Stanley Black & Decker, the world's largest toolmaker, plans to close two U.S. factories as it consolidates manufacturing and distribution elsewhere in the country in a move that results in a loss of 357 jobs in Texas and South Carolina.
The 180-year-old manufacturer behind the DeWalt, Craftsman and Troy-Bilt brands, with more than 40 manufacturing facilities and nearly 19,000 employees throughout the United States plans to optimize its manufacturing and distribution network as part of a business transformation strategy launched last year expected to save $2 billion.
Stanley Black & Decker plans to transfer its Cheraw, South Carolina, operations, which sits about an hour-and-a-half drive from Charlotte, North Carolina, to its facilities in Tennessee in the cities of Jackson and Gallatin and will discontinue its operations in Fort Worth, Texas.
The closing of the Texas facility is expected to affect 175 jobs, with the South Carolina closing is expected to impact 182 jobs. In moving its South Carolina operations to Tennessee, the company expects to add 80 jobs to those two facilities, which are both located within a drive of Nashville, Tennessee.
In a statement, company officials said, "The transformation strategy designed to deliver $2 billion of cost savings and are reflective of current economic conditions which highlighted needed changes in Stanley Black & Decker's production and distribution network."
Stanley Black & Decker did not immediately respond to a media request from CoStar News seeking more information on what might happen with the real estate it leased only a few years ago as it was bringing its manufacturing capabilities back to the United States. The company acquired a nearly 40-acre tract in May 2019 in Fort Worth to build a high-tech plant expected to make tools for mechanics using 3D-printing, virtual reality and artificial intelligence.
Hillwood developed the 425,000-square-foot manufacturing facility at 15100 N. Beach St. in Fort Worth. The building was completed in 2021.
Stanley Black & Decker's Fort Worth facility is located four miles from its 1.2 million-square-foot distribution hub in Northlake, Texas. The company signed a lease for the distribution center with Hillwood in 2019. The developer built the hub as part of its ongoing speculative industrial development in AllianceTexas, a sprawling 27,000-acre business park that is home to more than 560 companies.
By closing the two manufacturing facilities, Stanley Black & Decker officials say the move will help drive the company's financial performance and enable its investments for sustainable future growth.
Industrial real estate has been a favored asset class, with Dallas-Fort Worth being home to the nation's largest pipeline of new industrial space. According to CoStar data, the region has more than 77 million square feet of industrial space underway.