Craftsman stopped being made fully in the USA gradually between 2004 and 2010, with majority of hand tool production moving overseas by 2010, though some manufacturing has returned since 2019. Craftsman was founded by Sears in 1927 and was famous for Made in USA hand tools like wrenches and sockets made in American factories for decades. Starting around 2004, Sears began outsourcing some Craftsman tools to China and Taiwan to reduce costs as it faced financial pressure. By 2008 to 2010, most Craftsman hand tools were no longer made in USA and were made overseas with imported steel, which disappointed many longtime fans who valued USA-made quality and lifetime warranty. In 2017, Stanley Black & Decker bought Craftsman from Sears for 900 million dollars and announced plans to bring some manufacturing back to USA. In 2019, Stanley Black & Decker opened a new plant in Fort Worth, Texas to produce Craftsman mechanics tools with US steel and global materials, so some Craftsman tools are again made in USA with global materials. However, as of 2024, majority of Craftsman tools are still made overseas, with only portion made in USA. So Craftsman stopped being fully USA-made around 2010, but partial USA production resumed in 2019 under new ownership.
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