The business section of my local newspaper reports that Milwaukee
Electric Tool has been sold to a Hong Kong company, Techtronic
Industries Co. According to the article, that company is the maker of
Ryobi and Homelite products.


Editorializing:

I hope Milwaukee doesn't turn into another of brand that trades on
it's old reputation but is cheapened to the point of uselessness.
Where are we to buy tools if all the good ones become memories?

I found a quick link which describes it a little mo

http://www.manufacturing.net/ind/art...stry id=21940

And here's one on Techtronic's site confirming their acquisition:

http://www.ttigroup.com/general/home.php


"Lazarus Long" wrote in message
...
The business section of my local newspaper reports that Milwaukee
Electric Tool has been sold to a Hong Kong company, Techtronic
Industries Co. According to the article, that company is the maker of
Ryobi and Homelite products.


Editorializing:

I hope Milwaukee doesn't turn into another of brand that trades on
it's old reputation but is cheapened to the point of uselessness.
Where are we to buy tools if all the good ones become memories?

Where in China can one collect an unemployment check???????

--

Rumpty

Radial Arm Saw Forum: http://forums.delphiforums.com/woodbutcher/start

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -


"Mike Pio" wrote in message
news:Bk%Yc.63133$yh.46912@fed1read05...
I found a quick link which describes it a little mo


http://www.manufacturing.net/ind/art...y=Electrical+E
quip.+&industryid=21940

And here's one on Techtronic's site confirming their acquisition:

http://www.ttigroup.com/general/home.php


"Lazarus Long" wrote in message
...
The business section of my local newspaper reports that Milwaukee
Electric Tool has been sold to a Hong Kong company, Techtronic
Industries Co. According to the article, that company is the maker of
Ryobi and Homelite products.


Editorializing:

I hope Milwaukee doesn't turn into another of brand that trades on
it's old reputation but is cheapened to the point of uselessness.
Where are we to buy tools if all the good ones become memories?

Mike Pio writes:

I found a quick link which describes it a little mo


http://www.manufacturing.net/ind/art...stry=Electrica
l+Equip.+&industryid=21940

And here's one on Techtronic's site confirming their acquisition:

http://www.ttigroup.com/general/home.php

IIRC, the price was to be around 666 million bucks. I was at a Ryobi tool
introduction yesterday when they announced some details. Somewhere, I've got a
press release, but it's almost certainly on the above site.

Atlas Copco bought Milwaukee less than a decade ago, and appears to have done
little or nothing to expand its market share, yet the brass at AC stated, "The
business is, however, still far from the Group's desired position of globally
being number one or two in the markets we serve."

One has to wonder what people like that use for thinking equipment. Neither
Milwaukee nor AEG had the kind of market penetration, though both made, and
make, marvelous tools, that would lead to a fulfillment of that kind of
expectation without one helluva lot of tool research and development at several
levels. Neither company produces what can be called consumer level tools,
meaning their numbers are never going to go over the top and sweep everyone
else away. That should have been obvious to even to even the most solidly
MBA-ed dolt in management, but it seems not. Then again...when a company thinks
annual plans are the same as long term plans....

It should be in interesting run. Ryobi R&D has always come up with of the more
interesting tool concepts, and some damned good tools in particular price
ranges (and some that are not all that good...I'm not a fan of their routers).
There is a step up in quality with the Ridgid tools...and I noticed the Dirt
Devil vacuum (another TTI brand) was cheaper than the one I bought 5-6 years
ago, but seems identical in power, etc. (not a durability problem: it was
stored at the top of basement stairs when we had a basement fire).

I have no idea how it will all shake out yet, nor am I enamored of one tool
company for all the world, which sometimes seems to be the way things are
headed with all these mergers, but I am curious as to where things will stand
next year at this time.




Charlie Self
"A judge is a law student who marks his own examination papers." H. L. Mencken

"Charlie Self" writes:

Atlas Copco bought Milwaukee less than a decade ago, and appears to have
done
little or nothing to expand its market share, yet the brass at AC stated,
"The
business is, however, still far from the Group's desired position of
globally
being number one or two in the markets we serve."

They have taken a page directly out of Jack Welch's approach of how to run a
company. (Retired CEO of GE)

Having said that, Atlas-Copco is no General Electric.

The rest of Welch's approach goes like this:

You will be #1 or #2 in market share.
You will have at least 25% market share.
You will contribute at least 20% net after to the profits of the General
Electric Company.

If a business didn't meet those goals, GE either sold the business or shut
it down.

One has to wonder what people like that use for thinking equipment.

Sounds like the just tried to copy GE, but without all the other stuff that
is required to make it happen.

Neither
Milwaukee nor AEG had the kind of market penetration, though both made,
and
make, marvelous tools, that would lead to a fulfillment of that kind of
expectation without one helluva lot of tool research and development at
several
levels. Neither company produces what can be called consumer level tools,
meaning their numbers are never going to go over the top and sweep
everyone
else away.

What you say is absolutely correct; however, you can define a market segment
as other than the Homer Homeowner market, in which case the GE approach
would work quite well.

That should have been obvious to even to even the most solidly
MBA-ed dolt in management, but it seems not. Then again...when a company
thinks
annual plans are the same as long term plans....

Long term planning:

What's for lunch?

It should be in interesting run. Ryobi R&D has always come up with of the
more
interesting tool concepts, and some damned good tools in particular price
ranges (and some that are not all that good...I'm not a fan of their
routers).

There is a step up in quality with the Ridgid tools...and I noticed the
Dirt
Devil vacuum (another TTI brand) was cheaper than the one I bought 5-6
years
ago, but seems identical in power, etc. (not a durability problem: it was
stored at the top of basement stairs when we had a basement fire).

IMHO, Emerson has totally destroyed Ridgid, but then again, I'm prejudiced.

I was at Ridgid in Elyria, Oh the day is was announced that Emerson had
purchased the company. It was not a happy place.

I have no idea how it will all shake out yet, nor am I enamored of one
tool
company for all the world, which sometimes seems to be the way things are
headed with all these mergers, but I am curious as to where things will
stand
next year at this time.

That makes two of us.

Lew

Lew Hodgett responods:


IMHO, Emerson has totally destroyed Ridgid, but then again, I'm prejudiced.

I was at Ridgid in Elyria, Oh the day is was announced that Emerson had
purchased the company. It was not a happy place.

Yes, but Emerson hasn't had anything to do with Ridgid for some time now. HD
pushed them out and brought TTI in, expanded the line of tools and got
redesigns on many of the remainder. The TS3650 table saw is a case in point.
Similar to the Emerson TS2424, but with some extra features and refinements
that add to utility. There is now a line of cordless power tools, and the job
site table saw, whose number escapes me at this hour of the morning, is
currently the best on the market.

Whether or not Emerson would have made similar changes I don't know, but I'd
guess they would have. It often isn't the producing company that creates the
quality range, the features gained or lost, the durability, but it is the
company doing the specifications--with the major spec being the profit margin.
Set a price for the final product and then decide what your profit margin is
going to be. Design to fit and to hell with the customer. Not a good process.

Look at the new Craftsman table saw (2124) to see what happens when a company
gets away from that process. It costs more than the saw it replaces, though
sales have kept the prices fairly similar since it was introduced. But that new
saw may well be the best non-industrial table saw that Sears has ever sold. Is
it the best table saw in the world? Of course not. It is a third addition to
the hybrid saw tradition, and seems to me to be better than the other two,
though by how much I don't know...and I could be wrong. I've done very, very
little with the DeWalt and Jet.

One thing with the new Craftsman saw line: it was designed and implemented for
Craftsman by a bunch of old Delta hands. Let's replace 'old' with 'former'. And
it shows the signs.

Charlie Self
"A judge is a law student who marks his own examination papers." H. L. Mencken

"Charlie Self" writes:

Set a price for the final product and then decide what your profit margin
is
going to be. Design to fit and to hell with the customer. Not a good
process.

Product design specification written by an accountant.


Lew

No offense to your opinion but Emerson is known as a very well managed
company. I would expect Ridgid to do well under its stewardship.

"Lew Hodgett" wrote in message
ink.net...
"Charlie Self" writes:

Atlas Copco bought Milwaukee less than a decade ago, and appears to have
done
little or nothing to expand its market share, yet the brass at AC stated,
"The
business is, however, still far from the Group's desired position of
globally
being number one or two in the markets we serve."

They have taken a page directly out of Jack Welch's approach of how to run
a
company. (Retired CEO of GE)

Having said that, Atlas-Copco is no General Electric.

The rest of Welch's approach goes like this:

You will be #1 or #2 in market share.
You will have at least 25% market share.
You will contribute at least 20% net after to the profits of the General
Electric Company.

If a business didn't meet those goals, GE either sold the business or shut
it down.

One has to wonder what people like that use for thinking equipment.

Sounds like the just tried to copy GE, but without all the other stuff
that
is required to make it happen.

Neither
Milwaukee nor AEG had the kind of market penetration, though both made,
and
make, marvelous tools, that would lead to a fulfillment of that kind of
expectation without one helluva lot of tool research and development at
several
levels. Neither company produces what can be called consumer level tools,
meaning their numbers are never going to go over the top and sweep
everyone
else away.

What you say is absolutely correct; however, you can define a market
segment
as other than the Homer Homeowner market, in which case the GE approach
would work quite well.

That should have been obvious to even to even the most solidly
MBA-ed dolt in management, but it seems not. Then again...when a company
thinks
annual plans are the same as long term plans....

Long term planning:

What's for lunch?

It should be in interesting run. Ryobi R&D has always come up with of the
more
interesting tool concepts, and some damned good tools in particular price
ranges (and some that are not all that good...I'm not a fan of their
routers).

There is a step up in quality with the Ridgid tools...and I noticed the
Dirt
Devil vacuum (another TTI brand) was cheaper than the one I bought 5-6
years
ago, but seems identical in power, etc. (not a durability problem: it was
stored at the top of basement stairs when we had a basement fire).

IMHO, Emerson has totally destroyed Ridgid, but then again, I'm
prejudiced.

I was at Ridgid in Elyria, Oh the day is was announced that Emerson had
purchased the company. It was not a happy place.

I have no idea how it will all shake out yet, nor am I enamored of one
tool
company for all the world, which sometimes seems to be the way things are
headed with all these mergers, but I am curious as to where things will
stand
next year at this time.

That makes two of us.

Lew

Bob Peterson responds:

No offense to your opinion but Emerson is known as a very well managed
company. I would expect Ridgid to do well under its stewardship.

Yeah, except that Ridgid is under the tutelage of TTI, not Emerson, though if I
got most of the complexities right, the Ridgid brand name, and the plumbing
tools, are still Emerson's.

Charlie Self
"A judge is a law student who marks his own examination papers." H. L. Mencken

"Bob Peterson" writes:

No offense to your opinion but Emerson is known as a very well managed
company. I would expect Ridgid to do well under its stewardship.

Ridgid is a shell of it's former self.

IMHO, Emerson has other fish to fry and as a result, Ridgid has paid the
price.

But then again, I'm prejudiced.

Lew

otforme (Charlie Self) wrote in message ...

snip

I have no idea how it will all shake out yet, nor am I enamored of one tool
company for all the world, which sometimes seems to be the way things are
headed with all these mergers, but I am curious as to where things will stand
next year at this time.

I have had some great experiences with Milwaukee, both the tools and
the company, so I was enamored. Now I'm depressed.

H