Hitachi Power Tools became Metabo HPT, and now so is Metabo. It’s official, Metabo has been renamed to Metabo HPT in North America.
Metabo is now Metabo HPT.
We knew this was coming – see Metabo is Becoming Metabo HPT.
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The company says that this transition “marks the next step in the company’s global strategy to unite its power tool brands under a single, stronger identity.”
The head of Metabo HPT’s North American business unit also said “this is about aligning our North American brands to make it easier for customers to identify and trust the tools that work as hard as they do.”
They say that Metabo batteries will “continue to be supported and available for the foreseeable future,” and that “new cordless tools introduced under the Metabo HPT name will operate on the Multivolt system.”
So much for the Cordless Alliance System (CAS).
Customers wouldn’t have any problems identifying the two brands from each other if Hitachi Power Tools became Hikoki, which it’s known by outside the USA. Or even HPT.
There would be no confusing Metabo and HPT. But Metabo HPT?
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So now they’re doubling down and the Metabo 18V cordless power tool system is being discontinued – but only in North America. Because… to avoid confusion?
I guess Metabo HPT pulled ahead and Metabo hasn’t been gaining popularity, and so goodbye it goes.
They’ll make Metabo batteries available for existing customers, but I guess that’s the end of the road for Metabo 18V.
Both brands, Metabo and Metabo HPT, have been owned my KKR, a private equity firm for over 8 years now. The acquisition was made around 2 years after Hitachi acquired the Metabo brand.
I can’t help but wonder if this is all maneuvering by KKR to sell the company. KKR was one of the investors that sucked the life out of Toys R Us. Coincidentally, Toys R US filed for bankruptcy protection in 2017, the same year KKR acquired Metabo and Hitachi Power Tools.
Looking around online, I found news reports that KKR did try to sell Koki Holdings, the group that consists of Metabo and Metabo HPT, a few years ago, but nothing moved forward.
Bain Capital, which was another one of the investment companies that owned Toys R Us, reportedly failed in their attempts to sell Apex Tool Group, which consists of Gearwrench, Crescent, and others. According to recent communications to vendors, Apex Tool Group was essentially surrendered to their debtors in a deal that sounded a lot like asset forfeiture.
Now we have Metabo gone and their few corded tools rebranded as Metabo HPT.
The USA and North America has essentially been cut out of Metabo’s 18V cordless power tool platform the broader CAS ecosystem that never really took off here either.
Why is this good for consumers? Oh, that’s right, to make it “easier for customers to identify and trust the tools.”
None of this makes much sense to me anymore, and when that happens, “corporate maneuvering” is usually the underlying strategy.
Don’t worry, this is good for us. Somehow. Right? RIGHT?!
I like the folks over at Metabo/Metabo HPT.
But I can’t shake the feeling that Emperor Palpatine is moving pieces around behind the scenes to maximize not necessarily profits, but value.
According to online reports, KKR’s attempts to sell Koki Holdings fell through because potential buyers “couldn’t match KKR’s value expectations.”
That’s what happened to Bain Capital with Apex Tool Group too.
Also, remember what Bain did with ATG? They closed Armstrong Tools and Allen and then consolidated everything else into just a few brand names.
I like Metabo HPT as a brand, and Metabo too, and am worried about the direction things are headed.
Here’s the big question. Are things any different for the brands since they were acquired by KKT over 8 years ago? Did they gain market share in the USA? Elsewhere?
What else is in store for the brand, after Metabo fades away and all that is left is Metabo HPT?
And yet I also wonder – maybe this could be a good move for the brand. Brands? What if Dewalt absorbed Porter Cable years ago, rather than letting the brand wither away from neglect?
Am I being too critical, with unjustified concern?
I’m unconvinced that this is a simple rebranding. What’s happening is Metabo is being sunset in the USA. Goodbye Metabo 18V and goodbye CAS. But at least some Metabo corded power tools will be available under Metabo HPT branding and a brighter shade of green.
Is this good the brand(s), and is it good for North American tool users? Or is it good for KKR, the private equity firm that owns Metabo and Metabo HPT?
On that note, the brand had few discounts and promos for the holiday season, with the two biggest deals being a basic miter saw for $99 and a cordless brad nailer kit at the same price. It’s going to take a lot more than that to grow the Metabo HPT MultiVolt cordless power tool system.
With any luck, maybe Metabo HPT will take the place of Flex at Lowe’s. I say this because Flex’s 24V cordless power tool line seems to be exiting Lowe’s stores, leaving a hole.
Recent private conversations have me almost convinced that Bosch has been doing things to court Lowe’s, which wouldn’t work out well for Metabo HPT.
These are very interesting times.
What bothers me bit is the answer to this question: does anyone care that Metabo is disappearing in the USA? At least some corded tools will be added to Metabo HPT’s lineup. Is anyone upset that the Metabo cordless power tool systems going away?
I doubt it, given the relatively low popularity. Isn’t that the problem, that the brand hasn’t done much to boost their popularity over the past few years? Nah, consolidation and simplification is probably the right answer, as the private equity-owned company seems to believe.
fred
Last year Acme and others had some compelling (for Santa fred anyway) deals on Metabo HP tools and kits. They got a batch of my gift giving dollars. This year they were totally absent from my buying – not having seen any deals – let alone compelling ones. Last year – I bought some Metabo batteries to supplement prior year gifts of Mafell tools. I saw no sales on them this year either. So maybe KKR’s discounting in 2024 didn’t pay off – then they couldn’t sell off the companies (at their inflated asking price) – so now it’s time to either reorganize things to get ready for a fire sale – or maybe figure out a way to load up one or both companies with debt then bail out of the tool business after the bankruptcy.
Not surprising to me – Milwaukee (and to a lesser extent Makita and Bosch) got my 2025 power tool gift buying dollars.
Coletrain
My goodness your recent posts have been downers, now i worry. Was never on flex but sad to see them leave. My local Lowes already has the flex case full of DeWalt tools. It looks like they’re dumping Skil too and that sucks since I love the 12v line. The only benefit i would gain is if HPT took over for flex but aster this will that happen? I’m guessing with the Bosch push from Lowes the ladder will likely happen. Lowes seems to bail altogether on brands rather quickly it feels like to me, rather than push marketing harder. Good stuff too if you ask me. Guess i am the only one that likes affordable 12v systems.
Stuart
The brand/retail side of the tool industry is complex. There’s a lot that I can’t ask, and so it’s good to think things through. And if it’s worth the time to think about, it’s the worth the time for a virtual roundtable discussion.
Corporate announcement: Metabo is now Metabo HPT.
What it really means: Goodbye Metabo 18V, goodbye any chance of Cordless Alliance System adoption in the USA.
Lowe’s and Hitachi announced an exclusive partnership 10 years ago – https://toolguyd.com/hitachi-lowes-partnership-2015/ . Today, are HPT or Lowe’s maximizing their ongoing relationship?
The reality is that we’re now in a 2-brand ecosystem with respect to cordless – Dewalt, Milwaukee, and everything else.
When is the last time Makita launched a new 12V tool? Dewalt? Skil?
Lowe’s seems to expect tool brands to bring customers to the store and website. If not, they’re certainly not going to put money or energy into it. That’s not bad, it’s how things just seem to be. Brands needs to act accordingly, but they don’t.
Marc
The little boys get absorbed or pushed out by the big boys. The way of the world. It is basically a Milwaukee, DeWalt, Ryobi world (maybe Makita and Bosch hanging in there). Buying anything else is a serious risk. IF you buy cheaper, you run the risk of the company going out of business or at best, hanging in there with little in the way of new tools and support.
Sinclaire
It’s too bad because Metabo HPT has a lot of tools that are as good and sometimes better than the DeWalt/Milwaukee equivalent. It’s a great brand but you’re right, there’s not a lot of room in the US market for companies other than the red and yellow and KKR’s terrible branding decisions certainly haven’t helped.
HmmmDusty
You have to put an asterisk next to that since that’s the situation in US. The rest of the world is very different picture, and Milwaukee and DeWalt are nowhere near as big a player as they are domestically.
In Japan and most of the Pacific Asia, Makita is top brand and Milwaukee and DeWalt are barely present. In Europe it’s a mix of Makita, Bosch, DeWalt and other brands. Ryobi as it exists in US is a virtual nonentity elsewhere.
Sinclaire
Hikoki seems to have a solid presence in Asia as well which makes sense
KokoTheTalkingApe
Private equity firms. They make everything better! :-/
TomD
Almost everything I’ve seen is them attempting to resurrect a moribund company and simply prolonging the inevitable.
IronWood
Moribund or not they just extract the maximum value, and then either sell off or write off to make their financials look right. Rinse and repeat.
Sinclaire
Not keeping the Hikoki name consistent worldwide remains one of the dumber branding decisions I can remember and unfortunately they can’t unring that bell. People respected Hitachi and the Hikoki name alludes to the company’s Japanese roots which is a good thing IMO.
I know they’re much bigger worldwide but I hope they’re able remain at least somewhat competitive in the US. They make great stuff at really competitive prices and the Multivolt system is a great idea that they’ve executed well.
Christopher Bigos
I wonder what will happen with some of the Metabo pro tools used in the metal fabrication industry., Their made in Germany grinders are excellent quality. Then they have tools like bevelers for preparing steel for welding. They have specialized tools for sanding pipe and they have a nice surface prep burnishing tool. These are available in cordless or corded. Their drills offer some nice features like the pulse start to keep a drill bit from skipping. They are one of the few companies with a torque multiplication head for their drills. And they have specialized tapping drills. It will be sad to see them go. I like having a cordless drill made in Germany.
Aram
This really seems like the kind of “decision” that got made as a consequence of internal corporate political battles rather than any Grand Rebranding Plan.
Oarman
I have a bunch of MHPT stuff and like it. There are many tools that stand out and are great.
The rest of the line has a lot of filler and some items appear to be OEM rebrands. A lot of the tools (including the track saw) were already the same as Metabo, just with different battery hookups for the cordless tools. It really doesn’t make sense to offer double SKUs just to compete with yourself.
It’d be nice if this freed up some R&D for more product development. MHPT’s website is also pretty amateurish, low info and often missing what seems to be active SKUs (admittedly frequent issues across the tool brands.)
Bosch definitely has a broader portfolio (in power tools and beyond) but still nothing like Milwaukee has at Home Depot, and nothing else Lowes has does either.
IronWood
This whole Metabo/HPT branding strategy was beyond stupid. It’s just confusing for no reason. I have several Hitachi/Metabo HPT air nailers that have been great and my Metabo grinders are very good. But now, who knows if I’m looking at a legacy Metabo Germany tool or or legacy Hitachi Japan tool? They’ll all have the same name and the same green. I don’t want an inferior Hitachi angle grinder, I want the Metabo one I have now. Or, more likely, I’ll skip the confusion and switch brands. Two good brands just making asinine marketing decisions.
Harrison
Agreed, this whole thing was such an unforced own-goal, it’s unbelievable.
Joe E.
Who?