Where are Facom half moon spanners made?
- Thread starter spv
- Start date
Thanks Monte. I paid ~120 USD. I also have some new Facom T-bars (with socket ends) that mysteriously lack a country of origin. If this turns out to be correct and they are made in Taiwan by Toptul, I will seriously rethink any future Facom purchases. It is not that I dislike Toptul, it is simply that I paid a lot more than Toptul money for these wrenches.
Oh well, I guess the only one of the latest group I can trust is Stahlwille!
Oh well, I guess the only one of the latest group I can trust is Stahlwille!
IIRC most or all wrenches are from Italy and Taiwan now. I don´t know but i think if the Toptul tools are the same/similar (or identical) to Facom then i would buy whats cheaper and or easier to acquire or other brands from Taiwan with similar warranty/ quality ( Gearwrench, King Tony etc. ) because the higher Facom price then makes no sense. Depending where you are from (Australia or UK i guess ?? ..US?) maybe there are other brands available like Draper, Elora or Sidchrome etc.
I am not really on the Taiwan tool train. I prefer either German or USA made tools. I have recently purchased some Stahlwille spanners and pliers which are marked either "Germany" or "Made in Germany". The Gedore I purchased have "RSA" which I assume is South Africa. That was quite a bit disappointing given they were marketed as "German Engineered". I should have known! I have some Proto on the way which are apparently made in the USA.
As far as local tools go the only option is really Sidchrome. That said they are made in Taiwan. I have quite a few Sidchrome items; 1/2 Socket set, 1/4 socket set, pliers and other items. When I got wind that they were made in Taiwan I stopped buying them. What used to be quality such as Sidchrome (made in Australia) promptly moved manufacturing to Taiwan under Stanley.
On the topic of Elora are they quality? Where are they made? I see them advertised quite a lot on the internet but I do not know much about them.
As far as local tools go the only option is really Sidchrome. That said they are made in Taiwan. I have quite a few Sidchrome items; 1/2 Socket set, 1/4 socket set, pliers and other items. When I got wind that they were made in Taiwan I stopped buying them. What used to be quality such as Sidchrome (made in Australia) promptly moved manufacturing to Taiwan under Stanley.
On the topic of Elora are they quality? Where are they made? I see them advertised quite a lot on the internet but I do not know much about them.
Facom are the biggest hand tools company in the world, selling to aerospace, industry, governments, militaries, etc. Thats why they sell so many tools, but you don't necessarily see so many on the street. (Snap-On also does a lot of that kind of business) Facom do also sell from trucks in Europe.
Facom considers Snap-On to be their most direct competitor.
Here in Taiwan they sell a lot of tools to the Air Force for maintaining the fleet of Mirage jets. (The tools for the F-16s are Snap-on.)
The Facom wrenches are made in Taiwan by Rotar/Toptul. The ratchets and ratcheting combination wrenches are made by Hi-Five in Taiwan. The sockets are made by Chiro in Taiwan. The screwdrivers and pliers are still made in France on a wholly automated production line.
Facom avoids made in China if they can because of the hidden costs and complications of dealing with an authoritarian communist government. All the made in Taiwan Facom tools meet or exceed the quality requirements of the original made in France items. That said, I still prefer the made in France old Facom for sentimental reasons. I'm sure all those laid off French workers would agree.
If there is no COO on a Facom tool, it's a good bet that it's made in Taiwan.
The Stanley Black&Decker group owns a lot of brands. Their premium brands are Proto and Facom for hand tools and DeWalt for Power tools. Proto is still made in USA.
Their other brands include Mac, USAG, Sidchrome, etc.
Just be glad that Hazet and Stahlwille are not owned by large conglomerates. Otherwise, they would probably be made in Taiwan by now, too.
Facom considers Snap-On to be their most direct competitor.
Here in Taiwan they sell a lot of tools to the Air Force for maintaining the fleet of Mirage jets. (The tools for the F-16s are Snap-on.)
The Facom wrenches are made in Taiwan by Rotar/Toptul. The ratchets and ratcheting combination wrenches are made by Hi-Five in Taiwan. The sockets are made by Chiro in Taiwan. The screwdrivers and pliers are still made in France on a wholly automated production line.
Facom avoids made in China if they can because of the hidden costs and complications of dealing with an authoritarian communist government. All the made in Taiwan Facom tools meet or exceed the quality requirements of the original made in France items. That said, I still prefer the made in France old Facom for sentimental reasons. I'm sure all those laid off French workers would agree.
If there is no COO on a Facom tool, it's a good bet that it's made in Taiwan.
The Stanley Black&Decker group owns a lot of brands. Their premium brands are Proto and Facom for hand tools and DeWalt for Power tools. Proto is still made in USA.
Their other brands include Mac, USAG, Sidchrome, etc.
Just be glad that Hazet and Stahlwille are not owned by large conglomerates. Otherwise, they would probably be made in Taiwan by now, too.
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I think this is true for the rotator "360" ratchets, and sealed pear head ratchets, but the round-heads are made in Italy.
There's more info here (click on each item for more specific information):
http://www.facom.com/fr-en/i-59-Manufacturer.html
Gemonio, Italy:
"The principal products that are manufactured are: Round head ratchets, Type 208, 306, 203 Torque Wrenches, Series 200 wrenches, Series 248 and 446 wrenches, Torque screwdrivers, Easotork wrenches, Torque measurement accessories, Tee socket wrenches and Tee wrenches.
All operations are carried out within the factory, in particular hot forging, machining, heat treatment, all tribo-finishing operations, electroplating of assemblies and calibrations. "
I think that's a little bit misleading. Italian-made ratchets for example are not marked with a COO. In fact of all the new Facom stuff I have, the only items with a COO stamp are the screwdrivers (likewise the Stanley, Britool, and Bost variants).
Off topic a bit, but from what I'm told, Stahlwille might benefit from moving to Taiwan. I know some guys who work for a major aerospace company in the UK, who were supplied with Stahlwille tools and were not pleased with the quality and amount of breakage.
Yes, you are right. Gemonio is the USAG facility. It is actually a very old school forging operation-lots of human labor involved.
I'm surprised it's still in operation. Usually that's the kind of thing that Stanley moves to Asia without batting an eye
ultgar
Well-known member
Facom 57 Series Half Moon wrenches are made in Taiwan.
Its interesting that their 75 series angle socket wrenches are produced in 2 countries........metric in Czech Republic and fractional in China. All 76 series angle socket wrenches are made in China.
SD
Its interesting that their 75 series angle socket wrenches are produced in 2 countries........metric in Czech Republic and fractional in China. All 76 series angle socket wrenches are made in China.
SD
Not at all suggesting you're wrong, but how do you get the info and know that it's accurate?
I see quite a lot of conflicting information (in general - not secifically with what you posted). Farnell for example claims (for the 76 series) France as the "Country in which last significant manufacturing process was carried out". Presumably that means more than just sticking the label on, and they must be getting that info from somewhere they believe is reliable -unless they're just selling really old stock from when they were made in (and stamped) France?
ultgar
Well-known member
This is how I get the info........I really don't know how accurate it is but the US customs people seem to go by the COO on the manufacturer's labels. SD
transittech
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I think its pretty cool that Facom has a whole section of their website devoted to talking about where their stuff is made. (main page, plus links) Doesn't seem quite as underhanded.
surprisingly they forgot to mention Taiwan and China....