Kobalt is a line of hand and mechanics' tools,

power tool A power tool is a tool that is actuator, actuated by an additional engine, power source and mechanism (engineering), mechanism other than the solely manual labour, manual labor used with hand tools. The most common types of power tools use electric ...

s, and tool storage products owned by the

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, p ...

home improvement The concept of home improvement, home renovation or remodeling is the process of renovating, making improvements or making additions to one's home. Home improvement can consist of projects that upgrade an existing home interior (such as electr ...

chain A chain is a serial assembly of connected pieces, called links, typically made of metal, with an overall character similar to that of a rope in that it is flexible and curved in compression but linear, rigid, and load-bearing in tension. A ...

Lowe's Lowe's Companies, Inc. ( ) is an American retail company specializing in home improvement. Headquartered in Mooresville, North Carolina, the company operates a chain of retail stores in the United States. As of October 28, 2022, Lowe's and i ...

. It is the

house brand A private label, also called a private brand or private-label brand, is a brand owned by a company, offered by that company alongside and competing with brands from other businesses. A private-label brand is almost always offered exclusively by th ...

for both Lowe's in

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere, Northern and Western Hemisphere, Western hemispheres. North America is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South Ameri ...

and their joint venture with the now defunct

Masters Home Improvement Masters Home Improvement was an Australian home improvement chain operated by two retailers; Woolworths and Lowe's. It was established as a way for Woolworths to enter the hardware retail market, which has been historically dominated by Bunning ...

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

History

Lowe's and manufacturing partner J.H. Williams launched Kobalt in 1998, with the intention of competing against rival retailers

Sears Sears, Roebuck and Co., commonly known as Sears ( ), is an American chain of department stores and online retailer founded in 1892 by Richard Warren Sears and Alvah Curtis Roebuck and reincorporated in 1906 by Richard Sears and Julius Rosen ...

and

The Home Depot The Home Depot, Inc., often referred to as Home Depot, is an American multinational corporation, multinational home improvement retail corporation that sells tools, construction products, appliances, and services, including fuel and transportat ...

and their respective

Craftsman Craftsman may refer to: A profession *Artisan, a skilled manual worker who makes items that may be functional or strictly decorative *Master craftsman, an artisan who has achieved such a standard that he may establish his own workshop and take o ...

and

Husky Husky is a general term for a type of dog used in the polar regions, primarily and specifically for work as sled dogs. It refers to a traditional northern type, notable for its cold-weather tolerance and overall hardiness. Modern racing huskies ...

tool brands. In 2003, the

Danaher Corporation Danaher Corporation is an American global conglomerate founded in 1984 by brothers Steven and Mitchell Rales. Headquartered in Washington, D.C., the company designs, manufactures, and markets medical, industrial, and commercial products and ...

began producing the majority of Kobalt hand tools. In 2011, Lowe's ended its arrangement with Danaher and switched to a different supplier for its mechanic's hand tools, JS Products of

Las Vegas, Nevada Las Vegas, colloquially referred to as Vegas, is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Nevada and the county seat of Clark County. The Las Vegas Valley metropolitan area is the largest within the greater Mojave Desert, and second-l ...

. Screwdrivers continue to be supplied by

Great Neck Great Neck is a region contained within Nassau County, New York, on Long Island, which covers a peninsula on the North Shore and includes nine incorporated villages, among them Great Neck, Great Neck Estates, Great Neck Plaza, Kings Poin ...

. The same year, the Kobalt line expanded to include cordless

s, manufactured by Chervon. The current (2020) miter saws are manufactured by Rexon Industrial Corp. Taiwan. In 2019 Lowe's announced that they will launch the Kobalt XTR power tools .

Budget brands

Lowe's has two brands of tools and supplies positioned below Kobalt in quality and cost: Project Source and the more recent Blue Hawk, introduced in 2009.

Gallery

File:Kobalt wrenches.jpg, An assortment of Kobalt combination wrenches, manufactured by Danaher. File:Kobalt lineman's pliers.jpg, A pair of Kobalt

lineman's pliers Lineman's pliers (US English), Kleins (genericized trademark, US usage), linesman pliers (Canadian English), side cutting linesman pliers and combination pliers (UK / US English) are a type of pliers used by lineworkers, electricians, and othe ...

. File:Kobalt utility knife.jpg, A Kobalt utility knife.

References

External links

* {{Tool manufacturers Lowe's Store brands Tool manufacturing companies of the United States