John wrote in with a great question:
What’s the deal with wirepro? Are they indeed made by Klein?
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A quick search revealed a bunch of Wirepro tools offered for sale on Amazon, ebay, and other online sites by 3rd party sellers. It looked like all of the tools being sold were “new old tools,” and that the Wirepro brand had been out of commission for a while.
I asked our friends at Klein if there was a story behind the Wirepro tools, and they provided a full history about the brand.
“Wirepro by Klein” was a private brand Klein developed exclusively for Home Depot. Home Depot wanted a private label line of tools that was made domestically. It consisted of approximately 5 tools (a couple wire strippers and a few pliers). The line started in 2002 and ended around 2006 upon execution of our exclusive agreement with Home Depot to make them the sole provider of Klein Tools in the big box channel. Klein no longer produces or sells this line of tools as Home Depot customers wanted the Klein Tools they had used for years. Currently Klein produces and sells their hand tools under the Klein brand name at Home Depot.
So there you have it.
It seems that all of the Wirepro tools being sold were snatched up by discount retailers and individual resellers at the end of their run at Home Depot. Resellers must have figured out that Klein made these tools, and are advertising them as “Wirepro by Klein” to help boost interest and sales. From the packaging, it looks like these were simply sold as “Wirepro” tools at Home Depot.
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Stan
Let me guess, those “WirePro” branded items weren’t made in Chicago Illinois United States of America, yet rather were an outsourced line of products for Home Depot right?
Interesting news none the less Stuart. I never heard of this brand or any of the story.
Stuart
“Domestically” means USA.
Stan
I must have missed that sentence. To be blunt, Home Depot isn’t a distributor that is really known for always choosing American manufacturers.
Look at Husky and other brands they sell and you’ll see what I mean.
However, this was my error and I own up to that. So for that I am sorry.
matt
I am not real sure what you mean???
Husky has a bunch of USA made products in their lineup.. everything from torque wrench’s to screw drivers..
Now if you said Husky changes suppliers of tools quicker then a underwear change.. I might have to agree with you..
It may be made here today and somewhere else tomorrow but they certainly swing back and forth between state side production and off shore..
Stan
Not to derail this topic of Wire Pro, but I’d like to respond to Matt’s comment.
Sure, Home Depot i.e. Black and Decker Stanley has some suppliers that produce American made items, but not 100% anymore.
Wrenches, sockets, nut drivers, some screwdrivers, certain toolboxes, files, some plumbing and other Husky branded items haven’t been American made in either years or longer than that.
There was an Federal Trade investigation with Stanley back in 1999 and below is a legitimate source for this information.
http://www.ftc.gov/news-events/press-releases/2006/06/ftc-alleges-stanley-made-false-made-usa-claims-about-its-tools
Don’t get me wrong, I WISH more Husky branded items were American made. Trust me, I sincerely do. Similar to Craftsman and Kobalt however, that is pipeline dream.
There was a time in history, only several decades ago that every item stamped Husky was in fact 100% American made. None of this global component or imported aspects.
Alloy Artifacts is one of few resources for Husky information.
Stuart
Why are you saying “Home Depot i.e. Black & Decker Stanley?” Like Craftsman, Husky tools are made by a wide variety of manufacturers.
And how did a short discussion about Klein and Wirepro tools again lead to comments about Husky, Home Depot, Stanley, Craftsman, Kobalt, and American-made tools and manufacturing trends? You forgot about Irwin this time.
Please try to stay on topic.
bentleyden
well home depot could have purchased the molds and cast from klein or even possibly klein was having them made for home depot over seas and charging domestic prices. kobalt started labeling their tools made in US with foreign and domestic materials.
jesse
There’s a thread on this at Garage Journal: http://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=217311
Mike
I remember these, mainly because of the dark, drab packaging. There were definitely more than 5 different tools.
It’s amazing how clunky and archaic the center rivet design on those pliers looks now that high leverage pivots have been the norm for so long!
Brian14
Thanks for the article. I saw these on closeout tool store on ebay and wondered what the deal was.