By now, you may have already heard or
read the news: after six years under the umbrella of
Stanley Black & Decker, the
Delta brand was recently sold to
Chang Type Industrial Company Ltd. - a Taiwan-based manufacturing company of woodworking
tools. The new company will be called Delta Power Equipment
Corporation, and it will be headed by President and CEO Bryan
Whiffen. Corporate headquarters will move one state east from
Jackson, Tennessee, to Anderson, South Carolina. The deal is expected
to close Feb. 4.
But, unlike some corporate changes of
ownership, this does not spell gloom and doom for one of the most
venerable brands in woodworking machinery. Rather, according to
Whiffen, he hopes the exact opposite will be the case. It's time to
breathe new life into Delta's stationary and benchtop power tool
lines again. "My primary goal is to grow the company and bring
it back to where it once was, as the tried-and-true 'go-to' brand for
woodworkers."
Whiffen takes the helm of Delta with
significant tool experience already behind him. He has spent most of
his professional career in the power tool industry and was formerly
senior vice president for product development at Techtronic
Industries North America (TTI). TTI, also located in Anderson, makes
certain power tools for RIDGID, Ryobi, Milwaukee and Craftsman, among
other brands. Whiffen will be joined by Norm MacDonald, who will
serve as Delta's executive vice president and chief operating
officer. MacDonald left TTI two years ago after being with the
company for six years. Both played significant roles in relaunching
the Ryobi line, launching RIDGID power tools and making both brands
more cost-effective and profitable.
Whiffen, who left TTI about five months
ago, orchestrated the team to buy Delta after learning about Stanley
Black & Decker's interest in selling it last year. Whiffen says
Stanley Black & Decker spent much of last year analyzing what
seemed to be "duplication" in their product lines.
Eventually the decision was made to divest Delta.
Delta's new U.S. headquarters in
Anderson will occupy a 56,000-sq.-ft. facility, built four years ago
and previously owned by a boat manufacturer. About 6,000 sq. ft. will
be allocated to offices, but the remaining 50,000 sq. ft. will be
dedicated to manufacturing. Whiffen anticipates that about 50 percent
of the space will go to metal fabrication. Warehousing and
distribution will occur in another facility. Whiffen says the plant
will be open by June 1, and he expects that the ribbon might actually
be cut several months sooner, possibly by April 1.
Manufacturing equipment currently used
in the Jackson plant will move to Anderson, where Delta will continue
to make Biesemeyer® fences, machine stands, radial arm saws and
various other Delta tools, including the "new" Unisaw,
which was launched several years ago. Castings and other components
that are currently sourced stateside will continue to come from those
vendors. While Delta's new ownership is based in Taiwan, Whiffen does
not plan to move more manufacturing overseas, although some tools
will be sourced from outside the United States (as is now the case
within the brand). According to Whiffen, "Everything that is
currently made in Jackson will continue to be made in the United
States."
In this context, I was surprised to
hear a potential shift in trend toward more American manufacturing in
the future. Bryan says that as costs continue to rise in Asia,
especially in terms of shipping heavy goods between continents, "it
makes more and more sense for woodworking machinery to be made here
in the States again."
Currently, Delta plans to hire 40
employees over the next three to five years. Bryan says Black &
Decker has provided a list of possible candidates currently working
with the Delta brand, and some staff will likely be hired from the
Anderson area as well.
Whiffen also commented that current
Delta dealer networks and distribution channels will remain largely
the same as they are now. In fact, Delta and Black & Decker are
finalizing an agreement whereby Delta will honor all current tool
warranties, but Black & Decker's authorized and factory service
centers will continue to repair Delta products. "We plan to use
the same experts that have been servicing Delta customers well over
the past six years."
So, what should we expect to change in
terms of Delta machinery?
Initially, Bryan says, not much. "To
start out, we're not going to change anything in the product lines
too dramatically. We need to get to know our customers' needs better
and carefully evaluate our current tool lines...I will say that there
are holes in the product line that need to be filled, and some
existing products need to be freshened up. The number one request I'm
hearing in my talks with dealers is that Delta needs to update its
products and bring in more innovation. They say their Delta business
has declined in the last five to six years because there hasn't been
enough new product activity.
The new Delta brand logo on tools and
packaging will begin to happen gradually. "Otherwise, our
initial outward changes to Delta tools should really go almost
unnoticed by the woodworking equipment buying public," Whiffen
says.
Bryan revealed that Stanley Black &
Decker currently has some new Delta products already in various
stages of development, but he wouldn't comment on those specifically
beyond saying that "some things that have been tabled need to be
pulled off the shelf to see if they're still relevant to what we want
to do with the brand going forward."
Given Chang Type Industrial's expertise
in handheld power tools, I asked Whiffen if some of the potential new
Delta offerings might be drills, routers, impact drivers and the
like. He replied that, while handheld tools could happen eventually,
there's plenty of room in the realm of heavier machinery where Delta
has done well in the past.
And, benchtop and stationary machinery
is exactly where Delta's sweet spot needs to be, according to
Whiffen. It's a segment of the market that the now independent Delta
Power Equipment Corporation can more fully serve. At the close of our
interview, I asked Bryan to explain what he sees as the principle
advantage of Delta separating from the larger Stanley Black &
Decker conglomerate:
"In a conglomerate situation, you
have limited resources on the product development side. Everybody is
trying to cut costs and reduce overhead, and that forces you to
decide where to park development dollars. You can put development
into a new table saw that might sell 25,000 units per year or a new
cordless drill that will sell 250,000 in the same timeframe. Because
of the shift to construction tools, which have been a high growth
area for the tool companies over the last few years, the larger
woodworking machine segment of the business has gotten the short
shrift in new product development and innovation. However, I do feel
Black & Decker turned an important corner with the redesigned
Unisaw, and that's something we hope to continue to build on in the
future.
I think our new independent Delta Power
Equipment Corporation, where all of our developmental resources will
be focused on the woodworking tool category — be that a band saw,
planer or other machines — will allow us to drive new product
development into that category again...We are excited for this
opportunity to invest in the great Delta brand so that we can bring
high quality, innovative woodworking equipment to Delta's loyal
customers."