Craftsman Plant Sets Roots in AllianceTexas
The plant will also leverage some of the most advanced manufacturing technologies including pre-flattening steel technologies to improve material yield by almost 25%, and water/energy management.
FORT WORTH—Stanley Black & Decker will expand its US manufacturing footprint with a new Craftsman manufacturing plant at AllianceTexas. The groundbreaking for the 425,000-square-foot facility will take place in summer 2019 and is expected to be completed in late 2020. The plant will employ approximately 500 full-time employees to support the facility.
“The addition of Stanley Black & Decker’s manufacturing operations at AllianceTexas reinforces the importance of retaining and creating new job opportunities in the United States,” said Ross Perot Jr., chairman of the Perot Group and Hillwood, developer of AllianceTexas. “Stanley Black & Decker is the world’s largest supplier of tools and storage products and its commitment to bringing jobs stateside will help set a precedent for other manufacturing companies. The state-of-the-art manufacturing facility at AllianceTexas will help generate hundreds of jobs in Fort Worth and North Texas, which will have a lasting impact on the region.”
The new facility will manufacture a wide range of Craftsman mechanics tools including sockets, ratchets, wrenches and general sets. The facility will also leverage some of the most advanced manufacturing technologies available to optimize productivity and sustainability, including pre-flattening steel technologies, as well as water and energy management technologies to reduce resource consumption.
“When we purchased Craftsman in 2017, we were determined to revitalize this iconic US brand and bring back its American manufacturing heritage,” said Jim Loree, Stanley Black & Decker president and CEO.
Subsequently, Craftsman launched a refreshed brand identity in August 2018, unveiling more than 1,200 new products. The brand is now on pace for an accelerated growth trajectory to reach $1 billion in incremental revenues by 2021.
“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,” Loree says.
Stanley Black & Decker currently operates approximately 30 manufacturing facilities in the United States and more than 100 international manufacturing facilities. The company has five locations that have started implementing advanced Industry 4.0 technologies in facilities from manufacturing execution systems to 3-D printing, virtual reality and artificial intelligence.
“We are applying innovation and advanced technologies to our business processes, transforming how work gets done to become more efficient and effective in our manufacturing facilities and our back office. Our embrace of Industry 4.0 and functional transformation is strategic and focused on delivering value across our global enterprise,” Abigail Dreher, director of public affairs for Stanley Black & Decker tells GlobeSt.com. “We have quite a few process technologies and cost enablers that will help give this Fort Worth site a competitive advantage. For instance, we are maximizing raw material with a new ‘cross wedge roll’ process that pre-forms a piece of steel into the shape of a wrench. Traditionally, we’ve taken a piece of steel and punched the wrench out of that. By doing this pre-form process, we’re able to reduce scrap metal from 50% down to 25%. Additionally, we’re implementing Industry 4.0 elements like robotic automation into our facility to maximize labor efficiencies.”
Last month, Stanley Black & Decker also opened a new 23,000-square-foot Advanced Manufacturing Center of Excellence called Manufactory 4.0 in Hartford. The facility is the focal point of the company’s global Industry 4.0 smart factory initiative, housing a team of approximately 50 Industry 4.0 experts focused on accelerating the company’s adoption of advanced manufacturing technologies and building upskilling programs to help prepare the company’s workforce for today’s digital-led manufacturing environment.
“Stanley Black & Decker’s expansion within AllianceTexas significantly enhances the company’s ability to concurrently distribute and now manufacture its world-renowned tools from a centralized location in the United States,” said Tony Creme, senior vice president of Hillwood. “Their confidence in the workforce and supply chain infrastructure available at AllianceTexas were key drivers in this strategic expansion of their operations.”
Dallas topped two key categories in a recent Avison Young industrial report, which analyzed activity from second quarter 2018 through first quarter 2019. The venerable industrial market led the top five lists for space under construction (30.9 million square feet) and absorption (23.4 million square feet). It ranked second for construction completions during the 12-month period with 29.4 million square feet, behind Los Angeles with 39.3 million square feet, says Avison Young.