On the occasion of their 90th anniversary, German power tool manufacturer Festool invited a small group of journalists to a weeklong media event at their headquarters in southern Germany. As the sole design publication in attendance (the rest were from the trades), Core77 made it a point to learn about what sets the innovative company's designs apart—and how they do it. The following series of articles is a result of the trip.
An introduction to the company, and Festool's growing base of American power tool users.
In this rare look inside Festool's private museum, we see that creating innovative tools has been baked into the organization from the start.
Festool develops products by starting at the end, with what comes out of a customer's mouth. Here we learn the five points that guide the company's decisions.
Here we take a closer look at how Festool brought a new power tool, the Conturo, into existence. We also see that they're not afraid to start over from scratch in order to get the design right.
Festool works with just two(!) industrial designers, only one of them in-house. Here we get to chat with in-house ID'er Timo Kuhls on what it's like to design for Festool—and we get to see the cool project that got him the job!
It's one thing to design and build innovative tools, but how can you be sure they'll stand up to jobsite abuse? Where does durability come from? Here we see Festool's intensive testing and quality control taking the crucial, unsung steps in maintaining the company's reputation.
In Part 2 we looked at the inventions that got Festool onto the map. Here we look at the more recent innovations that have kept them there. It was tough narrowing this list down to just ten.
Fun Festool facts like where the Systainer came from, why they won't make a laser, the role of professional tool users vs. hobbyists, and more.
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Comments
all of this was a great read - must have been a neat trip. I saw your mug in one of David Frane's photos weeks ago, and figured this would be forthcoming.
David's good people! He's also got hands-on experience in the trades and was game to answer questions about it; it was a pleasure to share bus rides and beers with the guy.