Rockwell Tools is a line of

power tools A power tool is a tool that is actuated by an additional power source and mechanism other than the solely manual labor used with hand tools. The most common types of power tools use electric motors. Internal combustion engines and compressed air ...

that is currently owned and distributed by Positec Tool Corporation, a

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

-based company with North American headquarters in Charlotte,

North Carolina North Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, South Carolina to the south, Georgia (U.S. stat ...

. The brand offers power tools and

hand tools A hand tool is any tool that is powered by hand rather than a motor. Categories of hand tools include wrenches, pliers, cutters, files, striking tools, struck or hammered tools, screwdrivers, vises, clamps, snips, hacksaws, drills, an ...

that are most often used in professional and private

construction Construction are processes involved in delivering buildings, infrastructure, industrial facilities, and associated activities through to the end of their life. It typically starts with planning, financing, and design that continues until the a ...

, automotive repair, and

woodworking Woodworking is the skill of making items from wood, and includes cabinetry, furniture making, wood carving, joinery, carpentry, and woodturning. History Along with stone, clay and animal parts, wood was one of the first materials worked b ...

. Its products are sold at a variety of retailers including

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 ...

Costco Costco Wholesale Corporation is an American multinational corporation which operates a chain of membership-only big-box warehouse club retail stores. As of 2021, Costco is the third-largest retailer in the world, and as of August 2024, Cos ...

, 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 ...

History

The Positec Tool Corporation was founded in

Suzhou Suzhou is a major prefecture-level city in southern Jiangsu province, China. As part of the Yangtze Delta megalopolis, it is a major economic center and focal point of trade and commerce. Founded in 514 BC, Suzhou rapidly grew in size by the ...

, China, in 1994 by Don Gao. It primarily sold OEM tools to established brands like

Black & Decker Black+Decker is an American manufacturer of power tools, accessories, hardware, home improvement products, home appliances, and fastening systems, headquartered in Towson, Maryland, north of Baltimore, where the company was originally establis ...

. In the early 2000s, Gao decided to branch out by manufacturing tools and lawn care accessories under his own brand name. Meanwhile, Tom Duncan, the current CEO of the Positec Tool Corporation 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 ...

, was the vice president of a

Robert Bosch GmbH Robert Bosch GmbH (; ), commonly known as Bosch (styled BOSCH), is a German multinational engineering and technology company headquartered in Gerlingen, Baden-Württemberg, Germany. The company was founded by Robert Bosch in Stuttgart in 188 ...

-owned company called Vermont American. He quit that job in 2003 to pursue the manufacture of a line of power tools. He purchased the rights to the brand name "Rockwell" which hadn't been in use for power tools since 1981. Gao and Duncan met in 2004, with Gao looking to launch the "

WORX Worx (styled WORX in the company's logo), is a line of Garden tool, lawn and garden equipment and power tools owned and distributed by the Positec, Positec Tool Corporation, a manufacturing company based in Suzhou, China, with North American he ...

" brand of lawn care accessories and Duncan looking to manufacture the Rockwell Tools brand. They decided to partner up, and Duncan became the head of the North American division of

Positec The Positec Tool Corporation, or simply Positec, is a manufacturing company that specializes in the production of power tools and Garden tool, lawn and garden equipment. The company's corporate headquarters are located in Suzhou, China and the he ...

in 2005. Both the Rockwell Tools and the WORX brands were originally sold directly to consumers via

infomercials An infomercial is a form of television commercial that resembles regular TV programming yet is intended to promote or sell a product, service or idea. It generally includes a toll-free telephone number or website. Most often used as a form of di ...

. Products branded with Rockwell Tools first appeared in the retailer Lowe's, in October 2009. By 2012, the main North American distribution center had moved to

Huntersville, North Carolina Huntersville is a large suburban town in northern Mecklenburg County, North Carolina Mecklenburg County () is a County (United States), county located in the southwestern region of the U.S. state of North Carolina, in the United States. As o ...

, from

Long Beach Long Beach is a coastal city in southeastern Los Angeles County, California, United States. It is the list of United States cities by population, 44th-most populous city in the United States, with a population of 451,307 as of 2022. A charter ci ...

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

, to facilitate the increased sales. Rockwell Tools could also be found in Costco and The Home Depot (among other retailers) in 2012. Kasey Kahne Pit Rockingham

In 2012, the Rockwell brand was designated the "Official Power Tool" of

Rockingham Speedway Rockingham Speedway and Entertainment Complex (formerly known as North Carolina Speedway from 1998 to 2007 and North Carolina Motor Speedway from 1965 to 1996) is a D-shaped oval track in Rockingham, North Carolina, United States. The track h ...

Rockingham, North Carolina Rockingham is a city in Richmond County, North Carolina, United States, named after the Marquess of Rockingham. The population was 9,243 at the 2020 census. It is the county seat of Richmond County. Downtown Rockingham is currently being revit ...

. They also served as the sponsor for

Kasey Kahne Kasey Kenneth Kahne (; born April 10, 1980) is an American professional dirt track racing and stock car racing driver. He competes part-time in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, driving the No. 33 Chevrolet SS for Richard Childress Racing. Currently, K ...

's vehicle in the

NASCAR The National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing, LLC (NASCAR) is an American auto racing sanctioning and operating company that is best known for stock car racing. It is considered to be one of the top ranked motorsports organizations in ...

Camping World Truck Series The NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series is a pickup truck racing series owned and operated by the National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing (NASCAR), and is the only series in NASCAR to race production pickup truck-based stock cars. The series i ...

race in Rockingham that year. In 2013, Rockwell Tools was a part of an integrated

ad campaign An advertising campaign or marketing campaign is a series of advertisement messages that share a single idea and theme which make up an integrated marketing communication (IMC). An IMC is a platform in which a group of people can group their ide ...

that was featured on both the

History Channel History (formerly and commonly known as the History Channel) is an American pay television television broadcaster, network and the flagship channel of A&E Networks, a joint venture between Hearst Communications and the Disney General Entertainme ...

and its reality TV series ''

Counting Cars ''Counting Cars'' is an American reality television series shown on History Channel and produced by Leftfield Pictures. The series, which was the third spin-off of '' Pawn Stars'', was filmed in Las Vegas, where it chronicled the daily activitie ...

''. The campaign's slogan was "Rock Your Garage", which was also the title of a sweepstakes associated with the campaign.

Products

The Rockwell Tools brand features power tools (both corded and cordless) and hand tools. Some of these tools include drills, VersaCut

circular saw A circular saw or a buzz saw, is a power-saw using a toothed or Abrasive saw, abrasive disk (mathematics), disc or blade to cut different materials using a rotary motion spinning around an Arbor (tool), arbor. A hole saw and ring saw also use ...

s, power planers,

miter saw A miter saw or mitre saw is a saw used to make accurate crosscuts and miters in a workpiece by positioning a mounted blade onto a board. A miter saw in its earliest form was composed of a back saw in a miter box, but in modern implementation ...

s, G-Force

angle grinder An angle grinder, also known as a side grinder or disc grinder, is a handheld power tool used for grinding (abrasive cutting) and polishing. History The high-speed angle grinder was invented in 1954 by German company Ackermann + Schmitt ( FLE ...

sander A sander is a power tool used to smooth surfaces by abrasion with sandpaper. Sanders have a means to attach the sandpaper and a mechanism to move it rapidly contained within a housing with means to handhold it or fix it to a workbench. Woodw ...

s, and

bench grinder A bench grinder is a benchtop type of grinding machine used to drive abrasive wheels. A pedestal grinder is a similar or larger version of grinder that is mounted on a pedestal, which may be bolted to the floor or may sit on rubber feet. Thes ...

s. Many of the products offered by Rockwell Tools come with free batteries for life. Rockwell Tools also offers a variety of specialty tools including the Sonicrafter, an oscillating multi-tool that is used for remodeling and general

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 ...

. The Jawhorse is a clamping device that is similar in style to a bench vise, but offers hands-free operation. Rockwell also offers the ShopSeries, which is a line of tools aimed at budget-conscious DIYers.

Recognition and awards

In 2011,

was honored with the Product of the Year award by '' DIY Week'' in the power tools category for Rockwell's Sonicrafter oscillating tool and the Rockwell G-Force angle grinder.

References

External links

* {{Power tool manufacturers Power tool manufacturers Manufacturing companies based in North Carolina Companies based in Charlotte, North Carolina Manufacturing companies established in 2005 Tool manufacturing companies of China Tool manufacturing companies of the United States