Stanley Black & Decker to Close Texas, South Carolina Plants

“These actions are aligned to the transformation strategy designed to deliver $2 billion of cost savings and are reflective of current economic conditions which highlighted needed changes in Stanley Black & Decker’s production and distribution network,” the company said. 

The factory in Fort Worth, Texas, makes Craftsman mechanics’ tools, the company said, and the one in Cheraw, S.C., makes knives and portable storage units. The Cheraw operations will be divided between Stanley Black & Decker’s facilities in Jackson and Gallatin, Tenn.

The company’s shares settled about 1.2% higher Monday, in line with major U.S. stock indexes.

Stanley Black & Decker’s products benefited from surging demand during the Covid-19 pandemic, as consumers spent more on home and yard projects. Since then, the company has dealt with rising costs and a shakier economic picture.

Stanley Black & Decker executives have spoken in recent months of shrinking the company’s footprint, closing plants and halting the manufacture of 50,000 separate products. At a recent investor conference, Chief Executive Donald Allan said the company aimed for $1.5 billion in annualized savings by tightening its supply chain.

He said that after the company acquired other businesses over the past 15 years, it hadn’t done “some of the difficult, challenging decisions at the tail of the integration,” including closing plants and consolidating distribution centers.

“We’re taking that step now,” Mr. Allan said.

He gave a theoretical example of a tape measure from Irwin, a brand the company acquired in its 2016 purchase of Newell Brands Inc.’s tools business. Stanley Black & Decker already sells Craftsman and Stanley-branded tape measures, he said.

“That’s the type of simplification that we’re doing at a very broad based way that actually will reduce a lot of complexity in our supply chain for manufacturing, distribution and our supplier partnerships,” Mr. Allen said.

The company broke ground on its Fort Worth factory in 2019. It said the facility was meant to manufacture sockets, ratchets, wrenches and other tools under the Craftsman brand, which Stanley Black & Decker acquired in 2017. In a statement announcing the opening, the company said the plant would “leverage some of the most advanced manufacturing technologies available to optimize productivity and sustainability.”

Company spokeswoman Debora Raymond said Monday that the plant endured problems related to Covid-19, supply-chain issues and production technology that didn’t meet the company’s expectations.

Other manufacturing companies have also trimmed their workforces recently. In January, materials maker 3M Co. said it was cutting 2,500 manufacturing jobs globally as the company confronted turbulence in overseas markets and weakening consumer demand. The layoffs represented roughly 2.6% of 3M’s workforce.

Write to John Keilman at [email protected]

“These actions are aligned to the transformation strategy designed to deliver $2 billion of cost savings and are reflective of current economic conditions which highlighted needed changes in Stanley Black & Decker’s production and distribution network,” the company said. 

The factory in Fort Worth, Texas, makes Craftsman mechanics’ tools, the company said, and the one in Cheraw, S.C., makes knives and portable storage units. The Cheraw operations will be divided between Stanley Black & Decker’s facilities in Jackson and Gallatin, Tenn.

The company’s shares settled about 1.2% higher Monday, in line with major U.S. stock indexes.

Stanley Black & Decker’s products benefited from surging demand during the Covid-19 pandemic, as consumers spent more on home and yard projects. Since then, the company has dealt with rising costs and a shakier economic picture.

Stanley Black & Decker executives have spoken in recent months of shrinking the company’s footprint, closing plants and halting the manufacture of 50,000 separate products. At a recent investor conference, Chief Executive Donald Allan said the company aimed for $1.5 billion in annualized savings by tightening its supply chain.

He said that after the company acquired other businesses over the past 15 years, it hadn’t done “some of the difficult, challenging decisions at the tail of the integration,” including closing plants and consolidating distribution centers.

“We’re taking that step now,” Mr. Allan said.

He gave a theoretical example of a tape measure from Irwin, a brand the company acquired in its 2016 purchase of Newell Brands Inc.’s tools business. Stanley Black & Decker already sells Craftsman and Stanley-branded tape measures, he said.

“That’s the type of simplification that we’re doing at a very broad based way that actually will reduce a lot of complexity in our supply chain for manufacturing, distribution and our supplier partnerships,” Mr. Allen said.

The company broke ground on its Fort Worth factory in 2019. It said the facility was meant to manufacture sockets, ratchets, wrenches and other tools under the Craftsman brand, which Stanley Black & Decker acquired in 2017. In a statement announcing the opening, the company said the plant would “leverage some of the most advanced manufacturing technologies available to optimize productivity and sustainability.”

Company spokeswoman Debora Raymond said Monday that the plant endured problems related to Covid-19, supply-chain issues and production technology that didn’t meet the company’s expectations.

Other manufacturing companies have also trimmed their workforces recently. In January, materials maker 3M Co. said it was cutting 2,500 manufacturing jobs globally as the company confronted turbulence in overseas markets and weakening consumer demand. The layoffs represented roughly 2.6% of 3M’s workforce.

Write to John Keilman at [email protected]