Yesterday we talked a little about SawStop being acquired by Festool’s parent company. Since then, we saw a new press release by Festool USA, announcing the acquisition from their side of things.
There’s one part that stands out to me most: The newly acquired technology, which TTS will continue to develop together with the SawStop team, supports these priorities and prepares TTS to face stricter safety requirements that are likely to be imposed on power tools.
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Here’s the full text:
TTS Tooltechnic Systems signed Purchase Agreement to acquire US enterprise SawStop, LLC, thus expanding the TTS range of products to table saws and enhancing the company’s expertise to further safeguard operator safety. SawStop, LLC is a US manufacturer of high-quality saws headquartered in Tualatin, Oregon near Portland, USA that offers unmatched safety technology. Active Injury Mitigation (AIM) is a pioneering technology that prevents saw operators from suffering serious cuts and wounds by stopping the blade within only a few milliseconds if the saw blade comes in contact with the operator’s skin.
For TTS and the company’s subsidiaries, it has always been a top priority to deliver precision results with maximum operator protection. The newly acquired technology, which TTS will continue to develop together with the SawStop team, supports these priorities and prepares TTS to face stricter safety requirements that are likely to be imposed on power tools.
The acquisition is expected to be completed in July 2017. SawStop will be integrated into the TTS group as a separate legal entity and both the name and brand will be preserved. The company’s current management team will continue to operate SawStop. The parties have agreed to refrain from disclosing the purchase price.
As we discussed last month, the US CPSC has proposed rulemaking on table saws and active injury-avoidance technology.
There have only been 17 public comments to date, some in support of the rulemaking, others against it. From what I can see, there is a strong likelihood of the rulemaking passing. There are strong arguments against the proposed rulemaking, but perhaps not enough to sway the Commission.
SawStop has a head start in the flesh-detection and active injury-mitigating table saw business, being the pioneer in that field. From what I can see based on my limited but growing experience with their jobsite saw, they know how to make good table saws.
Bosch has some experience with active injury-mitigation tech now as well, with their Reaxx saw.
With only 2 players on the field, competing brands are at a disadvantage if the CPSC does go through with the proposed rulemaking in short time.
Well, 2 players in theory, Bosch’s Reaxx was essentially kicked out of the USA market.
I’m sure that all of the major table brands are working on their own flesh-detection and active injury-mitigating designs, in preparation of several SawStop patents expiring in a few years. Or maybe a solution is ready in case they need to quickly put something to market.
That might be one nasty law fight – if the CSPC requires new table saws to have active injury-mitigation technology, but SawStop (now Festool or TTS with SawStop) seek to bar competing products from entry into the USA on patent infringement grounds as happened with the Bosch Reaxx.
I have a feeling that, if Festool/TTS’s SawStop’s acquisitions also include their patents, that there’s high potential for favorable licensing agreements – at least before the SawStop patents start to expire.
It’s hard to say – there’s nothing to go by, and this is something no brand representative could be expected to comment on.
In short, I can see why Festool wanted to acquire SawStop. It’s a good play. Sawstop had just under 40 million USD in sales revenue in 2016, and TTS earned EUR 580 million (~655 million USD).
Many power tool brands have the buying power to acquire SawStop, but given the history between SawStop and all the big players, it’s no surprise (in hindsight) that a deal like this was only made with an “outsider” like Festool.
What will this acquisition mean?
SawStop access to new talent (Festool engineers)? Festool access to flesh-detection and active injury mitigation technology? Festool table saws in the USA?
From Festool’s press release, it’s clear that SawStop will continue down their path, and it seems that Festool will seek to add active injury-mitigation tech to related products – perhaps new products.
What do you think will come from this acquisition?
Me? I’d love to see SawStop broaden the breadth of products. But I think it’s a greater chance that this opportunity will accelerate their development and improvement efforts.
Please consider chiming in on yesterday’s post, to avoid having 2 parallel discussions about the same thing. This post was combined with that one; I revived this post to avoid 404 errors since links already went out on social media.
glenn says
So pretty much the USA is going to have Sawstop technology.
And the rest of the world is going to have at the very minimum, Bosch Reaxx and Sawstop, let alone what other brands release.
Nate says
It will be heavily licensed my bet.
Tim says
This is likely what the Festool Precisio CS50 and CS70 need to pass ANSI certification.
Probably partly why they made the acquisiton.
I for one will be happy as can be to be able to buy a Festool saw here.
fred says
I wonder how any of this will impact on EU table saw standards and regulations.
European cabinet saws had been better than their USA counterparts because of earlier introduction of things like:
Riving knives rather than splitters
Faster blade rundown after hitting the stop switch – blade required to stop in under 10 seconds.
More consistent placement of up-front controls
Locks on the power switch.
Power off switch requires reset before power-on is activated
220V motors standard
Sawstop technology aside – if I were replacing my nearly 50 year old home shop Unisaw today – a European saw like a Hammer would be on my short list.
Chris says
Sawstop does make an amazing Saw, but I’m not sure if I want to support them if they’re gonna control the market.
John says
I’m pretty sure they’ve been doing that since they’ve launched.
Mr. Gerbik says
I sure hope that festool does not impose their ludicrous pricing on the sawstop brand. Even if the name changes. Just because it has a festool label don’t mean that the price should gouge. The sawstop already has a high end price tag, which is probably why they bought the brand. As far as the safety crap the moron commission is imposing, they are obviously not bright enough to realize that stupid people will continue to use table saws incorrectly & injure themselves. There’s no technology that will ever be able to fix that undeniable fact. I’m not saying that what they are suggesting will be ineffective (the warning labels are a joke) , but its certainly not going to get rid of operator error. 100% of injuries are because of operator error
Andre Prudhomme says
I think this acquisition makes sense from a business perspective. A few thoughts:
1) Saw Stop products are built around a few unique features that help them command a premium price from the customers who highly value those features, much like Festool.
2) Festool doesn’t create lawsuit risk by having a “safety” table saw on the market. For some other companies, acquiring Saw Stop would lead to more (or more effective) lawsuits against them. The acquisition would be an implicit admission that their existing tools were dangerous.
3) The Saw Stop sale is evangelistic, requiring the company to sell customers on both the importance of the problem and their solution to it. Festool has experience with this kind of marketing and will be able to further amplify the SawStop message. Consider the similarities to dust collection.