US tool manufacturing on the rise

US tool manufacturers that have their products also assembled in the US gain an edge over competitors, according to a report by Assembly Magazine.

A number of US-based companies have been improving their production capacity and speed by doing so and relying on more advanced equipment or automated manufacturing lines.

Illinois-based Klein Tools conducted a survey among electricians, with 40 percent of the respondents being union members. Majority or 83 percent of union members cited that a tool that was domestically made was an important factor in buying. Among non-union members, however, 59 percent considered “Made in the USA” to be important in making a purchase.

Klein Tools is planning to invest more than $100 million in order to manufacture more tools in the country that are currently imported. It has eight factories in six states and employs more than thousand workers nationwide.

Meanwhile, Leatherman, maker of the first multitool or the Pocket Survival Tool, produces more than a million tools annually and ships products to more than 80 countries. It does most of its metal stamping and forming in-house. Robots do most of the polishing, picking up parts on a track, running them through the polishers, and placing them on an outfeed conveyor. Every Leatherman product is assembled by hand, with workers averaging 12,000 tools daily.

The Oregon-based manufacturer is currently developing automated assembly processes for some subassemblies, where a unit is assembled separately and later be incorporated with other units into a larger manufactured product. Automation is said to be not always cost-effective due to the sheer amount of part numbers.

Channellock is another company that uses robots that load parts into forging and heat-treating equipment, and polishing machines. The company uses laser hardening to provide different harness levels at various spots in the tool. For example, the teeth and cutting edges should be very hard, while handles should have more flexibility. All tools are topped off with a rust-inhibitive coating at the last step.