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It was announced yesterday that after 4 attempts over the past 27 years Stanley Works has finally acquired Black & Decker in a $4.5 billion deal ($3.5bn stock & $1bn debt). Unfortunately this means about 4,000 additional jobs (10% of work force) will be cut from the business that has already seen dramatic cuts. Shareholders of Black & Decker will get 1.275 shares of Stanley stock and should see an increase in overall shareholder value from the merger.  

Stanley buys and sells companies faster than I can keep track, last year they sold CST/David White to Bosch Tools. It will be very interesting to see what shakes out from this deal. There are many arrangements behind the scenes with companies that have deals with Black & Decker to supply motors, parts, etc and they could potentially loose them under the Stanley brand. I guess the big question will be how will this effect the quality of the tools for DeWalt, Porter Cable and other brands. Black & Decker has had some problems in recent years with their loyal customers being disappointed in degrading quality. Is Stanley the answer?

In addition, both companies will host a joint investor lunch on Tuesday, November 3, 2009 at 12:00 p.m. ET in New York City. The live webcast of the meeting can be accessed at www.stanleyblackanddecker.com, www.stanleyworks.com and www.blackanddecker.com.  Read the Full Press Release Below:    

Tagi: stanley brand, bosch tools, stanley works, degrading quality, live webcast, shareholder value, dramatic cuts, porter cable, loyal customers, black decker, shareholders, merger, amp, nbsp, dewalt, attempts, delta, press release, new york city, lunch

At the World of Concrete apparently we spent too much time talking to the Makita girls and totally missed the new addition to the Makita’s Anti-Vibration Technology (AVT) technology breaker line. The AVT line has been very successful in the construction world and as the US (aka California then maybe everyone else) starts to adopt 2005 European Vibration Laws or some form of them there is going to be an even bigger push in that direction. If you are currently looking to purchase a SDS-Max rotary hammer drill or hex shank demolition breakers it is possible a few years from now you may not be able to “legally” use the tool or at least have limited time per day, if it doesn’t meet new codes.  The new Makita AVT HM1317CB ($1,170, Ohio Power Tool) is the latest addition in their AVT line up with many exciting features in addition to the low vibration and ease of use. Checkout the full Makita Press Release below.   

Tagi: demolition hammer, rotary hammer, hex shank, sds max, hammer drill, directi, power tool, breakers, limited time, press release, nbsp, checkout, girls

The Bosch NailKiller Auger Bits (In-stock now at ohiopowertool.com) newly developed auger bits claim a 900% better lifespan than what is currently in the market today. It also offers a 61% reduction in torque response, vastly improving the user experience. I had a chance to see these bits in action at the 2009 STAFDA show, see video below, and they went through nail after nail with no problems. Also it eliminates the need for separate Ship Augers and Spur Augers, available in short 7.5” and Long 17” lengths. Checkout the full Bosch Press Release below.

Tagi: auger bits, stafda, augers, acti, lifespan, user experience, bosch, torque, press release, checkout, stock

Recently we received one of Johnson’s 48" Magnetic BIG J Heavy Duty Aluminum Level 1501-4800 for review and our initial impressions were very positive. The construction is solid and very nice design with large viewing bubbles, rubberized end caps and even the comfortable center grips. The magnet along the side is a very nice feature, personally had never used a magnetic 48” level it’s like having 3 hands, I’ve seen the light. That being said we handed it off to one of our favorite contractor and long time Ohio Power Tool customer with a mission to try and break it. We will report back soon, in the meantime Johnson Levels has some other cool products like free Android Apps (Leveling Bubble & Visual Level) and just announced today a full line of measuring tapes and long tapes, check out the full press release below.  

Tagi: duty aluminum, vual, measurement tools, rsquo, measuring tapes, cool products, nice design, android, power tool, heavy duty, msi, magnet, caps, amp, press release, nbsp

Announced yesterday from the Yellow team is a new 1.25HP Compact Router available as a fixed base unit DWP611 ($139) or a combo kit which can be used with fixed or plunge base DW611PK ($199). The router is a variable speed unit and designed to do the work of both a palm router and many jobs of a full sized router. We have not seen one of these units in person so we are not sure how it would compare in size to the 1HP Bosch Colt Palm Sander PR20EVSK ($121, Ohio Power Tool) but our guess it would be very similar. It looks as though the new DeWalt is going to compete directly with the Bosch Colt which has been one of the most popular palm routers for years.

The DeWalt Compact Router also has some nice improvements such as clear base and LED lights which will make it much easier to see your work. We first saw these features on another Bosch router, the MRF23EVS but delays have kept the much anticipated 2.3HP Bosch router from being launched. Looks like this DeWalt router could beat it to market when it launches in October 2010. Checkout the full DeWalt Press Release below for more info. 

Tagi: plunge base, palm sander, speed unit, dewalt, power tool, variable speed, colt, bosch, routers, router, guess, improvements, press release, nbsp, pers, checkout, jobs