Top Tool Companies - Who Owns The Brands? (2024)

Top Tool Companies - Who Owns The Brands? (1)

Here is a quite complete list of the biggest tool companies that manufacture most of the tool brands you’ll find on the market.

We spent hours researching how most of the tool brands out there are structured and whether they are owned by a group or not.

We hope you will enjoy learning what are the tool companies that make your favorite tools.

Here is the list:

Tool Manufacturing Companies Owning Several Brands

  • Robert Bosch GmbH
  • Techtronic Industries Company Limited (TTI)
  • Husqvarna Group
  • Makita Corporation
  • Snap-on Incorporated
  • Illinois Tool Works Inc. (ITW)
  • Hikoki
  • Emerson Electric Co.
  • Apex Tool Group
  • Chervon Group
  • Ideal Industries
  • Positec Tool Corporation
  • JPW Industries
  • Ingersoll Rand Inc.

Single Brand Tool Manufacturing Companies

  • Hilti Group
  • Klein Tools

Big Stores That Own Tool Brands But Don’t Make Them

  • The Home Depot Inc.
  • Lowe’s Companies Inc.
  • Menards Inc.
  • Harbor Freight Tools

Keep reading or click one to find out which brands the above tool companies own.

Tool Manufacturing Companies Owning a Portfolio of Brands

Let’s start with the tool companies that own various brands, from highest to lowest sales revenue per year.

Top Tool Companies - Who Owns The Brands? (2)

Stanley Black & Decker Inc.

2020 tool sales: $14.5 Billion [1]
Headquarters: New Britain, CONNECTICUT, USA

Stanley Black & Decker is the world’s largest tool manufacturer, with over 60,000 employees. The company’s portfolio of tool brands reflects how big it is. Some of these brands may sound very familiar to you. Check them out:

Top Tool Companies - Who Owns The Brands? (3)
  • AeroScout
  • Black & Decker
  • Bostitch
  • Craftsman
  • DeWalt
  • Facom
  • Irwin Tools
  • Lenox
  • Lista
  • Mac Tools
  • Porter-Cable
  • Proto
  • Stanley
  • Vidmar
Top Tool Companies - Who Owns The Brands? (4)

Robert Bosch GmbH

2019 Consumer Goods division sales: €18.8 Billion / $20.9 Billion) [2]
Headquarters: Gerlingen-Schillerhöhe (near Stuttgart), GERMANY

Bosch Group is a huge multinational company employing over 398,000 people. It is divided into four business sectors. The Consumer Goods division sells power tools, accessories, measuring devices, gardening equipment, and home appliances. The annual revenue mentioned above is higher than Stanley Black & Decker’s but it includes home appliances. Bosch owns the following tool brands:

Top Tool Companies - Who Owns The Brands? (5)
  • Beissbarth
  • Bosch Tools
  • CST/Berger
  • Diablo
  • Dremel
  • Freud
  • Hawera
  • OTC
  • Robinair
  • Rolatape
  • Rotozip
  • Vermont American
Top Tool Companies - Who Owns The Brands? (6)

Techtronic Industries Company Limited (TTI)

2020 tool sales: $9.8 Billion [3]
Headquarters: HONG KONG

Did you know that Milwaukee Electric Tool Co belongs to a Hongkongese company? Now you do. TTI acquired Milwaukee back in 2005. It has since been a very successful company, growing pretty fast, with over 22,000 employees. The company owns the brands:

Top Tool Companies - Who Owns The Brands? (7)
  • AEG
  • Dirt Devil
  • Empire
  • Hart
  • Homelite
  • Hoover
  • Imperial Blades
  • Milwaukee
  • Oreck
  • Ryobi
  • Stiletto
  • Vax
Top Tool Companies - Who Owns The Brands? (8)

Husqvarna Group

2020 tool sales: SEK 41.9 Billion / $5.1 Billion [4]
Headquarters: Stockholm, SWEDEN

Husqvarna is a big tool maker, mostly known for manufacturing outdoor power equipment such as chainsaws, trimmers, or lawnmowers. They also produce consumer watering products, cutting equipment, as well as diamond tools for the construction and stone industries. The company has more than 13,000 employees and also owns a few brands:

Top Tool Companies - Who Owns The Brands? (9)
  • Diamant Boart
  • Flymo
  • Gardena
  • HTC
  • Husqvarna
  • Jonsered
  • McCulloch
  • Poulan Pro
  • RedMax
  • Zenoah
Top Tool Companies - Who Owns The Brands? (10)

Makita Corporation

2020 tool sales: YEN 492.6 Billion / $4.6 Billion [5]
Headquarters: Anjo, JAPAN

Makita is a well-known Japanese power tool manufacturer. They mainly sell corded and cordless tools, power tool batteries, petrol equipment, and accessories such as blades or carrying cases. The company employs 17,000 people and has facilities around the world. They only manufacture one other brand of power tools, called Maktec, which is cheaper than Makita tools. Makita tool brands are:

Top Tool Companies - Who Owns The Brands? (11)
  • Makita
  • Maktec
Top Tool Companies - Who Owns The Brands? (12)

Andreas Stihl AG & Co

2019 tool sales: €3.9Billion / $4.4 Billion [6]
Headquarters: Waiblingen, GERMANY

Stihl is a German manufacturer of power tools, chainsaws, and other outdoor power equipment. It is allegedly the world’s best-selling brand of chainsaw, and the only one to make its own saw chains and guide bars. The company has over 17,000 employees and also manufactures Viking tools. Andreas Stihl brands are thus:

Top Tool Companies - Who Owns The Brands? (13)
  • Stihl
  • Viking
Top Tool Companies - Who Owns The Brands? (14)

Snap-on Incorporated

2017 tool sales: $3.7Billion [7]
Headquarters: Kenosha, WISCONSIN, USA

Snap-on is an American manufacturer and marketer of tools, equipment, diagnostics, repair information, and system solutions for professional users. They are very active in the transportation industry including the automotive, aviation, railroad, and marine industries. Snap-on is better known as the company that visits its customer at work, once weekly, with a van full of items for purchase. They own:

Top Tool Companies - Who Owns The Brands? (15)
  • Bahco
  • Blue Point
  • CDI Torque
  • Hofmann
  • Lindstrom
  • Snap-on
  • Sioux
  • Williams
Top Tool Companies - Who Owns The Brands? (16)

Illinois Tool Works Inc. (ITW)

2020 tool sales: $3.5 – $5 Billion [8]
Headquarters: Glenview, ILLINOIS, USA

ITW is a global company that employs approximately 45,000 people, in 53 countries. They make, among other things, construction products like fasteners, equipment and consumable systems, and specialty products. ITW brands include:

Top Tool Companies - Who Owns The Brands? (17)
  • Bernard
  • Buehler
  • Buildex
  • Hobart
  • Miller
  • Paslode
  • Ramset
  • Reid
  • Spit
  • Tregaskiss
Top Tool Companies - Who Owns The Brands? (18)

Hikoki

2017 tool sales: $1.7 Billion [9]
Headquarters: Tokyo, JAPAN

Hikoki, formerly Hitachi Koki, manufactures and sells power tools and life-science equipment. They employ more than 6,000 people. It is owned by the American global investment company KKR. The group owns:

Top Tool Companies - Who Owns The Brands? (19)
  • Elektra Beckum
  • Hikoki
  • Metabo
  • Metabo HPT
Top Tool Companies - Who Owns The Brands? (20)

Emerson Electric Co.

2020 tools & home products sales: $1.6 Billion [10]
Headquarters: Ferguson, MISSOURI, USA

Emerson is an American multinational company that produces tools and provides a wide range of engineering services. The group has a workforce of over 83,000 people and 200 manufacturing facilities worldwide. Emerson owns the following tool brands:

Top Tool Companies - Who Owns The Brands? (21)
  • ProTeam
  • Ridgid
  • Workshop
Top Tool Companies - Who Owns The Brands? (22)

Apex Tool Group

2018 tools & home products sales: $1.4 Billion [11]
Headquarters: Sparks, MARYLAND, USA

Apex Tool Group is a Maryland-based supplier of hand and power tools. It is owned by Bain Capital and has over 8,000 employees. They own a lot of brands, including:

Top Tool Companies - Who Owns The Brands? (23)
  • Allen
  • Apex
  • Belzer
  • Campbell
  • Cleco
  • Crescent
  • Dotco
  • Erem
  • GearWrench
  • H.K. Porter
  • Jacobs
  • Lufkin
  • Master Power
  • SATA
  • Utica
  • Weller
  • Xcelite
Top Tool Companies - Who Owns The Brands? (24)

Chervon Group

Tool sales: Unknown
Headquarters: Nanjing, CHINA

Chervon is a Chinese multinational company having tool manufacturing as one of its activities. They own the brands:

Top Tool Companies - Who Owns The Brands? (25)
  • Calmdura
  • Devon
  • EGO
  • FLEX
  • Hammerhead
  • Skil
  • Skilsaw
  • Xtron
Top Tool Companies - Who Owns The Brands? (26)

TTS Tooltechnic Systems AG & Co.KG (Festool Group)

2019 tool sales: $696 Million [12]
Headquarters: Wendlingen, GERMANY

TTS Tooltechnic Systems or Festool Group is a German power tool manufacturer. It operates in 68 countries around the world and employs over 2,700 people. The group brands are:

Top Tool Companies - Who Owns The Brands? (27)
  • Festool
  • Tanos
  • TTS Cleantec
Top Tool Companies - Who Owns The Brands? (28)

Ideal Industries

2019 tool sales: $339 Million [13]
Headquarters: Sycamore, ILLINOIS, USA

Ideal Industries produces hand tools, connectors, testers, and measuring devices for the electrical and telecommunications industries. They have more than 1,200 employees and own the following brands:

Top Tool Companies - Who Owns The Brands? (29)
  • Anderson Power Products
  • Enatel
  • Ideal Electrical
  • Pratt-Read
  • SK Hand Tools
  • Western Forge
Top Tool Companies - Who Owns The Brands? (30)

Positec Tool Corporation

Tool sales: Unknown
Headquarters: Suzhou, CHINA

Positec is a Chinese power tool and lawn and garden equipment manufacturing company. It is the company behind the brands Rockwell Tools and WORX, that can be found at Lowe’s, The Home Depot, Walmart, or Costco. Positec Brands:

Top Tool Companies - Who Owns The Brands? (31)
  • Rockwell Tools
  • WORX
Top Tool Companies - Who Owns The Brands? (32)

JPW Industries

2019 tool sales: $85 Million [14]
Headquarters: La Vergne, TENNESSEE, USA

JPW manufactures a variety of products including hand tools, workholding tools, metalworking equipment, ironworkers, lifting systems, and air tools. The company is named after its three main brands, JET, Powermatic, and Wilton. They sell their products in 20 different countries throughout the world. The five tool brands owned by the group are:

Top Tool Companies - Who Owns The Brands? (33)
  • Baileigh Industrial
  • Edwards Manufacturing
  • JET Tools
  • Powermatic
  • Wilton
Top Tool Companies - Who Owns The Brands? (34)

Ingersoll Rand Inc.

Tool sales: Unknown
Headquarters: Milwaukee, WISCONSIN, USA

Ingersoll Rand is an American global provider of power tools and industrial, energy, and healthcare equipment. It is owned by the American global investment company KKR. The group employs over 6,700 people and owns a lot of different brands, including:

Top Tool Companies - Who Owns The Brands? (35)
  • Champion Pneumatic
  • CompAir
  • Gardner Denver
  • Ingersoll Rand
  • LeRoi
  • Milton Roy

Single Brand Tool Manufacturing Companies

Next, let’s check out the tool brands that don’t belong to a group of companies.

Top Tool Companies - Who Owns The Brands? (36)

Hilti Group

2020 tool sales: CHF 5.3 Billion / $5.45 Billion [15]
Headquarters: Schaan, LIECHTENSTEIN

Hilti, named after the company’s founders Martin and Eugen Hilti, is a Liechtenstein multinational tool company. It employs 30,000 people worldwide and sells mainly power tools, anchoring systems, fire protection systems, measuring and detection tools, and related software and services.

Top Tool Companies - Who Owns The Brands? (37)

Klein Tools

2020 tool sales: $270 Billion [16]
Headquarters: Lincolnshire, ILLINOIS, USA

Klein Tools is an American company that manufactures hand tools, mostly for the electrical and telecommunications industries. Within their 3,800 different tools, they make screwdrivers, nut drivers, pliers, cable and bolt cutters, as well as stripping tools. Klein Tools is a popular brand. A funny example of this is that lineman’s pliers are often called “Kleins” in the US.

Top Tool Companies - Who Owns The Brands? (38)

C. & E. Fein GmbH

2020 tool sales: $82 Million [17]
Headquarters: Schwäbisch Gmünd, GERMANY

C. & E. Fein GmbH is a German power tool manufacturer employing 900 people. This is the tool company that invented and made the first handheld power drill in 1895. Fein is famous for its electric screwdrivers, its grinders, and its Fein Multimaster RS, a variable speed oscillating tool.

Big Stores That Own Tool Brands But Don’t Make Them

Finally, we have the large home improvement and hardware stores. We all know they are retailers for many tool brands but they also sell their house tools. There is, though, a major difference between them and the tool companies we mentioned above. They don’t actually make their tools. Rather, they buy tools from original equipment manufacturers (OEM) and sell them under their brand names.

Here they are:

Top Tool Companies - Who Owns The Brands? (39)

The Home Depot Inc.

2019 tool sales: $8.5 Billion [18]
Headquarters: Atlanta, GEORGIA, USA

Who isn’t familiar with The Home Depot? It is the largest home improvement retailer in the U.S., employing over 400,000 people. The company sells tools but also a wide variety of products such as hardware, appliances, gardening products, and services. In 2019, The Home Depot sold for $110 Billion in products and services, including $8.5 Billion in tool sales. The company’s house tool brands are:

Top Tool Companies - Who Owns The Brands? (40)
  • HDX
  • Husky
Top Tool Companies - Who Owns The Brands? (41)

Lowe’s Companies Inc.

Tool sales: Unknown
Headquarters: Mooresville, NORTH CAROLINA, USA

Lowe’s is the second-largest home improvement chain in the US, with $72 Billion in net sales in 2019 and more than 300,000 employees. The two brands owned by the company are:

Top Tool Companies - Who Owns The Brands? (42)
  • Kobalt
  • Blue Hawk
Top Tool Companies - Who Owns The Brands? (43)

Menards Inc.

Tool sales: Unknown
Headquarters: Eau Claire, WISCONSIN, USA

With around $10 BIllion in yearly net sales and 45,000 people employed, Menards is the third-largest home improvement store in the country. They own :

Top Tool Companies - Who Owns The Brands? (44)
  • Masterforce
Top Tool Companies - Who Owns The Brands? (45)

Harbor Freight Tools

Tool sales: $5 Billion [19]
Headquarters: Calabasas, CALIFORNIA, USA

Harbor Freight is a California-based discount tool and equipment retailer that employs over 20,000 people in the US and has facilities in 48 states. They buy tools from manufacturers and sell them as home brands for relatively low prices. The company’s house brands include:

Top Tool Companies - Who Owns The Brands? (46)
  • Banks
  • Bauer
  • Central Pneumatic
  • Chicago Electric
  • Drill Master
  • Hercules
  • Pittsburgh
  • Warrior

Sources

[1] Stanley Black & Decker Form 10-K
[2] Bosch annual report 2020
[3] TTI 2020 results
[4] Husqvarna year-end report 2020
[5] Makita annual report 2020
[6] Stihl annual report 2020
[7] Snap-on 2020 results
[8] ITW 2020 results
[9] Hikoki Revenues
[10] Emerson Form 10-K
[11] Apex Tool Group annual revenues
[12] TTS D&B Business Directory
[13] Ideal Industries D&B Business Directory
[14] JPW Industries Information RocketReach
[15] Hilti 2020 financial report
[16] Klein Tools D&B Business Directory
[17] Fein Industries Information RocketReach
[18] The Home Depot 2019 annual report
[19] Harbor Freight D&B Business Directory

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