It’s no doubt that Milwaukee Tool has become one of the most popular tool brands today, and this goes beyond cordless power tools. How did this happen?
Things were very different 10 years ago, and even more so 15 years ago.
In the past 10-15 years, Milwaukee has grown. The company is far larger today than it was, and more broadly-experienced.
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Beyond cordless power tools, which wasn’t as big a category 15+ years ago as it is today, Milwaukee also entered several new-to-them markets, such hand tools, tool box and storage, and outdoor power tools. They expanded their power tool accessories lines.
Milwaukee also entered several professional and trade industries, such as automotive maintenance and repair and plumbing.
When you look at what they’ve done, it all boils down to two words – disruptive innovation.
While many would argue that the phrase has turned into an overused cliche, that doesn’t mean there isn’t truth to it.
Consider mechanics hand tools.
Milwaukee’s foray into mechanics hand tools started with a ratchet and socket set. The sockets had an anti-roll and wrench-ready design, and the swivel head ratchet was decent but ordinary.
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This was not really an example of disruptive innovation. However, it’s interesting that the two 12pc sets, SAE and metric, were targeted to specialty trades.
Here are excerpts from the 2017 press release:
Today, most professionals in the mechanical, electrical and plumbing trades rely on socket sets that were designed with automotive applications in mind, and carry several socket sizes that they will rarely, if ever use.
With 8 core sizes and 3 core accessories included in our new 12 pc kit, this set is perfect for the mechanical trades and gives them the versatility they need.
Available in April 2017 in both SAE and Metric, the new 12pc Ratchet & Socket Set confirms Milwaukee’s unrelenting commitment to providing solutions that solve key user frustrations, while increasing jobsite productivity.
What was disruptive is that Milwaukee launched a new solution specifically for contractors and tradespeople needing a compact and basic socket set.
I considered this a “test the market” type of product.
By 2018, here’s the email introduction that accompanied Milwaukee’s press release about several new 1/4″ and 3/8″ socket sets:
I’m very excited today to announce that Milwaukee Tool is launching new Ratchet & Socket Sets. As you know, this core category of tools is essential for many trade professionals. In particular, these new Sets will be especially exciting for mechanics! These sets are an exciting new addition to Milwaukee’s growing line of mechanics hand tools. Already in the lineup are Combination Wrenches, Ratcheting Combination Wrenches, Pry Bars, and Hook & Pick Sets!
Around the same time, I asked about Milwaukee’s lack of “open stock,” and how customers couldn’t buy different tools separately, such as a 24mm wrench by itself.
Milwaukee kept expanding and eventually added open stock availability.
Today, you can buy just about any Milwaukee wrench, socket, drive accessory, or other such tool separately.
I’m a big fan of Milwaukee’s socket sets, with the removable trays and low-profile cases eliminating a pain point for me. The tool tray goes into a tool box drawer, and with a trip to my storage shelf, I can grab the case and then take everything with me if desired.
A master tool set is on the way, and Milwaukee emphasized that they worked with automotive maintenance and technician educational programs to dial in the tool selection.
New Packout-compatible wrench sets and trays just launched.
A racking system is on the way, and it will also provide solutions for workshops and tool rooms.
Milwaukee went from SAE and metric 12pc socket sets to what looks to be a complete selection of 1/4″, 3/8″, and 1/2″ socket sets, ratchets, and drive accessories.
They also have hooks and picks, pry bars, impact sockets, wrenches, ratcheting wrenches, screwdrivers, and more.
A few years ago I asked a Milwaukee product manager about the prospect for hex tools. They suggested that Milwaukee was focusing on areas of more innovative potential first, where they can eliminate pain points for the most people.
Well, they worked up to hex keys, with the main differentiator being a novel swivel case to make tool retrieval easier.
At this point, they’re filling in remaining holes.
This is what their media event display of impact sockets looked like in 2015, with just a couple of sets and accessories. Nut drivers were mixed in with the square drive tools to complete the display.
Milwaukee’s line of Shockwave impact-ready sockets was extremely limited, and the designs were passable.
Here’s one of Milwaukee’s current impact socket sets. The line is not only more complete, but compelling and highly competitive.
Milwaukee Tool wedges themselves into new industries.
The 12pc mechanics tool sets were very limited in the context of automotive tools, but highly focused in the context of compact grab-and-go sets for tradespeople.
At that point, was their roadmap fully established, or were the two sets an attempt to test the market with lower risk?
What we do know is that Milwaukee built up a very broad and deep line of mechanics tools. They’re not done yet, as there are plenty of specialty tools to tackle – if they choose to.
They’ve come out with a lot of tools beyond core mechanics tool sets and open stock, such as Torx sockets, snap ring pliers, long reach pliers, hose grip pliers, flare nut wrenches, and flex head ratchets. There’s room for more, such as crowfoot sockets, hose clamps, spring clamp pliers, bearing pullers, and so forth – if or when they’re ready.
But right now, it looks like Milwaukee is working in the direction of modularity, where they might create custom trays and sets. They said that everything in their master tool kit will be available separately, and we’ve already seen indication the kitted-out 4-drawer Packout tool boxes will be launching soon.
After that, they might launch foam trays for kitting out popular sizes of steel tool boxes. We’ve seen a surge in interest on European-style tool modules, and Milwaukee is no doubt weighing whether there will be sufficient interest in the USA.
Back to the main point.
Milwaukee’s first combination wrenches and sets were also first announced in 2017. Prior to those first sets, and the first 12pc ratchet and socket sets, did Milwaukee offer any mechanics hand tools? Go back 10 years and show someone at Milwaukee a list of every mechanics hand tool type of product they’d go on to launch over the next 7 years.
It seems almost unbelievable how many mechanics hand tools Milwaukee has launched in just 7 years.
As an aside, Milwaukee also launched their Packout tool storage system in 2017.
This is a brief exploration into just one market segment that Milwaukee has thrust themselves into over the years.
Their strategy seems to be methodological – solve a problem, expand the solution, repeat.
Milwaukee expressed surprise at the huge interest and demand for their first Packout-compatible insulated tumblers. Now, water bottles are on the way.
That’s happened before.
Years ago, while waiting on a food line at a media event, Milwaukee Tool’s Steven Richman told me they didn’t expect to sell a lot of their fluorescent light bulb testers. Why would they launch such a product? It was something their users needed.
Maybe that was the main idea behind the 12pc ratchet and socket sets, as they said, or maybe they were masking their intent from competitors.
Back in 2015, before Milwaukee launched their first wrench or socket sets, Dewalt showed off their mechanics tool and open stock selection at a media event.
How much attention has Dewalt given their mechanics hand tool lineup since then? Dewalt had a huge head start. Between the two brands’ mechanics tool lineups, which would you say is more popular in the USA today?
Why is that?
Some will point to Home Depot and say “they’ve got a sea of red.” Perhaps, but I’d say that’s more a reflection of customer interest and demand.
Name the biggest 12V-class cordless power tool platform you can think of. Milwaukee M12. What’s the second-biggest? Bosch? Dewalt Xtreme? Makita?
Milwaukee’s competitors are so far behind. Why?
I’d argue that the Milwaukee M12 cordless power tool system is bigger than the sum of its parts. Is the same true for competing systems?
Back in 2017, Dewalt advertised a new ToughSystem van racking solution.
Milwaukee showed off their own Packout van racking solution in mid-2024. Everything in Milwaukee’s Packout storage system, even beyond what is shown here, launched after its 2017 introduction.
Dewalt ToughSystem is a good tool box system. However, there’s no comparison between the energy the two companies put into their respective systems.
We don’t know Milwaukee’s intentions for their 12pc socket sets, their first wave of Packout tool storage products, or anything else, but we can see what they’ve done since those initial launches.
Similar can be said in other categories.
Almost every product that Milwaukee launches is part of a bigger picture, even if it doesn’t start out that way.
Milwaukee launched USA-made pliers, screwdrivers, and diagonal cutters. Do you think they’re done? (See also Milwaukee USA Hand Tools – What’s Next?).
When Milwaukee enters a new category, the question to ask is “what are they working on next?” After a few years, the question becomes “what aren’t they working on?”
You can almost see the strategy coming together over time.
This is what their cordless outdoor power tool charging setup looked like last year.
Here’s what a setup can look like with their new charger. They also have a new charger management system that we’ll talk more about another time.
The new charger is a small piece of a much bigger picture.
If this isn’t true for a particular product, there’s still the potential for it to become true.
As a standalone product, do you think the M12 cordless low speed tire buffer is a huge money-maker for the brand?
I think that Milwaukee’s approach has largely contributed to their growth and success over the years. There are other factors of course, but their unique mindset and strategy seems to be at the heart of everything.
They found a strategy that worked for them, and stuck with it.
fred
One could argue that their almost dominant presence in Home Depot has also helped them out. But that’s not saying the Home Depot alone made them so successful. If they did not keep producing products that HD customers wanted to buy, then HD would have cut back on their relationship. Again, not to denigrate Milwaukee’s success. but having Ryobi and Ridgid small power tools as HD house brands – also probably incentivizes good relations between HD and TTI.
I had observed the competition between Dewalt and Milwaukee over quite a few years. Both seem to jockey for position and may take leads in different areas in a see-saw fashion. But without the benefit of analyzing their financials – it sure looks like Milwaukee has pulled out in front. My business experience is now quite long-in-the-tooth but in our plumbing business the switch from Yellow to Red came because Milwaukee seemed to be paying more attention to the plumbing trade – with a variety of new tools. Dewalt IMO was caught in catch-up mode. I think that this targeting of perhaps underserved trades by Milwaukee must also have contributed to their recent success.
TomD
Home Depot provides the reach, but Milwaukee provides the depth. Many people grab whatever from the store looks cheap, but once you start getting specialty tools (and Milwaukee has tons) they really get invested.
PEX expander is when I really enlisted in the Red Army. Everything before was a dalliance.
Nick
I got into the Milwaukee ecosystem because of the M12 detail sander. No one else had or even has now anything like it. Yeah everyone has multitool attachments, but they don’t work nearly as well.
JR Ramos
Do you mean just cordless? There have been oodles of corded detail sanders, plus those old BD Mouse sanders (seems like they did a cordless one of those too). I thought Ryobi did a cordless but maybe I’m wrong (they were the “original” affordable detail sander in the early 90s, since the non-affordable Fein was out of reach and out of sight for most folks).
Aram
…Home Depot provides the reach, but Milwaukee provides the depth…
I just want to say this was a great way (IMO) to describe things, so thanks!
(no, really, I’m not being internet-snide, I mean it)
JR Ramos
An accurate take on the modern/recent company.
Milwaukee became successful because they made powerful, durable, serviceable tools that very well served the needs of all kinds of tradesmen. They were Quality, often above anything else, and people knew it. They were always – always – popular in plumbing and to a large degree in automotive, as well as general home and commercial construction (as well as manufacturing). Maybe unless you had a very well stocked distributor or service center in the area, a lot of people weren’t aware that Milwaukee also had a very broad range of accessories and hand tools (not so much typical hand tools like today). Sears even stocked some items that you wouldn’t see for sale in hardware stores.
What happened was DeWalt’s new push into Yellow and their over the top marketing, which proved to be very successful. Milwaukee let things rest on their popularity and quality, and true to that an awful lot of professionals didn’t buy in to DeWalt at first, or tried them out and then went right back to Milwaukee or Makita. Makita and Porter Cable made some significant inroads into Milwaukee’s turf soon, too. Milwaukee was slow to get on the cordless game and slow to adopt the new initiatives with low vibration and ergonomics…and they faltered in the competition other than their high power drills (and industrial/trade tooling that were never hardware/home center items, if people even knew about them).
What made them successful after falling by the wayside was the adoption of DeWalt’s tactics. And then they sort of took that to a next level before too long, and today they are a juggernaut. Thankfully that marketing and sales energy is mostly backed by quality tools as well. Oddly, and maybe it’s just me not paying as much attention, but it seems that nowadays DeWalt has really pulled way back on the marketing and sales efforts and they don’t seem to have nearly the same energy there as they did the first decade or so.
The phenomenon of these companies branching out into new categories and sort of becoming like Vermont-American-Plus I think has to do with both the failure/disappearance of so many smaller companies as well as the acquisition of some of the same companies by these behemoths. The years of specialty or limited selection manufacturers are over. That might be…exacerbated…somewhat by these terrible exclusive contracts with the big box stores. Very different sales and distribution landscape than it was just a couple decades ago, and that’s not even taking into account e-commerce.
Milwaukee is doing a lot of things right – in some ways they are not as good as the pre-TTC Milwaukee but generally they are putting out good-to-great products and taking care of their users. It would be neat to be able to see how they would be doing without all the paid/gift seed programs and influencers and such, because they *really* embraced that and I’m sure that had a huge beneficial effect for their sales (maybe not their customer service expenses though…).
Recent few years suggest that they are getting off track a bit and need to correct that if they want to maintain the professional base vs. the DIY/youtube base.
Tom
You’re on the right track, by highlighting DeWALT’s (&SB&D’s) rise and tactics.
The real reason I believe Milwaukee has done so well has been the recently retired CEO of TTI, Joseph Galli Jr. He was responsible for DeWALT’s rapid rise in the SB&D stable in the 90’s. Joined TTI in 2006, and was responsible for their strategy. Just retired this year: his successor also has history with SB&D and Bosch tool divisions, so “safe hands”?
While Milwaukee makes much of being separate to Ridgid and Ryobi, there’s a lot in common, including in production.
I used to do warranty work on TTI tools, remember being bemused to find that the M18, Ridgid and Ryobi rotary hammer at the time had exactly the same mechanical parts (identical part numbers), the only differences being the skins and motor/ switch systems.
JR Ramos
I’d already forgotten that about Galli, but Stuart mentioned that in a post some months back.
My early days in the biz were enlightening in what I learned about behind the scenes events and names, and when the light bulb finally came on that those first DeWalt tools were nothing but new colors and labels, I think it changed me. lol. Seeing the “shared” items between various other brands was a surprise, back then, but it’s become so normal with today’s umbrella corporations and global factories. I’ve been a little aware of many shared parts with TTI but when I have talked with our service center it’s been mostly Milwaukee-specific (they rarely service the DIY brands), and some insight into the “last days” somewhat recently about Porter Cable, which is functionally dead at this point, in their opinion.
I’m not sure all of these changes have been good overall, but here we are. The tools are certainly better and we have so much selection, but the landscape is just so different.
TomD
It’s pretty obvious to me that TTI lets Milwaukee do what they want/need whereas Dewalt is just a subsidiary of SBD.
Someone – many someones – is listening at Milwaukee and actually producing tools users want, even if they don’t sell tremendous numbers. That builds huge loyalty.
eddiesky
I think its their research division and engineers, plus getting feedback in quick turnaround.
See your DeWalt van image? a bin isn’t always practical, but thats all they offer. Where Milwaukee has containers inside a pull out. Comparing them is apples-oranges where a bin will prevent items from falling out, but its hard to see and reach in. Pulling out a tray with a drawer is ideal.
Even better would be drawers that release the case to “take it with you”. Reading that Milwaukee? DeWalt? Hey DeWalt… you sell a flooring nailer but no case or storage? (obligatory)
KG21Unth
Why has Milwaukee Tool been so successful?
They got lucky. In the sense that they are run and managed by true product people who understand customer centricity and brand creation, not number crunchers who make investment decisions around how to placate the street.
Lucky in that they got to partner with the biggest (and arguably the best) possible channel partner in The Home Depot. While mental presence (Promotions, billboards, radio, other forms of advertisement) is important…Physical presence (In store) is also very important. Prominent positioning in the Trade Pro’s preferred retail channel helped.
That IP on Li-Ion technology certainly helped.
They created most of their own luck. Invested heavily into R&D, customer understanding and brand creation. They are so good at their go to market.
They are willing to test, learn, iterate and persist in creating categories.
They are not perfect…but att their core, as a fan of their work, I view it as they are the best in framing the customer problem (or sometimes reframing it), naming the solution and claiming the resulting category. Sawzall is a category of 1. Packout is a category of 1. So on so forth.
Like the proverbial flywheel in the book – Good to Great, their category creation engine is unstoppable. And I hope it stays that way.
fred
Someone once said that between being smart and being lucky they would take lacky all the time. But gamblers know that while luck can run out – smarts stay with you. The recent surge of Milwaukee’s luck may have been aided by what seem like missteps on the part of Makita. Then too, SBD focusing on reviving Craftsman and obliterating Porter Cable – may have contributed to less focus at Dewalt. In any event, it seems that Milwaukee had the smarts to take advantage to the current marketplace. What I hope is that the competition between the brands can be sustained – because competition is what often leads to innovation and both better products with better prices for the consumer.
Jared
I hadn’t thought of that – but those are really good points! There have definitely been some blunders on the part of Milwaukee’s competitors.
Lucky and smart aren’t mutually exclusive either. They might have a good strategy AND be lucky too.
Stuart
If success comes down to leadership and strategy, then it’s not luck.
Luck, by its nature, is usually unpredictable and unintentional.
Milwaukee’s success, in my opinion, comes from a series of decisions and strategies that go back to when Steven Richman and much of the brand’s leadership set out with intent and drive. The company had a legacy of corded power tools, and that was about it. Everything else was built from scratch since then.
JR Ramos
Just like DeWalt. The “new” DeWalt set the stage and then the “new” Milwaukee basically copied them, with extra, because at that point they had to. In this sense, both companies rode the coattails of names that were previously great and well known for good reasons, but the “new” of each was radically different.
JR Ramos
And – not to beat a dead horse – Milwaukee had a slew of products that most people just didn’t see. Hole Shooters and Magnum drills and Hole Hawgs and drywall screwguns didn’t carry the company. Some of their professional equipment was along the lines of what you see from Ridge and Greenlee…not common DIY/hardware products. They were quite a bit more than corded hand power tools. They did carry a good portion of that forward and have continued to introduce and innovate in those categories…some of the same things, lots of new things, as industries themselves changed (crimping from threading being a great example).
Goodie
Strategy and leadership often get cited as the decisive factors, but I’d like to reflect on that a bit. The last six years of my military career (a bit over 20) were spent at the Pentagon. “Strategy” got used a lot, when “execution” (in the corporate context) should have used instead. It’s a bit of a pet peeve of mine, so please humor me. 🙂
I think TTI and Milwaukee actually owe a lot more to Sears (they made Craftsman tools since 1985) , Ryobi (purchased in 2000) and Home Depot(through Ryobi) than they give credit. HD and Sears both have (and had) great marketing. As an OEM, TTI earned how to pay attention to customers’ needs (Craftsman and HD) and deliver high quality tools on the required price point. Tangentially, they learned from Sears the importance of a great warranty and how to support it as an OEM. TTI was a patient and talented student in watching Sears and HD. All they needed to do was keep the revenue flowing from the OEM and Ryobi businesses, and the stage is set to build a signature brand….
In 2005 they bought Milwaukee, executing the same playbook that Black and Decker used by re-launching DeWalt 15 years earlier.
The resulting strategy looks like this:
1. Be the best tool marketer in the industry. This is from the Sears and DeWalt playbook. Interestingly, it’s an area where SBD seems to be struggling these days.
2. Provide great warranty support. Keep it user-friendly. This has transformed their myriad battery reliability problems into a non-issue. This is straight from the Craftsman playbook.
3. Listen to their customers and iterate. OEM TTI lived and died by keeping their customers (Sears and HD) happy. They are incredibly attuned and good at manufacturing and designing in response to market needs.
4. Invest in innovation. Milwaukee does this, but it’s not unique to the brand. They’ve taken this from the the Porter Cable (of the 80s and 90s) and Festool playbooks. As a result, Milwaukee has plenty of “name your price tools (chain lift, plumbing tools, etc).
In short, I don’t think there’s any special sauce in the Milwaukee strategy. What is unique is their ability to effectively execute all four elements of that strategy, and do it consistently year after year. That’s the special sauce for Milwaukee.
Stuart
OEM (B2B) competence does not translate to B2C proficiency. There are no shortage of tool brands that demonstrate this.
Goodie
That’s true. I was trying to say that they watched and learned from Sears (Amazon of the 1900s) and HD, who were the best at B2C in their era. They succeeded in that transition (to B2B) that few companies have, but they had some great examples to follow.
KG21Unth
Yes. They did create their own luck. It is interesting also that the CEO of TTI for past 17 years – Joseph Galli – was also the leader at Black and Decker who led the positioning of the DeWalt brand and the famous swarm teams. I remember reading a case study about him and the formation of DeWalt to help regain share lost to Makita.
https://www.baltimoresun.com/1992/04/05/invoking-a-mystical-name-black-decker-hopes-dewalt-tools-reputation-will-conjure-new-business/
Goodie
Awesome article and tie in.
Chris
That wasn’t luck. That was intentional strategy. Spend the time to empathize and learn from the users, understand them and their challenges at a depth others do not. Then build solutions to those needs. Roll it out in an ‘enter, innnovate, own framework to bring the users along in the journey. It was strategy, and the hiring and teams were formed to execute it.
Matt
Effort, quality, availability.
They made an effort to come out with tools and solutions people wanted / needed.
Their tools are known to be high quality.
They are available everywhere. Go to any supply houses recently, plumbing or otherwise, and you are likely to see red tools on display and little (if anything else). They’re also in the tool trucks. And of course Home Depot.
It has taken a lot of investment, which I think most companies are unwilling (yellow) or unable (many others) to do.
Kentucky fan
Milwaukee can tie their success directly to Home Depot absolutely outclassing Lowe’s to an almost embarrassing degree. Makita could have done the exact same but Home Depot has all the big three and they were gonna push the heck out of something Lowe’s didn’t have and Milwaukee decided around that time to start innovating the rest is history
JR Ramos
If Lowe’s had landed the agreement instead of Home Depot, would Milwaukee still be as successful (and would Lowe’s be more successful)? I think probably so. People go to where the products they want are located. Assuming Milwaukee had the same energy to market and produce and introduce, it’s likely that Lowe’s would have really prospered the same way HD has in this category/for this brand. If Milwaukee was lackluster, neither retailer would be shining as much.
What would be great is if these exclusivity contracts didn’t exist – the way it was not so many years ago. The attempt to control the distribution network and retail pricing hurts all of us.
Kentucky fan
Possibly so Lowe’s just can’t compete in areas where there is a Home Depot without at least two of the big three. In my area Lowe’s is it and you can see it in what tradesmen use it’s all yellow the only Milwaukee or makita you see are with people like me that are welders or some other specialty trade that uses a supply house that has the other brands.
JR Ramos
True. It’s crazy how these big box stores have corralled so much of the market these days. I live in a pretty large metro with all the box stores and a lot of supply houses (and a Grainger, among others) so I forget sometimes that choices are very limited in many places. Internet makes it easier these days as long as you know what you’re getting, but that’s no good for local economy (and often not so good for local service…).
Kentucky fan
I live in east Kentucky so I use dewalt for cordless tools because even when I travel for work I can always find what I need when a battery goes down. Corded stuff which is grinders because cordless tech isn’t even close for my uses I get makita from the weld shop I use but the ones I like aren’t available at big box stores so I have to keep a stash put back for hard times lol.
Robert
Stuart, how are you defining “successful?” Sales volume, profits, hard to measure popularity, or stock price? TTI’s stock peak was in Fall 2021, though I could not readily find if they did splits.
Jim Felt
Shelf space and innovation? That’s a pretty fair indicator.
Jared
The article mentions company growth and Milwaukee’s entry into new market segments.
I think picking just one indicator might be misleading. E.g. profitability seems relevant – hard to say a company that isn’t profitable is “successful”. Yet what if a company is aggressively reinvesting profits to expand into new areas?
Seems like it could not appear terribly profitable yet still might be successful by some measures.
Conversely, what if a company is aggressively expanding – but highly leveraged to do so?
Stuart
I reference Milwaukee’s success in a holistic sense, but you can look at measurable areas if you’d like, such as:
Job growth
Infrastructure expansion (domestic R&Ds facilities, factories, etc)
Public sentiment and popularity
Sales revenue
Product expansion (breadth and depth)
It is widely accepted that Milwaukee is crushing it.
I’m going to throw an UNO-reverse at you. Are you implying that Milwaukee is *not* successful, based solely on their parent company’s stock price? Keep in mind that Milwaukee has plenty of sibling companies.
Also, stock pricing is typically normalized after a split or reverse split.
Robert
United Nations Organization (UNO): Stuart, given you devoted a lot of column inches and effort to an article about “successful”, it just seemed natural that the key concept of “successful” would be precisely not vaguely defined. In one of my billets, it was vital success criteria was precisely defined and agreed upon, or tons of time and money was wasted. So I am sensitive to what defines successful. You often are careful to quantify discussion points, so all this caused me to inquire.
Since I’m not inclined to spend money on trade journals, I don’t have access to the other non-stock indications, but based on some past article by you on tool companies, I thought you may.
Jim Felt
Stuart. Thanks for the great recent top tool maker history timeline.
For me since the ‘80’s: Corded Milwaukee then Dewalt NiCad then Makita 12/18v NiCad then Bosch 12&18V Core and throughout that slowly but surely now mostly 12v&18v Milwaukee.
What a long strange trip it’s been*.
*Yeah. Yeah. I know.
;-)~
DRT42
Milwaukee must be run by Engineers, or at least people who really know tools. Not “bean counters”. They make high quality stuff, and the guys like us who rely on their tools are happy to pay the premium. Those impact sockets? I had several sets of impact sockets before those, but the Milwaukee ones simply blew all the others away. Who would have thunk that the “sawzall guys” would make the best impact sockets ?
JR Ramos
I think their $uce$$ enables them to put more into the R&D and take risks that can be absorbed without much pain if things go south. That’s a comfortable and powerful position to sit in.
Which impacts do you have…old silver tipped or new current red-ring? I’ve got some of the current crop and they seem ok but with not a ton of use I already see some noticeable wear in corners where I didn’t see that nearly as early with my Grey Pneumatic or old Sunex or what’s left of the Blackhawk and Truecraft/Promate onesies (the earliest of those stretching back to the 90s, all Taiwan made…Milwaukee and now Sunex, too, are China). I don’t think the Milwaukee impact sockets are a fair value for what they are, but they’re decent sockets (so far nothing has cracked anyway). Some good deals recently on their sets which made them a better honest value.
DRT42
Oh yeah, I almost typed the exact same thing about $ and R&D.
I had some Grey Pneu also. They were (are) durable enough, but the markings aren’t very legible. I also had Craftsman, and some that came from Ingersoll-Rand. So far, I have not seen any particular wear on the red-ring Milwaukees. While not a professional mechanic, I own a race team and these sockets get used pretty regularly. I almost expect the Milwaukees to start rusting because of the “matte” finish, but they haven’t shown any rust yet. FWIW, I do like old Blackhawk!
JR Ramos
The phosphating on most impacts these days is just crud. Grey still does it right (or as of a couple years ago). Milwaukee looks pretty in the box but loses the luster right away…Tekton is rough and not so durable either. Whatever…as long as they work, I’ll keep ’em oiled enough.
Race cars keep you busy, no doubt!
Harrison
Nah, engineers calling the shots is how you end up where Makita is. Every company has to contend with bean counters.
LXT > XGT was objectively the best step forward for Makita from a purely technical perspective. New, more robust battery interface, much higher wattage potential, redesigned and future proof tool-battery communication, etc etc. More power, less heat, better duty cycle. It all sounds great on paper.
Unfortunately, it’s a marketing nightmare. Makita threw away the obvious upgrade path from LXT, and are now torn between alienating their legacy users, or undermining adoption of their new system. The tools are great, but forcing their customers to make an awkward decision off the bat is a terrible hurdle to overcome.
Milwaukee on the other hand, decides what they want to sell, and then sets about creating the most ‘marketable’ products. They work really hard to reduce every hurdle their customers might face to buy the product, from distribution, to using the most commonly available consumables.
Every product must have some ‘best in class’ quality, even if it isn’t outright performance.
Milwaukee’s battery lineup was driven by marketing, not their engineers. The marketing team set a clear goal for each system, and the designers and engineers stick to it:
M12- Compact, lightweight, tight access. Solutions for unique ergonomic situations. Handtool replacement.
M18- Powerful, “category leading” tools.
They work hard to ensure the systems don’t overlap each other, other than a few tools like the Hackzall and Hatchet that turned out to benefit from the increased power of M18.
Would some M18 tools really benefit from being “M40” or some other high voltage platform? Probably, and maybe it will happen next decade. But they would be much harder to sell right now, and Milwaukee had the marketing savvy to predict this.
The product managers and industrial designers work very hard to reduce pain points- Researching competitor’s products, and observing the workflow of professionals in the field. Figuring out what their consumers ‘gotchas’ are, and avoiding them.
Even if their tools and batteries have problems with heat, they still feel good to use, and do the job. The engineers ensure the tool functions fine, and push R&D to get the absolute most they can out of 18 volts.
It’s a delicate balance, and really comes down to proper collaboration and communication between all parts of the company, leading to good decision making. This is where Milwaukee clearly shines above their competitors, especially in North America.
Munklepunk
I’ve been a Makita user for decades, but I won’t but a tool just because of the name. Milwaukee is doing the opposite of Makita, that’s why they are successful. They look at the market, see a hole and try to fill it, and they don’t do it with cheap crap (Hart, harbor freight). They make good tools at competitive prices. If their tools have a problem they try to fix it, their impact wrench debacle a couple years ago as an example. It was a bad design and they quickly fixed the problem.
I don’t think they build the best quality tools, Bosch, Metabo, Makita, all have much better build quality, but none have the availability, warranty process, tool selection, battery choice, or marketing department of Milwaukee.
Goodie
Bingo. I don’t think Milwaukee makes the best and the candidates you mentioned are good examples of folks who make tools that are often better. In the hand tool space, I don’t think of their mechanics tools as anything incredibly special. They’re certainly not directly competing with Hilti or Snap-on. I’ll posit this: Milwaukee is the 2020s iteration of Craftsman, with the marketing, availability, warranty, and accessibility to go with it. However, they’ve managed to add plenty of specialty tools (plumbing, electrical, etc) that give them some professional credibility (halo effect).
Rx9
My argument is consistent, continuous expansion into specialty trades, with items at a reasonable price.
I’ve mentioned my decision to switch from Dewalt to Milwaukee way back, simply because they beat them to market with a 12v ratchet and a brushless full size impact by several YEARS.
Any tool brand can make a nice drill. That’s easy. What really sends a message to end users is the presence and continued development of a formidable assortment of niche tools. I may not need a Pex expander or cable cutter or an agricultural sprayer, but knowing I can get them powered by the same battery platform as my drill makes that drill all the more appealing. Line extension, above all, signals commitment. It shows management not interested in a cynical high-volume cash grab (“Look, yet another new drill!” ), but in developing a truly comprehensive platform, even if it involves low-volume niche applications.
End users want to know the money they dump into batteries and chargers isn’t going to get flushed into the toilet by a manufacturer that decides to give up on a platform a mere 3-5 years into launching it (as so many others have done). End users also want to know that the platform they’re on will have tools that can handle those niche applications they’re interested in, without having to wait half a decade for those tools to arrive.
In essence, the secret to Mikwaukee’s success is them believing in their platform and brand enough to continually invest in it. That investment has built up a lot of trust, and that trust pays off in sales.
Jim Felt
Sure looks that way.
Joellikestools
Having a cordless vacuum pump, pipe crimper, etc has gone a long way to setup Milwaukee as a go to for tradies
Ezzy
“Name the biggest 12V-class cordless power tool platform you can think of. Milwaukee M12. What’s the second-biggest? Bosch? Dewalt Xtreme? Makita?
Milwaukee’s competitors are so far behind. Why?”
Because m12 is the only 12V system that’s done right. Post style batteries are generally terrible, but for 12V it’s absolutely the right approach. For 18V tools you should be focusing on power. For 12v I care way more about it being as lightweight and compact as possible. Which you get with a post battery. I prefer M12 2.5amp batteries to the 4 amp XCs for that reason.
A Milwaukee M12 Surge and drill is all the power I need for 99% of the work I do on a daily basis as a handyman. On the rare occasion that I need more I’ll get out my M18. Also being able to charge both from one charger is brilliant.
Goodie
Bosch had this figured out, they just failed to effectively compete in the U.S. market against Milwaukee. Bosch uses the post style batteries in their 12v (then marketed as 10.8) in 2006. M12 followed, using a similar form factor, in 2008. There are still quite a few Bosch 12v tools that I consider superior to Milwaukee, to include their installation driver, jigsaw, router, and little planer.
fred
Funny that. Our Installers in our cabinet business liked the Bosch 10.8/12V drivers and jigsaw so much that they stayed with Bosch for all their needs. I hear that they are still with Bosch on both 12V and 18V class tools – but their power tool needs are pretty narrow in scope.
Ezzy
You’re right. Forgot that Bosch uses post style batteries. But Dewalt is a terrible implementation. Why would I go 12V if it’s still close in size and weight to a way more powerful 18V drill? My M12 Surge is awesome. Tiny and more than enough power for most of my needs.
Joellikestools
The surge and the form factor of m12 is great.
Sam S.
The first cordless Milwaukee drill I used in the late 90’s just could not hold up to the task I had. Drilling out stainless steel 1/8″ pop rivets should have been easy with the Norseman bits I was using, but the Milwaukee NiCad batteries ran out quickly and the dill over heated. I had to resort to my Craftsman corded drill for most of the job. One of the supply houses I use had loaned me the “New” cordless drill to try out. I went through Makita, Porter Cable and Bosch over the years and finally when Milwaukee switched to Lithium batteries the game changed.
The Milwaukee Reps were showing up at the supply houses and making deals that were better than HD could offer and you could really try out the tools too. Now that I have an M18 vacuum pump I don’t even carry an extension cord on my truck.
Some of the Milwaukee tools and storage I own have come from HD, but most of it was bought at supply houses.
JR Ramos
Those Milwaukee cordless were kind of dogs, not terrible but I think at that point DeWalt had the edge over everyone (except Panasonic) until Makita went Ni-MH. Lithium sure changed the world for the better though! Even the cheapest no name drills now blow away anything from only a decade ago.
Dave (not here)
This may not be relevant to anyone but me, but I first came to ToolGuyd in the early 2010s as a young property manager looking for as much information as I could get my hands on about various power tool brands, looking to step up from Ryobi into a more pro-oriented brand. I was looking at DeWalt, Makita, Ridgid, and Milwaukee at the time – when it came to corded tools or hand tools brand meant nothing to me, I’d buy the best available and that’s true to this say, but for cordless I wanted to limit the number of battery/charger systems I’d be buying into.
After a lot of research (many thanks to Stuart for providing the most objective opinions I could find at the time), I ended up with M18 as my primary system, M12 and Ryobi as fallbacks for tools getting rare use. 2 chargers, 3 batteries to do everything – if I used a ‘novelty’ Ryobi tool enough to wear it out, I’d replace it with a Milwaukee equivalent.
12+ years later, with 3 as a licensed general contractor and still working primarily as a maintenance manager, I stand by my choice.
The breadth of the power tool line is unparalleled – I might be a landscaper today and need a weed whacker, pole saw, and hedger (all quik-lok attachments), tomorrow I’m a carpenter and need an impact, recipro-saw, and circular saw, next week I’m a plumber and need an assisted-feed snake or toilet auger. Over the weekend I might want to rotate the tires on my truck or change a water pump – there are airless power ratchets to get that done for me too.
All this is to say that the broad focus TTI has given Milwaukee gives them a huge leg up on their competitors – maybe Makita and DeWalt will always draw in more framers, OPE-specific brands will draw landscapers, Festool will draw finish carpenters, but Milwaukee has done enough in every category to draw some attention, and if you exist in more than one space, even if it’s as a pro in a specific trade and a DIYer elsewhere, moreso if you do multiple things for a living like me, it’s hard to argue for any other make.
Hokay, so. Brand loyalty established, now let’s start pushing other products. I love the idea of anti-roll, wrench-ready sockets, but since I’m not a professional mechanic value means more to me than optimal performance. If I had more money than sense, I’d be all over the Milwaukee mechanic set – the benefits may very well be worth it to a pro, however, especially one who’s already had great experience switching from air tools to a battery impact and whatnot.
For me, I try an auto-lock tape measure and it’s good enough to give up my Stanley FatMax. The extra layer of knurling makes me start to favor the red adjustable wrenches over Crescent, which I’ve grown up with and had considered the gold standard, given that I call that tool by brand name like you ask for a kleenex rather than a tissue. The slip-joint pliers are decent, neither better nor worse than the competitors, but I’ve drank so much kool-aid that I now have developed an unconscious bias.
Milwaukee now owns my soul, and I don’t feel particularly bad about it.
Michael F
One thing that isn’t mentioned here is how much financial investment it takes to develop innovative products. Milwaukee seems to invest more in product development and creating solutions to problems for trades more than any other company. They develop a feedback loop with professionals to quickly incorporate feedback into product design and iterate quickly to get better products to market. This isn’t just luck and it’s not just investment alone – it’s corporate culture. Someone, somewhere, built an agile product development culture that’s simply beating everyone else right now.
Eric P.
I have to agree with Michael – Milwaukee is making a huge investment in the design and engineering of great products. Much more so than Ryobi (which is also owned by TTI). Having been in engineering meetings at Milwaukee many times over the past 20 years, I see it as a company culture focused on excellence.
Seth Goodson
Milwaukee has stayed innovating. That has made the difference. Makita, DeWalt and Poter Cable all had their time in the light. However they didn’t do anything to sustain their popularity, they figured people would keep coming back. But that’s not how it works. Milwaukee was in the background and saw this happening. They decided to change and never turn back. That’s made them the top of there game. I was 100% ever since I was a kid because that’s what my dad ran and at the time they were the best. I mean for my graduation I asked for a DeWalt XR 18 volt hammer drill. My dad jumped ship when we got tired of the extremely high failure rate of the NiCad 18 volt batteries. He bought one Makita drill and impact and one Milwaukee drill and impact. At the time I liked neither. I stuck with DeWalt until the 20V which I truly loved. The Flex volt battery platform is what made me sell all my tools and go Milwaukee. DeWalt wasn’t sticking to a platform and it frustrated me. 2018 o dumped all my 20V tools and invested in the M18 platform. The fact that Milwaukee has stayed with the M18/M12 platforms and continue to improve them is what has made them succeed. Besides instead of forcing you to buy a new tool to run a flex volt tool like DeWalt they keep improving there batteries themselves. The one battery platform is what drove the chance. I don’t want 7 different charger and batteries to keep up. I want to walk in with 3 batteries and can run all 10 tool or whatever without having to go back to the trailer, and I am willing to accept the fact that sometimes that means the one battery platform will not allow the 100% best tool for the job but its ease of use out weighs that for me. Milwaukee listens to feedback. Now to the consumers dismay sometimes it is slower then desired prime example is the recent released roofing nailer, however the fact is it’s here now, they listened. What other power tool company are you gonna turn to if you are trade specific? The only answer is Milwaukee. Automotive, electrical, plumbing, concrete, outdoor, etc are covered and covered well with both M12 and M18 platforms. Packout is another example. Milwaukee’s latching system is hands down what makes it the best platform for me. It’s simple and works. They continue to expand the system not bringing out 5 or 6 boxes and then let the system set for years like their competitors.
In conclusion, does Milwaukee have the best of everything? No….. However they innovate, continue to provide large platform offerings , listen to feedback, have a great warranty and have stuck with a social media presence like no other tool company. I am excited to see what the future brings.
Mark M.
Good writeup and I would agree with “disruptive innovation” even though it’s chiche.
I would also add a baseline commitment to quality- I never worry about getting burned on something red.
And the niche tools are so smart and check so many boxes. They foster loyalty because those users feel like they are being heard, they create word-of-mouth which is magic in the marketing world, and they are another entry point into the larger ecosystem. The common view is that once you amass a tool inventory, that’s what keeps you buying into that system. That’s true, but I’d argue that the niche tool users may buy a single tool to fill a specific need, and then they are so enamored with it, that’s what starts them buying more (even though that wasn’t their original intent). It’s a good time to be Big Red, that’s for sure!
James
A single tool (M18 water pump) got me into M18 and a single tool (M12 PEX expander) got me into M12. Now we run probably 25-30 different cordless red tools, and only one warranty job so far (PEX expander, ironically?) for a tool and a few for batteries.
The one thing that I HATE about the red tools (both M12 and M18) is the battery removal. My thumbs are VERY arthritic and some days I struggle so much to remove a battery because I have to take the pain up pretty high to squeeze hard enough….
Allen
Expansive R&D which has allowed repeated iterations and improvements to their basic tools. Their impact driver is the best out there, and they’ve iterated enough to be much much further than their competitions. Did it have a ring light before? No, but they listened to feedback and adapted.
They realized being “American made” didn’t have the same bearing as offering more features and being reliable. I don’t think people bring up the origin of the manufacturer.
Milwaukee has heavily advertised in trade schools, apprenticeship training centers and they are the preferred tool among the trades (MEP). Why? Because they offered trade specific tools (specially hydraulic) in the electric field. Only greenlee’s gator had anything comparable of hydraulic crimper, cutter, and KO set. They were rare in stock and used Makita batteries. Klein likewise had a niche set which used DeWalt batteries. No one imagined a major tool manufacturer to put their name on hydraulic tools outright. Their rotary hammers, which is one of our most used tools likewise are the most expansive lineup, and have HEPA vacuums. Only Hilti has bothered with any sort of innovation (masonry bits with an internal hole so that a vacuum can run through the system). The power pony threader? No one would have imagined that being battery powered in the past. They saw the market in it, and good golly it’s been such a change. No more need to lug around a generator in the truck to power that. You’d be able to cut, thread pipe anywhere. The power pony is maybe the electrical tool in the past that defined our trade. There’s attachments for it to not only thread pipe, but pull wire (Maxis/IToolCo), and also bend pipe (Gardner Bender). Only now has Ridgid come out with a battery powered threader.
If DeWalt and Makita don’t want to be left behind, they better adapt the best selling tools that Milwaukee has. Start with task lighting. Could it compete in price? I doubt it. But they need to do it to stay relevant.
Tobin James Sr
Just wanted to add
I’m an HVAC contractor in the DMV area as such I’m always buying tools for my family reunion. I used to carry two gas powered generators out to a park in Philadelphia so that we could have music this year. I purchased the little charging station that’s powered off an 18 V battery that works pretty much all the 18 V tools, it ran a stereo with the 6 V battery with its 120 V portable outlet for over eight hours dropping the weight I carry to the middle of this park from 300 pounds to 20. My latest vehicle is a box which is being built entirely of packout also years ago one Christmas I bought a 36 V kit of one of the competitors coming year. I attempted to use its hammer drill to put anchors in concrete in the 36 V couldn’t do it which led to buying a smaller Hilty than the one I have that put 5 inch holes in concrete , I purchased the 12 V Milwaukee hammer drill on clothes out at Home Depot for 60 bucks. It put anchors in the same damn concrete wall with no problem. I pledge allegiance to Milwaukee for their innovation and their excellent performance.
CMF
“Beyond cordless power tools, which wasn’t as big a category 15+ years ago as it is today”…It will be interesting to see in 15 years from now, is Packout and the competing brands, still popular or not. Packout and all the others are incredibly popular now.
Same with hand tools, which could be broken down into mechanics tools and electrical tools. Hand tools has been more recently introduced, at least as a focus market for Milwaukee.
In the electrical, which I would think is smaller than the market for mechanics tools, I am sure that anyone at Klein would tell you that Milwaukee has been incredibly disruptive.
The mechanics side, there are far more players, so time will tell.
JR Ramos
I was talking with some guys last year about Klein and Knipex and Milwaukee (interestingly, nobody seemed to care about Ideal or Southwire or anyone else besides Channellock). Probably varies by age and region but the Buy USA sentiment is still incredibly strong and Milwaukee gets an instant write off for that reason alone from lots of folks. On the flip side, Klein has affected its own loyalty in recent years with more imported items and some QC issues as well as what seem to be more warranty denials and tougher restrictions on the supply houses that often take care of the warranty for them. Knipex Cobras seem well accepted but most still stick with Klein for the meat of their tools, some Channellock and Greenlee here and there. Very little Milwaukee seen other than cordless tools and that seemed more popular with the plumbers and HVAC but probably more DeWalt and Ridgid than anything else. I think Milwaukee has been a lot more accepted (US or Import) with mechanics and DIY, on the hand tools and accessories side anyway). At this point I wonder how much Fluke has been impacted as many of their common items seem less common in the field now, but they have so many specialty meters and kits that everyone does seem to have and use. I think Klein is doing ok but maybe not as comfortable as they used to be…they had a strong perch but have had to adapt to both changes in the trades as well as much more competition in the common tools they make. I wonder if their rigging and pouches and fall protection is doing as well as it used to, and some other categories that many of us don’t see or use normally.
CMF
Milwaukee’s success I believe is because many factors, but 2 overwhelming reasons.
The first is the HD relationship. Ego as an example. Whether they left because they want to spread their wings into Lowes and other places, which HD said no, Or HD simply wanted to have Ryobi, which had matured enough in the 40v OPE, as their flagship OPE, or any other reason; few others would consider such a major change. HD, not sure to what extent, but definitely promotes, protects and takes advantage of their TTI relationship. Milwaukee definitely flourished in part because of this relationship.
The other big reason in my mind, is Milwaukee’s marketing, their promos, specials, the red trucks I see more often than all the other colors combined. I think their marketing department is easily ahead of Dewalt and the rest.
These 2 reasons I would say are 45% each, leaving 10% of all the other reasons having any impact on the Milwaukee success.
I know many that have had tool failures, and the battery issues had been there for years, yet, the brand goes forward successfully because their presence and marketing trumps (OMG) any negatives.
Stuart
I’m convinced that EGO wanted reach beyond Home Depot, and Home Depot didn’t take kindly to that.
CMF
You are probably right. My point was that not many retailers would let EGO, which quickly rose to a strong seller and successful in OPE, pickup and leave. (or boot them out for wanting too much)
I have no numbers to show this, but I figure their sales either dropped a bit or stopped rising like when they were at HD.
Milwaukee, part of TTI and being in good terms with HD, is doing well in part due to this relationship.
Travis
I would be very interested to understand how 3d printing is used for prototyping at the two companies.
My gut says Milwaukee does much more printing at concept/idea generation than Dewalt.
The design language is much more three dimensional.