Stanley B&D Sells Delta to Taiwanese Company

Operations to Relocate to South Carolina

“Like many long-established companies, DELTA Machinery represents the American dream that came true for Herbert Tautz, the company’s founder, in 1919. Working out of his one-car garage in Milwaukee, Tautz set out to design and build new tools to alleviate the challenges of woodworking. He named his business The Delta Specialty Company.” (SOURCE: www.deltaportercable.com)

Over the next 90 years, the Delta brand name became synonymous with innovation in shop tools and woodworking. Through a couple of previous acquisitions – by Rockwell in 1945 and by Pentair in 1981 – the company forged ahead with a steady stream of memorable product innovations. Through the 1990s, Pentair began pairing Delta’s products ever more closely with those of Pentair sister brand Porter-Cable. During this time, the two brands became a formidable one/two punch in the world of woodworking and other shop trades.

When Stanley Black & Decker purchased Porter-Cable and Delta from Pentair in 2005 and brought the brands in alongside their existing pro brand DeWalt, many observers were curious about where the brands would end up fitting within the family. Many people, myself included, felt the Delta brand was a bit of a mismatch within the Stanley Black & Decker portfolio and would be immediately spun off. To our surprise, Delta stayed put. With high-profile product launches such as the American-made Unisaw, it looked as though Stanley Black & Decker was committed to continuing to grow the brand under its own umbrella. That all changed late last week.

As first reported by Popular Woodworking, and later by Tool-Rank, Stanley Black & Decker has sold Delta to a Taiwanese firm called TOTY. There is no word on how the acquisition will affect Delta’s product lineup, but the new owner is already investing significant resources into relocating Delta’s operations to a new facility in South Carolina. Of particular interest among Delta watchers, of course, is the future of the long-awaited and critically acclaimed Unisaw.

Tool Box Buzz will keep you posted as the story develops. Given that TOTY already has a reputation for manufacturing nice tools for other brands and that they are bringing in some big talent to lead the new initiative, I think we can expect the Delta name to remain worth watching for a while.

Bryan Wright

Contributing Columnist Bryan E. Wright is owner/senior strategist for beWright & Associates, a consulting firm based in Newport, Ky. that specializes in strategic marketing and public relations solutions for clients in the power tools, building products and home improvement industries. During his 20 years in the business, 10 spent solely in construction-related trade categories, he has worked with some of the biggest names in the business, including Bosch, SENCO, Paslode, Vermont American, Handyman Connection, Husqvarna and more. You can follow his updates here and on Twitter at http://twitter.com/BryanWright.