plant, since Stanley really didn’t need either at the time.
The whole thing happened around the time Amazon started selling tools, and internet price discounting started heavily, and the new Managers/owners of SK screwed up.
SK tools could apparently be purchased from Amazon at lower cost than SK distributors could purchase the tools, so SK distributors dumped the brand. (I presume Amazon purchased large orders with heavy discounts and sold slightly above cost, which was way lower than the single purchase cost a distributor got for supplying customers with individual orders of items the distributor didn’t normally stock)
SK’s managers wound up in a cash crunch, and did stupid stiff like stopping payment on worker health insurance without telling workers.
There were also seconds and rejects of SK items entering the internet market, maybe due to pissed off workers or just thieving workers, resulting in the SK brand having a potential questionable reputation.
SK then went bankrupt and Ideal bought the brand and a bunch of the assets and had to completely restart production in a new plant.
It took new Ideal/SK a while to get things somewhat functioning.

So, if it were not for all of this^^^^, S-K today, would be vibrant, successful manufacturer of USA made tools?

Seems they'd really be defying the odds, in the tool business.

 

[Bockscar]

I use my 24” Adjustable and 36” pipe wrenches all the time in my home shop….often with a cheater on them.

Hitch balls are a prime target.

Impact takes those off with ease

 

[neophyte]

So, if it were not for all of this^^^^, S-K today, would be vibrant, successful manufacturer of USA made tools?

Seems they'd really be defying the odds, in the tool business.

The issue wasn’t that SK was making tools in the USA.

SK has essentially died twice during the last 25 years.

The SK lineup from what I recall before the manager buyout consisted of US made wrenches and socket with really shiny chrome, that were US made.
Items like Screwdrivers and pliers that were made in France.
And Taiwanese made items like ratcheting wrenches, which a huge percentage of US tool brands get from Taiwan as well.
If SK had simply remained part of Facom and gotten bought out by Stanley, maybe the brand and manufacturing plant would have remained in business, although I doubt it.

As it was, managers at SK bought SK out, and then severely screwed the pooch.
The period were Amazon started selling tools and other items at drastically discounted prices screwed a large number of businesses.
The businesses that stayed operational routinely stayed in business after about a decade, and Amazon prices usually adjusted upward, making the independent businesses more stable later.
Other companies that had manager buyouts to save their businesses have also been successful.
The Original Saw Company basically makes the Dewalt radial arm saw designs, and exists because the managers at Dewalt basically bought out the radial arm saw business when Black & Decker bought Dewalt for the name.

When Ideal brought the SK brand back from the dead, Ideal kept certain items,
like the Flare wrenches, which Sears used to sell as part of the Craftsman Professional line,
But dropped other items, like the spline socket sets.
Nowadays if you want spline sockets, there is Snap-On, or Taiwan.
I think Ideal/SK also dropped the plug socket sets.
The only item SK really had that stood out from other tool manufacturers were the X-Frame wrenches.

 

[zendriver]

The issue wasn’t that SK was making tools in the USA.

SK has essentially died twice during the last 25 years.

The SK lineup from what I recall before the manager buyout consisted of US made wrenches and socket with really shiny chrome, that were US made.
Items like Screwdrivers and pliers that were made in France.
And Taiwanese made items like ratcheting wrenches, which a huge percentage of US tool brands get from Taiwan as well.
If SK had simply remained part of Facom and gotten bought out by Stanley, maybe the brand and manufacturing plant would have remained in business, although I doubt it.

As it was, managers at SK bought SK out, and then severely screwed the pooch.
The period were Amazon started selling tools and other items at drastically discounted prices screwed a large number of businesses.
The businesses that stayed operational routinely stayed in business after about a decade, and Amazon prices usually adjusted upward, making the independent businesses more stable later.
Other companies that had manager buyouts to save their businesses have also been successful.
The Original Saw Company basically makes the Dewalt radial arm saw designs, and exists because the managers at Dewalt basically bought out the radial arm saw business when Black & Decker bought Dewalt for the name.

When Ideal brought the SK brand back from the dead, Ideal kept certain items,
like the Flare wrenches, which Sears used to sell as part of the Craftsman Professional line,
But dropped other items, like the spline socket sets.
Nowadays if you want spline sockets, there is Snap-On, or Taiwan.
I think Ideal/SK also dropped the plug socket sets.
The only item SK really had that stood out from other tool manufacturers were the X-Frame wrenches.

Making an SK product in the US is what this thread was about.

Your summary sounds like SK was destined to be right exactly where it is at today.

 

[CGarage]

How about releasing an Asian made X-Frame ratcheting combination wrench that doesn’t cost $65 each???

 

[neophyte]

Making an SK product in the US is what this thread was about.

Your summary sounds like SK was destined to be right exactly where it is at today.

The major issue, and the issue that currently exists after the purchase by GreatStar, is likely having to move the factory, and restart production in a completely new location, with mostly new workers.

Stanley decades ago tried to consolidate a few different MAC Tools production facilities into a single location.
Tools were stockpiled to facilitate supply during the disruption of the move.
Not enough tools were stockpiled though, and MAC ran out of inventory, or in some cases, took on new MAC dealers, before the new combined production were completed.
The new facilities took way longer to complete than anticipated, resulting in tool stocks running out, so dealers couldn’t get inventory.
MAC got sued, snd there used to be a website called “MacToolsSucks”, or something similar listing all the problems.
Bad managerial decisions were part of the issue, but the main issues came about because of the production move.
I’m not sure that MAC Tools even now has the market share they once did.
The nain reason MAC still exists is because Stanley wanted to keep the brand, and Stanley has pockets that are deeper than most corporations, and possibly because they have other tool production facilities.

A production facility consolidation and move was tried with Armstrong Tools, and very little production actually managed to get set up.
That again took way longer than was expected, with numerous issues turning up with equipment and the new facility site, and the facility basically got shut down and the Armstrong brand killed off, until Apex brought the Armstrong brand back with imported tools to keep the trademark.

With SK, after the manager buyout and bankruptcy, Ideal basically had to setup a completely new facility to make tools the operations they also owned were not familiar with making.
They were still having issues making sockets properly near the end when Ideal sold the brand off, or that was the information I got.
It also took Ideal way longer to get tools into production after setting up the facility than they thought it would.
GreatStar is now supposedly having issues getting new US production up and running, after moving the SK production facility to a completely new state, to a manufacturing facility that was not making hardline tools before.
The other SK tools that are in production seem to just be from facilities that were already making similar tools, just now with SK branding.

The issue doesn’t seem to be “making tools in the USA” but setting up completely new production facilities in the USA, to manufacture tools in large quantities.

Stanley’s new Craftsman facility just ran into the same issue of trying to set up a completely new production facility, and having things take way longer than planned, resulting in failure and shuttering of the facility.

SK could have just purchased cheap tools from Taiwan or China way back when, and had them branded SK, but plenty of other brands have done the same and disappeared, so it is not a full proof method, especially if a brand was known for being made in the USA.

 

[reader2580]

The major issue, and the issue that currently exists after the purchase by GreatStar, is likely having to move the factory, and restart production in a completely new location, with mostly new workers.

There have been rumors that SK Made in the USA tools are actually being made by Wright now. Is there any evidence that GreatStar plans to ever make tools in the USA again? The company's facilities in Pennsylvania are supposedly mostly warehousing and operations.

GreatStar already moved nearly 100% of Shop-Vac manufacturing to China and laid off Shop-Vac manufacturing employees at the end of April.

 

[neophyte]

There have been rumors that SK Made in the USA tools are actually being made by Wright now. Is there any evidence that GreatStar plans to ever make tools in the USA again? The company's facilities in Pennsylvania are supposedly mostly warehousing and operations.

GreatStar already moved nearly 100% of Shop-Vac manufacturing to China and laid off Shop-Vac manufacturing employees at the end of April.

I honestly have no clue if they plan to make tools in the US again.
Are the Wright made sockets the same design as the Ideal SK made sockets, or are the Wright made SK sockets Wright sockets which simply say SK ?
Wright supposedly has done private label manufacture for years.

Two of the main products SK was still known for were the Flare Wrenches and the X-Frame wrenches.
The question is whether is where those will be made, and how the quality will stack up compared to the US Made versions if production ever gets started again, and whether the design will be the same.

 

[zendriver]

The major issue, and the issue that currently exists after the purchase by GreatStar, is likely having to move the factory, and restart production in a completely new location, with mostly new workers.

Stanley decades ago tried to consolidate a few different MAC Tools production facilities into a single location.
Tools were stockpiled to facilitate supply during the disruption of the move.
Not enough tools were stockpiled though, and MAC ran out of inventory, or in some cases, took on new MAC dealers, before the new combined production were completed.
The new facilities took way longer to complete than anticipated, resulting in tool stocks running out, so dealers couldn’t get inventory.
MAC got sued, snd there used to be a website called “MacToolsSucks”, or something similar listing all the problems.
Bad managerial decisions were part of the issue, but the main issues came about because of the production move.
I’m not sure that MAC Tools even now has the market share they once did.
The nain reason MAC still exists is because Stanley wanted to keep the brand, and Stanley has pockets that are deeper than most corporations, and possibly because they have other tool production facilities.

A production facility consolidation and move was tried with Armstrong Tools, and very little production actually managed to get set up.
That again took way longer than was expected, with numerous issues turning up with equipment and the new facility site, and the facility basically got shut down and the Armstrong brand killed off, until Apex brought the Armstrong brand back with imported tools to keep the trademark.

With SK, after the manager buyout and bankruptcy, Ideal basically had to setup a completely new facility to make tools the operations they also owned were not familiar with making.
They were still having issues making sockets properly near the end when Ideal sold the brand off, or that was the information I got.
It also took Ideal way longer to get tools into production after setting up the facility than they thought it would.
GreatStar is now supposedly having issues getting new US production up and running, after moving the SK production facility to a completely new state, to a manufacturing facility that was not making hardline tools before.
The other SK tools that are in production seem to just be from facilities that were already making similar tools, just now with SK branding.

The issue doesn’t seem to be “making tools in the USA” but setting up completely new production facilities in the USA, to manufacture tools in large quantities.

Stanley’s new Craftsman facility just ran into the same issue of trying to set up a completely new production facility, and having things take way longer than planned, resulting in failure and shuttering of the facility.

SK could have just purchased cheap tools from Taiwan or China way back when, and had them branded SK, but plenty of other brands have done the same and disappeared, so it is not a full proof method, especially if a brand was known for being made in the USA.

Building and moving to a new US factory makes zero sense, when they could just have products made any tool factory in China and just put the name on it.

That's all they really wanted anyway, IMO - the name, which is not really worth much anyway, now days.

 

[neophyte]

Building and moving to a new US factory makes zero sense, when they could just have products made any tool factory in China and just put the name on it.

That's all they really wanted anyway, IMO - the name, which is not really worth much anyway, now days.

I figured SK might have had patents on the X-Frame wrench design, and maybe related patents for other derivative items like ratchets that might be worth something for a tool manufacturer, especially as an alternative to the ubiquitous Taiwanese ratcheting wrenches.
Also maybe the notched jaw design since those still seem to be routinely individualized by patents.

 

[dnschmidt]

How about releasing an Asian made X-Frame ratcheting combination wrench that doesn’t cost $65 each???

Or took three years to actually make it to market and when it did it was non-reversing anyway

 

[vssjim]

A production facility consolidation and move was tried with Armstrong Tools, and very little production actually managed to get set up.
That again took way longer than was expected, with numerous issues turning up with equipment and the new facility site, and the facility basically got shut down and the Armstrong brand killed off, until Apex brought the Armstrong brand back with imported tools to keep the trademark.

What I understood was first they closed Moore Drop Forge then closed Arkansas plant and tried to consolidate in Sumter SC. but machinery was already worn out from deferred maintenance over different managers so Sumter machines were basically almost scrap. Then a flood at the factory of large proportions finished off the thoughts of continuing. I also see the huge loss of Sears as a customer was a another factor for sure. Armstrong has not had a huge following for many years as it's industrial sales outlets had shrunk like many others. As in Western Forge the story is kind of the same not enough outlets after loosing many sales outlets and worn out tooling. The only US tool outlet from where this APEX and before Danaher factory would have been was Allen through Minard's. I don't like it but it's a numbers game NAPA was a long time customer and changed to sourcing their own labeled tools to Carlyle mostly Taiwan with some US products.

 

[ecotec]

Building and moving to a new US factory makes zero sense, when they could just have products made any tool factory in China and just put the name on it.

That's all they really wanted anyway, IMO - the name, which is not really worth much anyway, now days.

I will still buy NOS or used…

 

[ecotec]

Building and moving to a new US factory makes zero sense, when they could just have products made any tool factory in China and just put the name on it.

That's all they really wanted anyway, IMO - the name, which is not really worth much anyway, now days.

I won’t buy from Arrow stapler, ShopVac, or SK.

I have bought two 16mm 1/4” sockets from SK. They got enough of my money.

 

[WordMan]

The major issue, and the issue that currently exists after the purchase by GreatStar, is likely having to move the factory, and restart production in a completely new location, with mostly new workers.

Stanley decades ago tried to consolidate a few different MAC Tools production facilities into a single location.
Tools were stockpiled to facilitate supply during the disruption of the move.
Not enough tools were stockpiled though, and MAC ran out of inventory, or in some cases, took on new MAC dealers, before the new combined production were completed.
The new facilities took way longer to complete than anticipated, resulting in tool stocks running out, so dealers couldn’t get inventory.
MAC got sued, snd there used to be a website called “MacToolsSucks”, or something similar listing all the problems.
Bad managerial decisions were part of the issue, but the main issues came about because of the production move.
I’m not sure that MAC Tools even now has the market share they once did.
The nain reason MAC still exists is because Stanley wanted to keep the brand, and Stanley has pockets that are deeper than most corporations, and possibly because they have other tool production facilities.

A production facility consolidation and move was tried with Armstrong Tools, and very little production actually managed to get set up.
That again took way longer than was expected, with numerous issues turning up with equipment and the new facility site, and the facility basically got shut down and the Armstrong brand killed off, until Apex brought the Armstrong brand back with imported tools to keep the trademark.

With SK, after the manager buyout and bankruptcy, Ideal basically had to setup a completely new facility to make tools the operations they also owned were not familiar with making.
They were still having issues making sockets properly near the end when Ideal sold the brand off, or that was the information I got.
It also took Ideal way longer to get tools into production after setting up the facility than they thought it would.
GreatStar is now supposedly having issues getting new US production up and running, after moving the SK production facility to a completely new state, to a manufacturing facility that was not making hardline tools before.
The other SK tools that are in production seem to just be from facilities that were already making similar tools, just now with SK branding.

The issue doesn’t seem to be “making tools in the USA” but setting up completely new production facilities in the USA, to manufacture tools in large quantities.

Stanley’s new Craftsman facility just ran into the same issue of trying to set up a completely new production facility, and having things take way longer than planned, resulting in failure and shuttering of the facility.

SK could have just purchased cheap tools from Taiwan or China way back when, and had them branded SK, but plenty of other brands have done the same and disappeared, so it is not a full proof method, especially if a brand was known for being made in the USA.

And then all the MAC managers, etc., went to Cornwell...

 

[nadogail]

I recently bought a Stanley 10" adjustable wrench with a Visegrip Style locking adjustable locking lever.

Stanley, of course it was made in China

 

[Chrome Vanadium Cody]

I figured SK might have had patents on the X-Frame wrench design, and maybe related patents for other derivative items like ratchets that might be worth something for a tool manufacturer, especially as an alternative to the ubiquitous Taiwanese ratcheting wrenches.
Also maybe the notched jaw design since those still seem to be routinely individualized by patents.

I have seen a couple items pop up online lately that might be examples of this. Here’s one. It refers to 216 positions which I’ve seen on their X Frame advertisements

 

[zendriver]

I won’t buy from Arrow stapler, ShopVac, or SK.

I have bought two 16mm 1/4” sockets from SK. They got enough of my money.

You're probably not the only one.

 

[CHI_Tool&Die]

I have seen a couple items pop up online lately that might be examples of this. Here’s one. It refers to 216 positions which I’ve seen on their X Frame advertisements

That is one ugly-looking ratchet.

 

[CGarage]

The ratchet head dimensions seem to do it no favors.

 

[n8n]

Husky and Crescent brand are terrible.

Another sad decline. Most of my adjustable wrenches are old USA Crescent.