snap on tool boxes are not 100% usa made

[warmpancakes]

just got replacement gliders for a snap on tool box, new ones are stamped tiawan

 

[fordbroncodave]

I think it still has to be a certain percentage before they need to label the country of origin.

main frame of the box was all made here, painted and assembled

 

[86k10]

I noticed on my box that it is US made marked but new boxes don't say made in US, they just have Snap On , some city Iowa. Dont say anything about "made in"

 

[Hammer1963]

I noticed when I purchased my Snap-on box 6-7 years ago that the slides were imported. I never gave it a whole lot of thought. I assume they are produced much like a U.S. Auto or Major appliances and follow
TS16949 standards.

I took delivery of my Snap-on tool cart a couple years ago, which was made in Canada, and it has the same slides as well.

Oddly enough, the end cabs have U.S. made slides.

 

[rusty65]

That kind of amazes me for the price of the tool box I would expect it to all be made in USA......... Oh well if they work good they work good.

 

[G1GRANDEUR]

just got replacement gliders for a snap on tool box, new ones are stamped tiawan

I am not surprised, but for the money it should be 100% made in USA.

 

[V70R]

They changed slide manufacturers recently due to their supplier moving production overseas, and replacement slides were to be of Taiwanese COO. Check the patents on the back, some do state a Taiwan patent number.

 

[gatewaysysop]

I wonder who the OEM for the slides is, and if anyone else uses the same ones.

 

[tjmonsen5]

waterloo makes the slides for the KRL722.. probably all of the other boxes as well. Its a mixed bag, Epiq slides are USA.

 

[warmpancakes]

They changed slide manufacturers recently due to their supplier moving production overseas, and replacement slides were to be of Taiwanese COO. Check the patents on the back, some do state a Taiwan patent number.

recent my *** the ones coming out of the box dated 2004 also say tiawan so thats at least 9 years

 

[Pro-Painter]

The 2006 KRA2106 I had was made in Canada.... The slides and casters where Taiwan made also.

Now the 1980 KR555 I have is 100% USA, thick as **** and built like a wood stove.

 

[hickmlg09]

Everything seems to be starting to slowly get made in other countries. :-(

 

[03protege]

If this was said about any other brand there would be hell to pay.

 

[fordbroncodave]

I think the slides are accuride but I noticed the replacement slides on my bosses KRL661 had nothing stamped on them. the KRL661 he has is from 1995 and the slides were USA and stamped snap on, I replaced 3 sets for 3 drawers. the rest will remain USA

 

[Neuswede]

just got replacement gliders for a snap on tool box, new ones are stamped tiawan

Just received 3 sets for one of my boxes too. Did you notice the design change? They now use a retaining screw and are not easily removeable as was the earlier design. This newer design would have been nice a few years ago when an old-style slide self-destructed and allowed a drawer to launch itself completely free of the box, damaging the drawer and the other slide.

I am not surprised, but for the money it should be 100% made in USA.

A good portion of the cost is to provide a full lifetime warranty. Having exercised the warranty on one of my boxes, I can better justify why they cost what they do. And I wholeheartedly agree that completely USA made should be expected, but Canada is certainly acceptable as one of our friendlier trading partners.

 

[t100]

I think the slides are accuride but I noticed the replacement slides on my bosses KRL661 had nothing stamped on them. the KRL661 he has is from 1995 and the slides were USA and stamped snap on, I replaced 3 sets for 3 drawers. the rest will remain USA

same thing with my Matco. I bought 3 sets of slides to replaced the bad ones. the original were stamped "MatcoGlide". the new ones have no markings at all.

of course the hole of the locking screw was about 1/16" off, pretty bad for a #10 screw.

 

[nanofrog]

If this was said about any other brand there would be hell to pay.

Exactly.

First the slides, next the drawer pulls, castors, and then the entire box will be outsourced.

 

[amlv20]

My classic series box says on the back " assembled in the USA"

My tech 1000 box says on the back "made in USA with globally sourced components"

 

[Outline]

Everything seems to be starting to slowly get made in other countries. :-(

Exactly.
First the slides, next the drawer pulls, castors, and then the entire box will be outsourced.

My classic series box says on the back " assembled in the USA"

My tech 1000 box says on the back "made in USA with globally sourced components"

You USA-guys are still playing catch-up to the rest of the world.... In a few years it will be only like THAT!

It has been said many times before: There are more things you use in your daily life made outside the USA then inside the USA... Example: iPhone....

Like it or not, that's the global economy where it's just about the Benjamins and ABSOLUTELY NOT about COO or whatever the customer wants his product to be!

Apart from that: A good product is not defined by it's COO but by the amount of attention that was put in and the QC done on it!

 

[xurusaibobx]

snap on carts used to be made in the Canada plant but they closed that one down last year and now all the carts and boxes are assembled in the states the main parts are built in the states. you seriously think snap on is going manufacture a slider? when they can out source those items? i mean really

 

[Jose G]

Ask yourself...would I work on a production line and screw the same bolt day after day? its sad to see big compagny moving their production to other country... but peoples need bigger salary and less and less peoples aim for that kind of jobs..

 

[CWP1616L]

warmpancakes, do the still say "Accuride" on them?

I'm wondering if Accuride moved to Taiwan.

 

[nanofrog]

You USA-guys are still playing catch-up to the rest of the world.... In a few years it will be only like THAT!

It has been said many times before: There are more things you use in your daily life made outside the USA then inside the USA... Example: iPhone....

Like it or not, that's the global economy where it's just about the Benjamins and ABSOLUTELY NOT about COO or whatever the customer wants his product to be!

Apart from that: A good product is not defined by it's COO but by the amount of attention that was put in and the QC done on it!

I don't disagree at all.

My comment was in regard to Snap-on moving to global components instead of enough US content and labor to qualify for "Made in USA" not generating an uproar here in GJ.

Unfortunately, I really do expect production to be outsourced, at least in part, if not entirely at some future date. Not for labor, tax law, or environmental regs as the primary motivation, but rather the desire to increase margins without raising prices beyond saleability (thus allowing them to increase executive bonus packages without pricing themselves out of business). Given the fact people have been seeing a decline in their disposable income for ~ three decades, outsourcing seems the only way to accomplish the goal of increasing executive net worth (in some cases the stock holders as well, but that's not always the case).

When I think about the outsource reasoning stated publicly, I can't help but think if nations such as Germany can continue to produce what they do, yet have a much stronger union influence, a government that's much friendlier to unions, environmental regs at similar levels or better than the US, and certainly not bargain-basement tax code, then it makes me conclude those explanations are BS as stated. I'm not saying there isn't an influence, as it's all about maximizing their bonuses, but not the primary causality as they'd have the public believe.

Do I like it? Not at all. For me, it's about better paying jobs being lost and replaced with low wage service industry **** (= damage to our domestic economy), not nationalism. If those jobs were replaced with something that pays well that the average person were able to be hired at (without incurring a huge expense to retrain <higher education>), it wouldn't be an issue for me. Sure, the BoD may take a hit on income, but the company will survive if they're not running it into the ground, and the domestic economy would be better off (more domestic disposable income = more domestic sales). It worked here for many years. No way I could believe it won't now if restored properly.

 

[gatewaysysop]

Apart from that: A good product is not defined by it's COO but by the amount of attention that was put in and the QC done on it!

While I agree to a point, keep in mind that "the amount of attention that was put in and the QC done" is largely determined by the COO. Not always, mind you, but more often than not, which is why, I suspect, that many people feel so strongly about products from certain countries vs. others. Tool quality is always a mixed bag, but the mix varies significantly from one COO to another. My $.02 anyway.

 

[acdc73]

I noticed when I purchased my Snap-on box 6-7 years ago that the slides were imported. I never gave it a whole lot of thought. I assume they are produced much like a U.S. Auto or Major appliances and follow
TS16949 standards.

I took delivery of my Snap-on tool cart a couple years ago, which was made in Canada, and it has the same slides as well.

Oddly enough, the end cabs have U.S. made slides.

nice lookin' white Snapper



wonder if they S-o still lifetime warranty their slides, I recall they used to.

 

[warmpancakes]

warmpancakes, do the still say "Accuride" on them?

I'm wondering if Accuride moved to Taiwan.

I dont think the originals did IIRC only the heavy duty slides are accuride

 

[Toolhorder]

waterloo makes the slides for the KRL722.. probably all of the other boxes as well. Its a mixed bag, Epiq slides are USA.

BS, Accuglide makes the slides

 

[Toolhorder]

Another thing is the KRA series boxes are in a different price point and made in Canada (or they were) and the parts are more likely to be outsourced. The KRL series has had US made sliders. I got several replacement sets in 2010 and they were US made.
I'm not sure about the newer boxes or the Epiq but I'm going to look now.

 

[Trey T]

Hahah, y'all guys are nuts. Does those Chinese slider work well? Ball bearing sliders are ancient technology, I believe there's nothing to worry about - well, except for the $$$Snap-On.

 

[cgv69]

Nothing new here. My KRA series box which is many years old clearly states it was made in Canada and the slides were made in Taiwan.

 

[DekeT]

I don't disagree at all.

My comment was in regard to Snap-on moving to global components instead of enough US content and labor to qualify for "Made in USA" not generating an uproar here in GJ.

Unfortunately, I really do expect production to be outsourced, at least in part, if not entirely at some future date. Not for labor, tax law, or environmental regs as the primary motivation, but rather the desire to increase margins without raising prices beyond saleability (thus allowing them to increase executive bonus packages without pricing themselves out of business). Given the fact people have been seeing a decline in their disposable income for ~ three decades, outsourcing seems the only way to accomplish the goal of increasing executive net worth (in some cases the stock holders as well, but that's not always the case).

When I think about the outsource reasoning stated publicly, I can't help but think if nations such as Germany can continue to produce what they do, yet have a much stronger union influence, a government that's much friendlier to unions, environmental regs at similar levels or better than the US, and certainly not bargain-basement tax code, then it makes me conclude those explanations are BS as stated. I'm not saying there isn't an influence, as it's all about maximizing their bonuses, but not the primary causality as they'd have the public believe.

Do I like it? Not at all. For me, it's about better paying jobs being lost and replaced with low wage service industry **** (= damage to our domestic economy), not nationalism. If those jobs were replaced with something that pays well that the average person were able to be hired at (without incurring a huge expense to retrain <higher education>), it wouldn't be an issue for me. Sure, the BoD may take a hit on income, but the company will survive if they're not running it into the ground, and the domestic economy would be better off (more domestic disposable income = more domestic sales). It worked here for many years. No way I could believe it won't now if restored properly.

Thank you nanofrog for that spot on analysis.

 

[zakmartin]

I can't help but think if nations such as Germany can continue to produce what they do, yet have a much stronger union influence, a government that's much friendlier to unions, environmental regs at similar levels or better than the US, and certainly not bargain-basement tax code, then it makes me conclude those explanations are BS as stated.

That statement would hold a lot more weight if "Made In Germany" meant something more than a 20% standard. According to FTC guidelines, making an unqualified claim of "Made in the USA" means that the entire product (labor, raw materials, and components) is made in the USA. For Germany, it's just 20%; that's how Germany gets away with with selling non-German, "German" products.

 

[andywander]

I'd bet $5 none of those slides are actually stamped "tiawan"....

 

[warmpancakes]

My slides? wanna make it 5.00 perslide? and do you want the photos when installed in the box out of the box? In the snap on bag? with or with out the packing slip showing they came from snap on

 

[andywander]

Sure thing.

(I would bet they all say TAIWAN, not tiawan)

 

[Heavy Metal Doctor]

SO's production practices / COO was a minor question in my mind (thanks to GJ) and it did catch my eye that the stamped steel accessory parts for a work center / pegboard ("dots and slots" I think they call it) where listed as made in China.
Then I looked at the rest of the tool box / cabinet stuff I was considering and the big pieces all said made in USA. Do I like the idea of ANY of it being Chinese? No. But then I thought "how could anyone screw up a chunk of stamped sheet metal which is probably machine spot-welded and machine painted / powder coated -- no any skill required to manufacture it", so I'm not concerned that those little pieces will fail due to being "Chinese ****"... and I know that even if something went wrong, I have 100%, no questions asked, support from my dealer -- he'd get me a replacement free.
I understand enough about manufacturing to know that the stuff most often being made / shipped across oceans are items which they can pack as many units as possible into a shipping container. I doubt it will ever be cost effective for SO (or any mfr for that matter) to build a complete box and ship it on the ocean at a rate of a couple hundred units per container (or just 25 or so big ones).....now 30,000 drawer slides and 20,000 individual brackets / small parts in one container IS cost effective...and as the shipping costs are rising, some of the work is coming back home.
There are plenty of products coming at us from Asia and all sorts of third world manufacturing, but I think most of us here are smart enough to know which ones are just **** to stay clear of and which things are decent products and not end up crying about how we got "taken" by buying some POS product that is far bellow the advertised / expected level of quality.

 

[Outline]

While I agree to a point, keep in mind that "the amount of attention that was put in and the QC done" is largely determined by the COO. Not always, mind you, but more often than not, which is why, I suspect, that many people feel so strongly about products from certain countries vs. others. Tool quality is always a mixed bag, but the mix varies significantly from one COO to another. My $.02 anyway.

The attention and QC in a product only depend on what the company (that's getting their products produced there) is willing to pay for that part of the production proces. Noneting more or less.

The best examples for that you can find with TV's, DVD players and so on: Almost all of them are produced in China nowadays but some are better than the other. The better ones are usually also more expensive and are from a bigger name brand.

The price you pay can be a good indication of the quality of a product.

Even the China-made Craftsman ratchets can be good quality. We just need to see how they last. One more thing: If the replacement set for the inners has the same article number, then it's the same design. The finish of a product can be different on the outside but the inners SHOULD BE the same...

That statement would hold a lot more weight if "Made In Germany" meant something more than a 20% standard. According to FTC guidelines, making an unqualified claim of "Made in the USA" means that the entire product (labor, raw materials, and components) is made in the USA. For Germany, it's just 20%; that's how Germany gets away with with selling non-German, "German" products.

True that. I know for a fact that Gedore and Stahlwille are outsourcing production to the far east. We already have seen the UR7 of Gedore in 2 seperate appearances on this forum!

And it's not only with tools: Germans will also do it with big Pro-Audio brands! They buy parts from all over the world and just because they are bolted together in Germany, they can bear the 'Made in Germany'-logo.

Do also take a look at Stahlwille's 512QR ratchet and Carolus's 1/2" drive quick release ratchet: Same ratchet with the only differences being color of release knob, brand inscription and the handle. For the rest they are completly the same from the same (far east) factory. They only have a €50,- difference in price...

There are lots more examples out there!

Most important thing: Any tool that doesn't specify a COO can be made anewhere in the world. Even if the brand is S-O.

SO's production practices / COO was a minor question in my mind (thanks to GJ) and it did catch my eye that the stamped steel accessory parts for a work center / pegboard ("dots and slots" I think they call it) where listed as made in China.
Then I looked at the rest of the tool box / cabinet stuff I was considering and the big pieces all said made in USA. Do I like the idea of ANY of it being Chinese? No. But then I thought "how could anyone screw up a chunk of stamped sheet metal which is probably machine spot-welded and machine painted / powder coated -- no any skill required to manufacture it", so I'm not concerned that those little pieces will fail due to being "Chinese ****"... and I know that even if something went wrong, I have 100%, no questions asked, support from my dealer -- he'd get me a replacement free.
I understand enough about manufacturing to know that the stuff most often being made / shipped across oceans are items which they can pack as many units as possible into a shipping container. I doubt it will ever be cost effective for SO (or any mfr for that matter) to build a complete box and ship it on the ocean at a rate of a couple hundred units per container (or just 25 or so big ones).....now 30,000 drawer slides and 20,000 individual brackets / small parts in one container IS cost effective...and as the shipping costs are rising, some of the work is coming back home.
There are plenty of products coming at us from Asia and all sorts of third world manufacturing, but I think most of us here are smart enough to know which ones are just **** to stay clear of and which things are decent products and not end up crying about how we got "taken" by buying some POS product that is far bellow the advertised / expected level of quality.

There are enough brands in the EU (especially the cheaper ones) that have their boxes made in China and shipped to the EU.

BUT as shipping costs are always rising it's starting to get to a point that producing in the (Eastern part of) Europe is becoming more economical than the China/Taiwan-route. When that happens, they will be 'Made in the EU' (which is also a pretty comming statement for the COO overhere) once again.

If I'm happy about producing in the Eastern part of Europe? NO! Because it's still produced in a low wages enviroment and doesn't help our Dutch economy. You do know that a EU-economy really doesn't exist and is made up by those ******* ***** **** in Brussels?

 

[RCStocker]

just got replacement gliders for a snap on tool box, new ones are stamped tiawan

We have known that for years. I have seen boxes sold as made in the USA and taken them apart to find a Tiawn stam on the inner box.

 

[Neohio]

Warm,
What box are you replacing slides on?
I have a KRL1022A that i don't think is 5 years old. I checked the slides and they said Snap-on USA on them.
Haven't been bothered to go in my garage and look at my KRA yet though.

 

[warmpancakes]

kra4813