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Festool Now Manufacturing in the U.S., and Their Parent Company Has Purchased SawStop

By Rain Noe - November 14, 2017

in Tools & Craft

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I was surprised to learn that Festool's parent company, Tooltechnic Systems (a/k/a TTS), purchased SawStop earlier this year. On the one hand both brands are focused on worker safety: Festool was a pioneer of both dust collection and the guiderails that make kickback from circular saws virtually impossible, and SawStop's table saws practically guarantee you leave the shop with all ten fingers. But Festool is known for making portable tools for jobsites, whereas SawStop's bread and butter was traditionally shop-based cabinet saws.

It's true that SawStop now makes jobsite/contractor table saws that can be hauled around...

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...so perhaps we'll see a Festool-branded version? Or could SawStop's flesh-sensing technology somehow be integrated into a handheld power tool? For their part, TTS states:

"For TTS and the company's subsidiaries, it has always been a top priority to deliver precision results with maximum operator protection. The newly acquired technology, which TTS will continue to develop together with the SawStop team, supports these priorities and prepares TTS to face stricter safety requirements that are likely to be imposed on power tools."

I'm not sure what those "likely to be imposed" new requirements are; maybe they've got a line on something brewing at OSHA?

In other Festool news, the company has also announced that they've begun producing their guiderails in the U.S.A., at the company's facility in Lebanon, Indiana. This makes good business sense, should certain protective trade policies come into existence; producing the relatively low-tech guiderails here allows them to dip their foot in the U.S. manufacturing pool, perhaps with an eye on future expansion of capabilities.

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We know what you're thinking: If they're producing the guiderails here and not having to pay to ship them across the Atlantic, will they be cheaper for us U.S. customers?

Probably not. But we've already told you where you can buy Festool stuff on the (relatively) cheap--on their recon website. One of our readers already wrote in to say he'd scored a Kapex there at a steep discount.

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Alex Netz

7 years ago

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Thanks Ken, well written.

Whats common between festool and sawstop is that both brands are premium brands which are prices many times more than the competition. I own a sawstop, the cheapest and one, i think I ended up paying 2500$ total. A decent delta contractor saw would have cost 1/3-1/4. But i gladly paid the price for safety. In not a full time crafstman so I have a harder time justifying the purchase of more festools... I own the domino and thats it. Would love one day to get the circular saw and some sanders...

But it's such a premium brand that it developed a following of people showing off their gray/green systainers towers!

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Nathan D.

7 years ago

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Festool already has a Mafell Erika clone that they sell in Europe called the Precisio but they've never brought it here and it's honestly not that impressive in comparison to the thing it's imitating. I've worked with them extensively and their saw motors have a strong tendency to be woefully underpowered; adding a GSR-triggered safety brake would not make me want another one mounted under a table personally.

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Ken K

7 years ago

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This is a really interesting development for the power tools world. SawStop's famous safety gizmo was originally developed and intended as a cool thing to be licensed to every table saw manufacturer. When the manufacturers colluded to block adoption of it, SawStop started their own company. Which has been quite successful.

The interesting part is that all the major power tool manufacturers literally colluded to block adoption of it. They didn't merely decline individually. They actually got together at their regular meetings and pressured the companies that wanted to adopt it, into not adopting it. Why? Because it's so obviously a huge leap forward in power tool safety — it would prevent something like 60,000 finger amputations per year — that if one adopted it, they would all have to adopt it and write it into the safety regulations and guidelines. (Which are largely written by a manufacturers' committee, not by impartial outsiders.)

The major manufacturers wanted to create their own solution so they wouldn't have to pay fees to SawStop. (In the meantime, 60,000 amputations per year, but hey, too bad.) Once they had that, they would consider writing it into the safety regulations. They tasked one of their members, Bosch, with the engineering job. Bosch developed Reaxx, which was sufficiently similar to SawStop's technology that the courts shut down Reaxx as an obvious patent violation. Interestingly, Bosch's Reaxx-equipped table saw was actually more expensive than SawStop's comparable saw. So much for saving money.

The flagrantly explicit industry collusion to block adoption of SawStop's safety technology came out in an unrelated trial, when a major power tool company's CEO admitted it. SawStop didn't know about it until then. So now SawStop is suing the rest of them, and is winning at every turn.

Which is probably why TTS is predicting that "stricter safety requirements […] are likely to be imposed on power tools." This might be wishful thinking on their part, but SawStop is is extremely likely to win its lawsuit. SawStop (now TTS) is probably negotiating for a lawsuit settlement that mandates that SawStop-style safety devices be required for table saws and eventually other power tools — in addition to or instead of, say, paying SawStop a huge payout for the flagrantly illegal collusion. Under antitrust laws, the bad guys would be forced to pay a huge penalty that is automatically multiplied by 3 ("treble damages"), which is a terrifyingly huge incentive to negotiate an agreement before the judge hands down a decision.

(This is all public record. You can read all this if you are willing to wade through large piles of tedious legal documents. I happen to have been a lawyer once upon a time, so I find this fascinating.)

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- Brad Johnson
  
  Ken K
  
  7 years ago
  
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  Well written response! I have been following this table saw saga for a while now as well.
  
  I would have to disagree about the SawStop saw being comparable to the Bosch though. While they use a similar technology to sense human flesh, the Bosch saw is superior in many ways. It's only $100 more, but includes soft start tech, an 18" off-feed table, a 4hp motor vs the SawStop 1.5hp, superior rip fence, cast iron table vs SawStop's aluminum, etc. In addition, the Reaxx saw doesn't damage the blade when "set-off". Frankly, I wish I could buy one, but I understand why SawStop challenged them and won.
  
  It's unfortunate that the technology wasn't adopted, but maybe we will see something positive now that they're partnered with Festool.
  
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Noodle Time

7 years ago

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most likely due to the high trade tariffs on aluminum extrusions... (like 400% on raw goods) .... thanks lobbyists!@

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