Freedonia Hand and Power Tool Expert Weighs in on Chinese Company's Plan to Acquire Leading US Staple Gun Manufacturer

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May 08, 2017, 10:46 ET

CLEVELAND, May 8, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- American tool manufacturers, particularly those making hand tools, have been hit hard by competition from lower cost imports from China and other parts of Asia. Foreign companies are also making inroads in the US market by buying American tool producers and their well-known brand names. For example, Hangzhou GreatStar Industrial, a Chinese manufacturer of hand and power tools, recently announced plans to acquire Arrow Fastener – a US producer of manual and electric staplers, electric nail guns, glue guns, rivet tools, and associated fasteners – from Masco. Arrow makes the world's best-selling manual staple gun, the T50, at a plant in Saddle Brook, New Jersey. GreatStar reports that the T50 and other Arrow products will continue to be made at the same facility, which will also become a primary distribution center for GreatStar's other products. The transaction is expected to close in midyear 2017.

The full article can be read here: http://www.hbsdealer.com/article/chinese-company-buys-arrow

"This is a smart move on GreatStar's part," reports Freedonia industry analyst Reta Sober. In addition to using the Arrow brand name to market its other products, GreatStar can utilize Arrow's sales and distribution network to strengthen its competitive position in the US. Arrow will also benefit from GreatStar's international marketing capabilities, boosting its export sales. "It's too early to know how this will all play out," says Sober, "but the net effect is likely to be an increase in the size of the US trade deficit in hand and power tools."

The US is the largest hand and power tool market in the world, and product sales in the country will continue to grow. Demand is forecast to climb 3% annually through 2020, according to Freedonia Group hand and power tool studies written by Sober. Power tools will post faster market advances than hand tools, bolstered by the productivity gains they can provide in building construction, light assembly work, and machinery repair and maintenance.

The Freedonia Group's Hand Tools and Power Tools studies can be accessed here: https://www.freedoniagroup.com/industry-study/hand-tools-3439.htm
https://www.freedoniagroup.com/industry-study/power-tools-3380.htm

A new Freedonia study on the Global Power Tool Market will be published later this month.

About The Freedonia Group – The Freedonia Group, a division of MarketResearch.com, is a leading international industrial research company publishing more than 100 studies annually. Since 1985 we have provided research to customers ranging in size from global conglomerates to one-person consulting firms. More than 90% of the industrial companies in the Fortune 500 use Freedonia Group research to help with their strategic planning. Each study includes product and market analyses and forecasts, in-depth discussions of important industry trends, market share information and profiles of the leading industry players. Reports can be purchased at www.freedoniagroup.com and are also available on www.marketresearch.com and www.profound.com.

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SOURCE The Freedonia Group