According to a company press release, the closing will impact 175 employees at the facility. The action is part of the company's business transformation that was launched in 2022. Other significant operational shifts also include a transfer of its operations from Cheraw, South Carolina, to its facilities in Jackson and Gallatin, Tennessee. These additional actions will impact 182 employees in South Carolina while adding 80 jobs in Tennessee.
According to the press release, these actions are 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. These efforts will support and strengthen Stanley Black & Decker's core business, drive financial performance and enable investments to ensure sustainable future growth.
Stanley Black & Decker is a major U.S. manufacturer and is a worldwide leader in tools and outdoor operating manufacturing facilities worldwide. According to the press release, the company has been headquartered in Connecticut since 1843 and has more than 40 manufacturing facilities with nearly 19,000 employees in the U.S.
Over the past five years, the company has grown its U.S. employee population by more than 5,000 across its Tools & Outdoor business, invested over half its capital expenditures in the U.S. totaling $1 billion, and has plans for continued future growth and investment enabled by its business transformation, according to the press release.
According to the company, the 425,000-square-foot plant in north Fort Worth opened in 2020 and made mostly Craftsman brand tools, including sockets, ratchets, wrenches and general sets. Stanley Black & Decker purchased Craftsman in 2017, and the following year, Craftsman launched a refreshed brand identity in August 2018 with more than 1,200 new products.
During an earnings call in February, Donald Allan Jr., Stanley Black & Decker CEO and president, said the company had approximately 50,000 SKUs—or products—it was no longer manufacturing and were approved for decommission.
“We activated our [2022 business] transformation with a sense of urgency to optimize our operations, which better serve our customers while also being efficient and agile with our footprint and cost structure,” Allan said during the call.
