M-E-R-G-I-N-G
Word on the street is that Milwaukee Tool, which is a part of TTI (check out our guide to corporate tool brands), is in talks to acquire Empire Level.
Sources: Contractor Mag, Industrial Supply Mag
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If the acquisition goes through, Empire Level would continue its design and manufacturing operations in Mukwonago, WI. The company would become a business unit of Milwaukee Tool.
Update: It’s official: read the announcement.
Why Should You Care?
Tool brands tend to move around every now and then, with some acquisitions, mergers, and divisions being more important than others. This is one of those acquisitions that everyone should pay attention to.
Milwaukee Tool has stressed in the past that their goal is to meet the needs of tradesmen, industrial users, and other professional users.
Milwaukee came out with small torpedo levels in recent years, but while their hand tool product line has been steadily expanding, they don’t quite offer many layout tools.
One option would have been for them to contract with an OEM, but if they wanted Milwaukee Tool-quality products designed and built for them, that would mean higher retail prices. With Milwaukee competing with Dewalt, whose hand tools greatly benefit from the brand’s corporate relationship with Stanley Tools, they need top-quality levels and layout tools at competitive prices.
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So it makes absolutely perfect sense why Milwaukee would seek to acquire Empire Level. Maybe Empire initiated the talks? It doesn’t really matter.
What matters is that the Empire Level brand, with its experience and assets, will likely become a part of Milwaukee Tool. This could mean great-quality levels and layout tools with Milwaukee branding at prices builders and other pro users will be willing to pay, and for Empire it could mean leveraging of Milwaukee’s distribution network and retail partnerships for greater sales.
This seems like a very good deal for both brands, and for tool users.
Next, maybe Milwaukee will look to acquire companies that produce hammers, punches, and prying tools. I would also like to see Milwaukee-branded adjustable wrenches, but such tools might be outside their interests.
fred
Big fish eat little fish (and sometimes vice versa if the small fish has a backer). Anyway this might be a good deal or not since independent competition will be lost even those all those positives you point out will like be gains. I believe that Empire is a family owned business – so maybe the family wants to move on to something else. I also believe that much of their production is still in the USA – so we’ll see what a takeover brings.
Stuart
The way I see it, business might proceed as usual for both companies. This acquisition would potentially allow Milwaukee to have Empire build Milwaukee-branded levels and layout tools without having to pay an external party.
If Milwaukee contracted outside the company to produce levels and other layout tools for them, the retail price would be based on manufacturing costs (plus markup for outside processes), OEM markup, Milwaukee markup, retailer markup.
If the acquisition goes through, the OEM and Milwaukee markup gets squished into one since Empire would become a part of Milwaukee.
I think some of Empire’s products are still built in the USA, but I know others are not.
Lisa
More Chinese garbage! Don’t expect the production to stay here, it’s going to over there. Sad sad story continues to grow deeper for this beautiful country of ours. That’s a shame that we won’t all join together and put our foot down and not buy their trash. Wake up people! It’s your lives slowly being taken away right from under you.
Stan
Agreed. Goodbye American made Empire level tools. Granted not all of their levels were American made, some were. After Milwaukee/TTI has bought them, I am willing to bet now nothing will be American made anymore.
Mark my words, this happened to Vise Grips when Rubbermaid bought American Tools and other companies. Today is April 23rd 2014 and within the next few years, probably much sooner nothing Empire will be American made anymore at all.
Companies such as TTI don’t care American workers, they just care about their bottom line and if this causes hundreds, if not thousands of people to be unemployed, oh well.
I implore others to have the wake up call I had a long time ago and not to buy this junk. Remember what happened to Milwaukee when TTI bought them out?
I fear for our future with this country, as we continue to constantly outsource our jobs overseas. We need those jobs, but doesn’t seem the average person understands this.
Stuart
What makes you think that Milwaukee wants to acquire Empire Level only to destroy the company? They need their engineers, experience, and facilities. Otherwise there’s little point to the acquisition.
Stan
Stuart, the same could have been said about Vise Grips as well. I am sure Irwin/Rubbermaid needed their expertise on these products but shortly after buying this company, Irwin shipped all the jobs overseas.
This has happened to Thorsen, Husky, Diamond, Nicholson, Lufkin, Allen and others.
Thankfully, at least for now Sands Levels still produces their levels in America still, but this still is very saddening to see a company that once made American made eventually stop making these items here.
Sure Milwaukee may still continue to have some levels made in USA for a while, but similar to Irwin, this won’t be the case for long.
Stuart
So you’re automatically writing off the company and calling the products junk based on what could happen based on the practices of other corporations?
I do not believe Milwaukee’s strategy is to buy Empire only to destroy its USA operations. If that was their intent, to slap their names onto levels and layout tools produced by random OEMs in Asia, then there’s no need for them to buy the company in the first place.
Bust
Quality tools don’t matter to the majority of pro’s. You’re never more than 5 miles away from the nearest Home Depot or Lowes where you can walk in and by a cheap tool anytime one breaks. Quality is less because pro’s don’t need the quality they once did. It’s all relative to the reality we live in today. The two major retailers in the U.S. control 60%+ of the tools purchased annually in the U.S. The single largest monopoly in the world when it comes to professional tools! There is no other continent on the planet with this type of monopoly when it comes to tools! Welcome to the U.S.!!!! Land of the free, Home of the Brave!
Larry McCool
Bust. Pros still want and need quality tools. You do not see Ryobi or other home tools out on a construction site. Or in a cabinet shop like mine.
Thomas
A full 85% of Empire Level’s products are fully produced in the United States and that percentage is growing. One likely reason for this potential acquisition is for Milwaukee Electric Tool to capitalize on the “Made in USA” trend that Home Depot is strongly touting. Since Milwaukee Electric has no competing products with Empire Level (the Milwaukee Electric torpedo levels currently on the market are already produced by Empire Level) there is little incentive to move this manufacturing facility off shore. Empire makes a fabulous product and with additional capital investment from Milwaukee Electric, this sounds like good news all the way around.
KaHuNaZ
I hope they stay US made.
Lenny
Not likely. TTI is a Chinese company which as stated also owns Milwaukee. Another good US company gone.
Andy
I really don’t care where they are made. America will never be a manufacturing country again, nor should they be. Manufacturing tends to be performed in developing countries. What concerns me is where the parent company is based. Unless I am mistaken, TTI is a Chinese owned company, and that doesn’t really please me. But in the end, I’m willing to bet that they are publicly traded, and all of us have the ability to invest in them and reap any profits they make.
Stuart
Yup, TTI is publicly traded on the HK stock market.
Yes, TTI is based in China, but I bet Milwaukee Tool employees would very much argue that they work in the USA and not China.
Just because Milwaukee is technically owned by a Chinese-based company doesn’t mean Milwaukee doesn’t funnel much if not all of their money back into USA operations.
OhioHead
IMO, the concern with this acquisition is the TTI or MKE past practice of moving US based manufacturing to lower cost labor countries to reduce cost while increasing profit margin (MKE – closed their Sawzall plant in Arkansas a few years ago & moved to it China (I assume to reduce cost)).
I just read an article that Nike is now moving manufacturing to Vietnam because labor is now cheaper…..if we reflect on the recent manufacturing trends some companies (DeWalt) have moved manufacturing back to the US or Mexico to shorten shipping time but also reducing cost.
I hope TTI/MKE would keep the manufacturing in the US, but time will tell.
Stuart
I welcome the Dewalt move, but it’s not enough to say that they’re bringing manufacturing back to the USA. They’re only assembling a very select few 20V Max tools in the USA, and from the same imported components they were briefly built with. It’s great that a final step is being done here, but the whole situation is a little murky.
matt
the little torpedo levels milwaukee has out are pretty sweet.. And if I remember correctly the COO is USA. So possibly Empire is already making them for Milwaukee.
joe
Milwaukee has a big budget to work with and this is why they stop to pay attention to details (imagine having four wifes and pleasing all of them lol…lame anology but ah well). In my little experience with Milwaukee tools, only thing they have going for them is their strong brushless motor…regarding ergonomics, clutch, transmission, battery, down the toilet.
When it comes to precession tools, it requires a lot of attention….if they keep the same engineers no big deal….if they lay off them for cheaper pay…well…there goes another small company down the drain. IMO.
Thomas
Even though Milwaukee Tool is owned by TTI out of Hong Kong, they employ and continue to hire hundreds of highly-skilled people in Milwaukee (Brookfield) Wisconsin as well as in Jacksonville, Greenwood and Olive Branch, Mississippi. As I said before, Empire Level manufactures a full 85% of their products in the US and that number is growing as overseas manufacturing costs climb.
It is far more likely that employment at Empire Level will increase with Milwaukee’s marketing powerhouse and added capital investment, than be diminished by overseas production. I definitely see Milwaukee Tool capitalizing on the Made in USA bandwagon.
Vincent Yu
TTI is expanding, surprisingly. Actually, on hammers, TTI has already got HART and Stiletto. The latest version of Stiletto 14oz framing hammer, with hickory handle is from China already, same factory which makes HART hammers.
john
as a ex empire level employee, I know the company was in bad shape and losing money. Milwaukee tool bought them out probably at a bargain price. Im writing this as I just heard the main empire location in mukwonago wi has closed. I’d bet Milwaukee tool just wanted the name and patent on the empire items.
Wayne
Either you pay more to maintain profitability or a company moves MFG to a lower cost area. It is that simple. We all enjoy lower retail points but to maintain that something has to give. People talk the talk but few vote with their wallet.