Urrea Tools (Mexico)

[Wes J]

I'm currently on a job in Saltillo, Mexico. Snooping around the factory, most of the hand tools are Urrea brand made in Mexico. Looks like some really nice tools. They also have some Urrea tool boxes that look pretty nice.

Looks like they are available in the US, but I don't recall ever seeing them. Anyone using them or have any experience?

http://www.urreaprofessionaltools.com/urrea/index.php

 

[48548]

They are great and they use the proto designs.

 

[davethorik]

http://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=28985

 

[Gmonkee]

They were great when they used the old Proto designs.

Now a lot like Stanley and other rebranded stuff.

Nothing to get excited about in current production.

 

[ssdave]

Urrea came out of an abandoned attempt by Proto to expand their business into a world wide model. Proto partnered with Urrea to produce tools in Mexico for a world market at lower cost than the US. I believe they moved their tooling from Los Angeles down to Mexico, and provided management/key staff to get it up and running. After a couple of years, they decided it wasn't to be and sold the setup to Urrea, who has continued to manufacture Proto pattern tools ever since. I have one large wrench, it is of the same exact pattern and appears to be equal quality and workmanship to my Proto.

 

[DemoFly]

The stuff available in the US as of now is pretty terrible, IMO. The Urrea adjustable wrenches aren't half-bad.

 

[mikebaker1129]

I have experience with a couple of Proto style ratchets and a few of the screwdrivers and I like them alot.
The ratchet style has changed to a different style now,my screwdrivers were made in the U.S. ,most likely by Pratt Read.
I bought mine at Home Depot .com.

 

[JDon99]

I have a few socket sets and they appear to be decent quality. Urrea torque wrenches are made by CDI here in the US.

 

[marinusdees]

I have some excellent Proto clone pullers.

 

[desertdog256]

I lived in Monterrey for a few years and acquired a set of Urrea metric long combination wrenches. I think they are quite nice. Bought them a few at a time at the big hardware store near the airport.

Also, they have a cheaper line called Foy. Since my maternal grandfather was a Foy I got a set of those in all the sizes I could find. Not nearly as nice as the Urrea.

 

[kblee27]

I have a couple of Urrea impact sockets bought from Amazon.
Seemed to work fine, and of good quality.

 

[stearn786]

I have a Urrea ratchet I acquired from a brand new Ram 2500 at work. Probably came from the assembly plant in Saltillo, now that you mention it. Good ratchet. I haven't used anything else from them though.

 

[Fedwrench]

I think some of the Urrea stuff is pretty good but, some of it also leaves a bit to be desired. I ordered a Urrea metric wrench set from Home Depot but, when it arrived, I discovered that they share the same blank size across a couple or more wrench sizes so, I returned them. They have some nice screwdrivers and punches though. Some of the line is also Taiwan made rebadged tools.

 

[Loscaldazar]

Urrea is updating a lot of their designs from the old Proto ones. Their new ratchets I HATE, probably more so than any other ratchet (maybe not as much as those cheapy $1 round head low tooth count ratchets that come out of china and are in every cheap set at the dollar store, but pretty close). It's now a 45T design, and it has the highest backdrag of any ratchet I have used, was super prone to self reversing if you ratcheted quickly, and the "comfort grip" on them feels like a cheap textured plastic grip that you'd expect from the HF free screwdrivers.

Their sockets are still really good I'd say though. Hard to seriously screw those up! I've gotten a few 3/4 drive sockets from Urrea when Amazon has had some really good deals on them ($3 or $4 for a large 3/4 drive socket, hell yeah!), but other than that, regular price and availability doesn't make them a good option.

 

[Brownsfan]

It looks like the tools are sourced from pretty much everywhere. I looked through the catalog and saw pliers from the USA(looked like Channellock rebrands) Germany and Spain. Over all looks like good tools and if pricing is good then they could be an option for some. Their multimeters look IDENTICAL to Mac meters who Im sure has someone else making them. The tool boxes are obviously Waterloo and identical to Craftsman

 

[mikebaker1129]

Yes, some of the ratchet repair kits are from Taiwan and fit the older husky/Klein/Stanley ratchets.
They have an office in San Antonio,TX that I called when I had an issue with a busted gear on a Proto style ratchet. I had to go through a local tool rep, but Urrea fixed me up.
I do like some of their tools. Screwdrivers are the old Proto style.