On Jul 18, 8:13*pm, "Lee Michaels"
wrote:
"Upscale" wrote

"Tanus" wrote in ....
However, and I think Upscale may have said that tongue-in-cheek, I don't
want to see them enter power tools. No doubt they'd research and
engineer it to the nth degree, but in the end, they've made their mark
with hand tools.

Unlikely that you have to worry about it very much. I think they know
where
their expertise lays. If they wanted to get into the power tool market,
they'd have done it long ago.

Going into the power tool business with innovative new products would cost
some big bucks. Not only for research and development, but manufacturing and
marketing costs as well.

Rob Lee has talked aout the luxury of being a private company and being able
to pursue tool design that a publically company may not be able to. *But he
also made it clear that there is only so much money to go around and he has
to budget the projects he has.

Development and manufacture of power tools would require a huge amount of
capital, just not available to a family owned company like Lee Valley.

Many of Lee Valley's tools fill a need that isn't adequately handled
by others.
The power drill, believe me, is covered, so is the router, so is the
circular saw, and every other kinda tool with a cord or a battery
pack.
No one will ever be able to make the claim that the Lee Valley drill
drills rounder holes than a Milwaukee.
Marketing/manufacturing 101: Find a niche and fill it. There ain't no
niche in the powertool market that isn't already being fought over by
many, many (toooo many) brands.

The way the Lee Valley people think, their drill/saw/router would be
what? As good as a Festool? Better but even more expensive???
Not because they don't know how, not because they don't have the
money, but because they are smarter than that. (They're Canadian,
after all dons Nomex)

There is a better chance LV Organic Cereal will hit the market before
any head-ache-riddled powertool of theirs will.