SK bankruptcy

[jsackin]

Just heard a pretty reliable rumor that SK is going to declare bankruptcy in the next few days. They will then be bought by a company called Ideal. Ideal has also bought Western Forge and Pratt and Read in the last year. That will make them a big player among USA manufacturers.

Jori
http://store.harryepstein.com

 

[mikevango]

i hope they continue to stay in business! i love sk tools

 

[jsackin]

Ideal bought Western Forge and Pratt and Read and left them intact, so I would assume they will do the same with SK. I think the SK name has too much respect in certain circles to get rid of it.

Jori
http://store.harryepstein.com

 

[Davefr]

Ideal bought Western Forge and Pratt and Read and left them intact, so I would assume they will do the same with SK. I think the SK name has too much respect in certain circles to get rid of it.

Jori
http://store.harryepstein.com

They would never get rid of the SK name. My biggest fear is that they'll put the SK name on crappy chinese tools. Don't a lot of Ideal tools come from China??

Having the SK name on Chinese tools would make me puke!!

 

[TheGrooveking]

That is great news! I too hope they continue on and become stronger than ever! In today's market place with banks screwing over the general public from in front (jacked rates and penalties) and behind (via the bail outs) this is more of the reality that comes from such economic conditions.

TheGrooveking

 

[boybacon]

I grew up in Cortland and DeKalb, Illinois....which are a hop skip and jump away from Sycamore Illinois, where Ideal is located (or at least one of their many locations). The father of one of my friends from grade school was a long term employee of Ideal and he always spoke good words about the company. If all goes well, then I'll be glad to see SK get picked up by a good company.

 

[dieseldodge01]

I read a press release after Ideal bought Western Forge and Pratt and Read stating that they want to make more of their tools in the USA. This looks like a good solution for them and SK. Ideal is a company that would be a good company that seems to have an idea of where they are going, unlike SK lately. Hopefully they set up a better dealer set up, I need a new place to shop for SK tools .

 

[mepilotunot]

Emailed From my supplier today!! I do not sell S&K but they did. Just passing it along to the GJ members

To Our Valued Customers:

SK Hand Tool Corporation has filed for bankruptcy with the Northern District of Illinois United States Court, case number 10-28882. As of this time, we will not accept returns for any of its product. We additionally urge you to refrain from sending all alleged warranty items back to SK Hand Tools until they present a new business plan for their distributors.

There is currently an interested party negotiating with SK Hand Tools and as news is released we will promptly update it by email. Many of us have been strong supporters of SK Hand Tools. We hope that a quick and satisfactory solution materializes for the SK brand so we can move on to service our customers.

Thank you for your patience concerning this matter.


M. Tool Warehouse

 

[Sterff]

I hope they do survive because they have the highest quality chrome imo. I want to buy one of the spline drive sets.

 

[Blacknwhitepit]

Emailed From my supplier today!! I do not sell S&K but they did. Just passing it along to the GJ members

To Our Valued Customers:

SK Hand Tool Corporation has filed for bankruptcy with the Northern District of Illinois United States Court, case number 10-28882. As of this time, we will not accept returns for any of its product. We additionally urge you to refrain from sending all alleged warranty items back to SK Hand Tools until they present a new business plan for their distributors.

There is currently an interested party negotiating with SK Hand Tools and as news is released we will promptly update it by email. Many of us have been strong supporters of SK Hand Tools. We hope that a quick and satisfactory solution materializes for the SK brand so we can move on to service our customers.

Thank you for your patience concerning this matter.


M. Tool Warehouse

WOW...

It finally happened. I hope things turn out well with Ideal....

-BWP

 

[fordbroncodave]

i'm glad i got out of that mess while i still could. i didn't have alot of it but enough to count good numbers. i still have some mixed in but it is rarely used

 

[mrholeshot]

S-K is my 2nd favorite tool just behind Snap-On. Still built like they were 40 years ago, Maybe better.

 

[bonneyman]

S-K is one of my favorites too. Really sad to hear about this, but I guess it could have been worse (being sold to China)

 

[Stuey]

This is a shame.

Hopefully Ideal does buy SK and keeps their production in the USA as with the other companyes they acquired.

 

[t100]

last time I checked at Lowe's, Ideal electrical tools are made in TW.

 

[Elroy]

last time I checked at Lowe's, Ideal electrical tools are made in TW.

Some are, some aren't
At least it's not getting sucked up by a Chinese conglomerate

 

[iandh]

last time I checked at Lowe's, Ideal electrical tools are made in TW.

Actually a lot of their main-line tools like linesman's pliers are USA made, and they make a big deal of advertising it. Some of the multimeters, strippers, stuff like that are China.

Honestly, I don't think a better thing could happed to SK than being bought out by ideal... we know they wouldn't stand a chance in hell if Stanley bought them.

 

[oak_park]

Sad news that another Chicago based tool company bites the dust. I like my SK stuff. I just can't see Ideal or anyone else keeping their Chicago plant open. Hope I'm wrong.

 

[Joe B.]

It is hard for me to see why Ideal would buy any of these companies unless they had a strategy to turn them around. Other than moving production to China, I can't think of a way to make these companies profitable. Running them as they sure won't work. I hope Ideal has a better strategy than I can think of.

 

[highland512]

I do hope that SK survives this. If SK does make a return I would hope everybody goes out and supports them.

 

[Elroy]

Don't tell anyone but Elroy has been picking up a few choice SK in anticipation of this event.

What would NOS Plomb stuff bring?? Sure that's 50 years down the road but you have to start off to finish

Elroy wanted me to point out how silky smooth those fine tooth ratchet are.

 

[highland512]

If those tuff 1 ratchets where in my hand they wouldn't stay NOS long!! They are smoother than silk and perform awesomely.

 

[Davefr]

Ideal appears to be aligned with electrical and industrial tool distributers. (ex: McMaster, Grainger, MSC, Allied, Newark, Fastenal and Snap On industrial).

SK is best known in the automotive tool community where Ideal has no established presence.

What will be Ideal's plan for SK? Re-align SK to compete with Armstrong, Proto and other industrial tools??

Ideal doesn't seem to have any B&M relationships except for Lowes. I doubt Lowes will give up Kobalt.

Just what will Ideal do with SK??? Maybe simply stay the course with Amazon and Tooltopia?

From a channel standpoint, It's just not obvious how SK will benefit Ideal.

I wish the best for Ideal to make a go of "genuine USA" SK as long as they don't ***** out the name just to put on some chinese tools. (ex: Thorsen)

Maybe there's still a glimmer of hope for SK.

 

[TheGrooveking]

Keeping the company in Chicago has a lot of benefits, one is from an environmental standpoint and that is if they are in Chicago proper they are actually allowed to discharge a higher concentration of metals in the effluent stream. When I ran printed circuit board facilities in four locations in the Chicagoland area we were allowed to have a wider swing on the ph and a metals PPM (parts per million) from our waste water pretreatment system. Let me tell you the difference between 10PPM of a metal and 3PPM is a big expensive deal.

TheGrooveking

 

[dieseldodge01]

Also they just built a new warehouse in Chicago not to long ago, I really don't think I deal would want to move the faculty again, I caused a big disruption. I don't think the old Lectrolite plant in Defiance Ohio will fair too well though.

 

[iandh]

Ideal appears to be aligned with electrical and industrial tool distributers. (ex: McMaster, Grainger, MSC, Allied, Newark, Fastenal and Snap On industrial).

SK is best known in the automotive tool community where Ideal has no established presence.

What will be Ideal's plan for SK? Re-align SK to compete with Armstrong, Proto and other industrial tools??

Ideal doesn't seem to have any B&M relationships except for Lowes. I doubt Lowes will give up Kobalt.

Just what will Ideal do with SK??? Maybe simply stay the course with Amazon and Tooltopia?

From a channel standpoint, It's just not obvious how SK will benefit Ideal.

I wish the best for Ideal to make a go of "genuine USA" SK as long as they don't ***** out the name just to put on some chinese tools. (ex: Thorsen)

Maybe there's still a glimmer of hope for SK.

I do know that ideal manufactures and sells USA tools at a VERY reasonable price.

I think one of the main problems with SK is that they didn't stand out against the crowd, but still had a premium price.

If you aren't going to stand out (innovative, etc.), you need to have a lower price to attract customers. If you are going to have a higher price, you need to stand out to attract customers.

IMO, SK did neither, but ideal does both.

 

[oldtools]

This may be an ideal marriage for SK. If Ideal does not buy SK, there is a good chance the Chinese government will. The Chinese government soverign wealth funds ($200 billions) are on the prowl for American companies. To stay low key, they bought small share of iconic American companies like Apple, Coca Cola, Motorola, Johnson and Johnson, Morgan Stanley, Goldman Sach, Bank of America, Citigroup, Well Fargo, Sprint, and many others.

I don't know if Ideal can keep SK purely American. That may be too idealistic.

 

[mrshaun]

Just heard a pretty reliable rumor that SK is going to declare bankruptcy in the next few days. They will then be bought by a company called Ideal. Ideal has also bought Western Forge and Pratt and Read in the last year. That will make them a big player among USA manufacturers.

Jori
http://store.harryepstein.com

you were right

This announcement to our valued SK Hand Tool distributors comes with great difficulty



As of 6/29/10 SK Hand Tool has filed for bankruptcy with the U.S. Northern District of Illinois Court (case #10-28882).



Effective immediately Neu Tool and Supply Corporation has suspended accepting any new or alleged defective SK merchandise. We urge all distributors not to send any items directly to SK until further notice.



Neu Tool had continued to be a strong supporter and on a positive note there is an interested party currently negotiating the purchase of SK. We will advise all distributors as further updates are available. We remain optimistic and look forward to a successful future with the SK brand.

 

[Mike83]

I'd love to see SK sold at brick and mortar stores around me.

I'm surprised at all the positive responses about SK tools. They were bashed worse than HF a few months ago (and earlier). I personally love my SK tools. Awesome chrome on those babies.

 

[jvitez]

I'm surprised at all the positive responses about SK tools. They were bashed worse than HF a few months ago (and earlier)/QUOTE]

Perhaps the "Everybody loves you when you're dead" reality?

 

[Bolster]

I'm surprised at all the positive responses about SK tools. They were bashed worse than HF a few months ago (and earlier)...Perhaps the "Everybody loves you when you're dead" reality?

I noticed that, too. Scarcity makes everything better. If you can't get it anymore, it's good.

Speaking of which...

Where can we expect to see fire-sale blowouts of SK products now?

 

[jvitez]

I noticed that, too. Scarcity makes everything better. If you can't get it anymore, it's good.

Hmmm, kind of reminds me of women.

 

[Teken]

I noticed that, too. Scarcity makes everything better. If you can't get it anymore, it's good.

Speaking of which...

Where can we expect to see fire-sale blowouts of SK products now?

+1 let it burn down . . .

 

[kythri]

As much as I like Craftsman, it'd be really cool to see Ideal position their various manufacturers mentioned in this thread, with the addition of SK, into producing a line of hand tools to compete with Craftsman.

A lot of people seem to like them, and competition is healthy - perhaps the alleged quality issues with some of the recent Craftsman production would benefit from a serious competitor.

I know that there's Husky and Kobalt, but neither Home Depot or Lowe's carries a deep enough selection, or any serious selection of open stock product to be a serious competitor to the Craftsman brand.

Ideal, SK, Western Forge and Pratt-Read seem like a perfect storm of brands to combine into a single cohesive offering...

 

[jsackin]

Where can we expect to see fire-sale blowouts of SK products now?

I would say that SK deals are coming but not until after they're through bankruptcy. We were working on a deal with them, but now it's in limbo. Sometimes there's a big consolidation when a company gets bought, and in that case, there will be a small flood of SK merchandise on the market, but I doubt that will happen in this case. SK has had so many problems with filling orders I can't imagine they have a warehouse loaded with excess merchandise. The deals that will come out of this will not be the real **** tools like ratchets, socket sets, etc. It will most likely be the more obscure tools that they've decided to discontinue.

Jori
http://store.harryepstein.com

 

[Mike83]

As much as I like Craftsman, it'd be really cool to see Ideal position their various manufacturers mentioned in this thread, with the addition of SK, into producing a line of hand tools to compete with Craftsman.

A lot of people seem to like them, and competition is healthy - perhaps the alleged quality issues with some of the recent Craftsman production would benefit from a serious competitor.

I know that there's Husky and Kobalt, but neither Home Depot or Lowe's carries a deep enough selection, or any serious selection of open stock product to be a serious competitor to the Craftsman brand.

Ideal, SK, Western Forge and Pratt-Read seem like a perfect storm of brands to combine into a single cohesive offering...

What is interesting is that all the companies you mention (maybe not Ideal) are or have been rebranded into Craftsman tools.

I think that SK considers itself a competitor more with Snap-on, Mac, etc and not Craftsman. I don't think the pricepoint would compete with Craftsman either unless they were able to cut costs and also the selling price on their tools.

 

[Bolster]

I would say that SK deals are coming but not until after they're through bankruptcy. We were working on a deal with them, but now it's in limbo. Sometimes there's a big consolidation when a company gets bought, and in that case, there will be a small flood of SK merchandise on the market, but I doubt that will happen in this case. SK has had so many problems with filling orders I can't imagine they have a warehouse loaded with excess merchandise. The deals that will come out of this will not be the real **** tools like ratchets, socket sets, etc. It will most likely be the more obscure tools that they've decided to discontinue.

Jori
http://store.harryepstein.com

Interesting. Thanks for the commentary.

Seems there was more demand than product, when it came to SK?

 

[Slip_Kid]

I was just about to order a few sockets from SK, I will look for an independent dealer then. Anyone have a good source for buying SK sockets?

 

[Danglerb]

My only issue with SK was the distribution channel, in my area at least only full price industrial hardware places, which made other brands a better value. All of my SK was purchased used, and I plan to keep my eye out for more, with a touch of concern on quality for recent strike produced items.

I suspect some of the distribution channel will dump SK, but maybe not if a take over is clear on policy like warranty on existing tools etc. Without a solid warranty a lot of places currently selling SK would not continue, and that could mean some serious dumping.

 

[arkangel06]

God I hope they stay USA!