Every thng Matço sells is rebranded, All the others make somethiñg of there own,
Matco makes their own tool boxes, and from my understanding, always has.
Matco was the original manufacturer of boxes for MAC Tools, but split off as it’s own brand in 1979.
In 1981, Matco was purchased by Jacobs Manufacturing (the drill chuck brand), which merged with Chicago Pneumatic.
In 1986, Danaher Corporation purchased Chicago Pneumatic.
Danaher sold CP in 1987, but kept Jacobs and Matco.
Danaher then acquired Easco Tools in 1990, and Armstrong tools in 1994.
I have no clue who was making the Matco tools between the breakup with MAC Tools in the late 1970s, and the Danaher purchase of Easco in 1990, but I presume after Danaher purchased Easco, a bunch of the tools were likely supplied to the Matco brand by Easco, and then by Armstrong in the mid 1990s when Danaher bought Armstrong.
I know some of the Matco tools were definitely Armstrong made, because the designs matched Armstrong tools.
Whether it is fair to say that the Matco tools weren’t “made by Matco” when the actual tool manufacturer has the same corporate owner is questionable.
After the disastrous attempt to consolidate Armstrong manufacturing into a single new unified facility basically killed the Armstrong brand and manufacturing, Matco tools had to be sourced from elsewhere, but Matco basically kept some of the Armatrong designs, such as the Maxx ratchet design Armstrong had been making, but with aesthetic changes.
Somehow Matco seems to keep sidestepping potential disasters.
Matco split off from MAC Tools before Stanley bought MAC, and avoided the disaster that was caused when the multiple MAC Tools productions sites got consolidated.
Matco somehow managed to get split off separately from the various tool brands that became Apex tools, instead getting spun off to one of the higher end Danaher formed new corporate brands.
www.matcotools.com
