Texas selected as site for new Craftsman tools plant

Hartford Courant:

Toolmaker Stanley Black & Decker plans to open a manufacturing plant in North Texas and create about 500 jobs.

The New Britain-based company said a groundbreaking will take place this summer on the CRAFTSMAN plant in Fort Worth.

A Stanley Black & Decker statement says the 425,000-square-foot (39483.46-square meter) complex should be completed by late 2020. The plant will make a variety of CRAFTSMAN mechanics tools, including sockets, ratchets, wrenches and general sets.

“When we purchased CRAFTSMAN in 2017 we were determined to revitalize this iconic U.S. brand and bring back its American manufacturing heritage,” said Stanley Black & Decker President and CEO Jim Loree, who was a member of Connecticut’s Commission on Fiscal Stability and Economic Growth.

“From the launch of CRAFTSMAN’s refreshed brand identity last year to our announcement of the first new manufacturing facility in many years, we’re demonstrating our continued commitment to grow the brand and bring even more production of these great products back to the United States,'' he said.
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Fort Worth is a central location for manufacturers that is far enough south not to be hampered by severe winter storms.  It also is convenient to transportation arteries that can get the tools to market.  Texas is also a much more business-friendly state than Connecticut where the parent company is located.  The savings on taxes alone are an adequate reason for placing the plant in Texas.