DeWalt

History

The original company was started in 1924 by Raymond E. DeWalt, the inventor of the radial arm saw. The company grew quickly and was reorganized and re-incorporated in 1947 as DeWalt Inc.

After buying the company in 1949, American Machine & Foundry Co., Inc. sold it to Black & Decker in 1960.

Black & Decker divested itself of the radial arm saw manufacturing branch in 1989, selling it to two executives. Radial arm saws that use the original DeWalt design can still be obtained from the Original Saw Co.

In 1992, Black & Decker started a major effort to rebrand its professional quality and high-end power tools to DeWalt. Currently, DeWalt manufactures and sells more than 200 different power hand-tools and 800 accessories. In 1994, DeWalt took over the German wood-working power tool producer ELU. DeWalt increased their line of tools using ELU's technology. DeWalt is now a popular brand of tools for commercial contractors.

In 2004, Black and Decker bought rival power tool manufacturer Porter-Cable and combined it with DeWalt in Jackson, Tennessee.

In 2011, DeWalt launched a line of contractor's hand tools (including utility knives, pliers, adjustable wrenches, tape measures, saws, and hammers). In 2013, the line was expanded to include mechanic's tools (wrenches, ratchets, and sockets).

On Veterans Day of 2013, DeWalt issued a press release stating it would be bringing some assembly of a small selection of their products to US using globally manufactured parts from Brazil, China, the Czech Republic, Italy, Mexico, the UK, and the US. The products assembled in the US would be branded under the label, "Built in the USA with global materials."

As of 2015, DeWalt now has seven manufacturing facilities building DEWALT branded products in the USA: New Britain, CT, Hampstead, MD, Shelbyville, KY, Greenfield, IN, Cheraw, SC, Charlotte, NC, and Jackson, TN.

In April 2016, DeWalt created an Android-powered smartphone designed for building industry workers. The device will cost £379 ($544) is designed to survive a 2m drop on to concrete and can operate in temperatures ranging from -20C to 60C.

On September 1, 2016, DeWalt debuted an industry first hybrid voltage battery pack it branded FlexVolt™. The new pack runs at either 20V (18V nominal) or 60V (54V nominal) depending upon whether it is placed into a 60V FlexVolt tool or one of their 20V Max tools. The pack switches between connecting the battery cells in series (60V, 2Ah) or parallel (20V, 6Ah) depending upon the activated pin configuration determined by the power tool.

Black & Decker

Black & Decker was long associated with lighter-weight consumer tools such as household appliances, and not the heavy-duty equipment professional builders want. In the late 1980s Michael Hammes, executive vice president and president of the company's power tools and home improvement group, introduced the "Acura concept," a notion Honda utilized to enter the upscale automobile market. Black & Decker found it useful to relinquish a name with little appeal to many consumers in the market for construction tools.

Having acquired DeWalt in 1960 and continued to produce radial arm saws and other large, stationary, power equipment, Black & Decker expanded the DeWalt name and used this to replace their "Construction Grade" trademark in 1992. In a US-wide market survey done by Black & Decker before its reintroduction, the name DeWalt was recognized by 70 percent of tradesmen. The black and yellow DeWalt design, often associated with safety equipment and advertised on display, helped propel Black & Decker's profits to new heights. They were finally able to appeal to the professional market by selling the same products under a different name.

Racing

DeWalt Tools sponsored NASCAR driver Matt Kenseth from 1999 through to the 2009 season. In this time period, Kenseth won 18 races, the 2000 Sprint Cup Rookie of the Year Award, 2003 Sprint Cup Series Championship, 2004 Sprint Cup All Star Race and the 2009 Daytona 500. However, in July 2009, DeWalt announced that they would not be renewing their sponsorship deal with Kenseth and Roush Fenway Racing due to the poor economic conditions in the construction industry. DeWalt had also sponsored MotoGP rider, Ben Spies, for the 2010 racing season. DeWalt returned to NASCAR sponsorship in 2011, but on the #9 Richard Petty Motorsports Ford Fusion driven by Marcos Ambrose. This sponsorship ended after 2014, when Ambrose departed the Sprint Cup Series, with DeWalt choosing to re-unite with Kenseth, who now drives the #20 for Joe Gibbs Racing, for six races a year beginning in 2015.