I just saw the news regarding the LS Starrett Company in Athol MA. For those here who are not aware, Starrett was the premier American tool and precision instrument maker of micrometers, calipers, punches, measuring rules and all kinds of high quality measuring instruments. They just announced that they were sold to a private investment company.

To me that means they will be dissected, moved to China and have their name exploited as have many other former American names. A sad day indeed!! The name Starrett which was synonymous with the best quality American tools and instruments available, will now be just like all the others that have succumb to the Chinese wave that will eventually down us. I guess it had to happen eventually as it is nearly impossible for old American manufacturing company's to operate here and actually still make a profit.

Thankfully, I have pretty much every Starrett tool and instrument I have wanted or needed and since they have been around forever, there is still a fair amount of Starrett tools and instruments on eBay. BTW, their punches, calipers, rules and micrometers (IMHO) are second to none for those looking for quality G-smithing tools. Get 'em while you still can!


THE L.S. STARRETT COMPANY ENTERS INTO A MERGER AGREEMENT WITH MIDDLEGROUND CAPITAL TO BECOME PRIVATE COMPANY

That is truly a shame. I HOPE that the move to private ownership will NOT result in the company being gutted and/or sent off-shore. That is, unfortunately, probably not a realistic expectation.

I saw this today, as well. Sad news, indeed; truly the end of an era.

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Mark Lathem

That is sad news, but, perhaps, not unexpected these days. Starrett was the standard for precision where I worked for many years. I have a small chest of their micrometers and other instruments; they don't get used much anymore, but now I'll cherish them all the more.

It might not be all doom and gloom that you anticipate.


MiddleGround Capital – Middle Market Private Equity Firm


Companies – MiddleGround Capital

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Still Running Against the Wind

I dont understand why many folks equate private equity buyouts to offshoring and corporate raiding.

Starrett has offshored products to Brazil and Scotland since the 1980s, and has large manufacturing operations there like any multinational corporation selling in world wide markets. The company has been a world leader in laser measuring and QC products for a couple decades now which is a natural offshoot of their mechanical measuring equipment which most of us know and love.

The PE company that tendered the offer specializes in smaller capitalized industrial B2B companies that have a product or market poised to rise with above average growth. They specialize in assisting management capture market share. This isn't a raiding Wall Street firm - their management is filled with experienced people who have mostly worked/retired from manufacturing, have knowledge in process control, and developing products that suit industrial applications with the internal contacts of people who make multimillion dollar buying decisions within this environment.

With David Starrett approaching fifty years of employment with the company and sheparding as CEO to this level of achievement in technical prowess and profitability maybe there isn't a suitable successor? IIRC the last stockholder report I had indicated family ownership around 6% or so.

Anyway my point is PE buyouts aren't always a bad deal, and often an equity firm sees an opportunity to expand or redirect resources to increase value. Instead of sharing with stockholders in general they want it all to themselves. Starrett is profitable, debt-free, a market leader, and the market capitalization is something they can afford to buy outright.

Based on what I see and who is buying - I'd say the company is poised to go next level in some area. Not going cheap and whoring out a century plus reputation for quality.

Just my two cents fellas no disrespect towards anyone.

Industrial companies are dropping like flies in the Commiewealth of Ma. The taxes are horrific and the regulations are enough so the only companies that are moving here are medical/insurance entities. Not much can be done as the powers that be want it that way. The Libbies control Bosstown which controls the state.

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Remain Viable

When I was working, Starrett was always “the last word.” I spent many hours with a “Slimline” micrometer in my hands, probably many thousands of hours, and along the way I’ve tried various other brands - a couple of them very nicely designed and made - but I always preferred Starrett, for my uses. I’d hate to see anything bad happen to the company. I guess time will tell.

Despite what they say - it most likely will - just as usual.

That's what they said about all the other American manufacturers too. I HOPE you are right - but I'd not bet 1 cent on that.

I have a lot of Starrett tools and guages, a couple belonged to my grandfather. Most are pre-WW2. All are excellent, although I have to periodically retrain myself on those Vernier scales.

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Kind regards, Heinz

If not for private investment there would be no Remington Arms. It doesn’t have to be bad news….. I’ll wait and see

Sad for sure. Hope they don't outsource all their products or close completely.

BTW.....the company does perform repairs and service on their tools, so if you need any repairs done and you would like to have them done by the people who built them, this might be a good time to send them in.

Repair & Calibration


Carter

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Ret. LE, FA Instr, S&W Armorer

How long has Browne and Sharp been gone? There used to be some excellent Austrian and German made precision measuring tools. Sold off all my dial indicators and large mics, no need for them now.

In my college days, working for an MBA, it was accepted that a corporation was out for X% profit margin. Today, an ROI greater than a year is unacceptable. The whole bizness world has changed.

Today, the stock market controls everything. If a company does not meet the stockholder's expectation, they are done for.

Today, the CEO and high level dodos make HUGE salaries.

While almost in bankruptcy, the company I worked for eliminated all the Vice Presidents..........they made them all SENIOR VPs and increased their salaries. They also eliminated 90% of the sales force and eliminated 100% of the technical sales to make up the pay difference.

I was forced to take classes in TQM and Six Sigma. One of the premises was that ALL problems are due to BAD MANAGEMENT. Our book for the salaried employees was custom printed, but they left that chapter out.

Hand tools are in some places being replaced by optical digital equipment, which may be part of Starretts issue.

Nevertheless, my vote is for bad management.

That is concerning news!

I love all my Starrett tools. They not only perform flawlessly, they give my joy every time I pick one up, even if it's just a ruler.
You never had to worry about, "Which years are the good ones for a 1" micrometer", etc, etc. It was all great.
Take care of them and you're good for life!
Where else can you find that?

I hope they're not done.
Some good points about some of the contributing factors.

Our Company

Starett has had Chinese made tools for quite some time-I believe it is their "Exact" line. You can read it under the paragraph "WIDE MARKET PENETRATION AND DISTRIBUTION" on the page posted.

Ed

Scherr-Tumico survives, I think. Used to be the #3 after Starrett and Browne & Sharpe. Once upon a time water power made places like Springfield, Hartford and New Britain the hub of American precisone tools and manufacturing.

All that is gone, partly due to elitists looking upon those who actually make things with their skill and their hands as some kind of troglodytes.

I'm familiar with the details on that transaction and it doesn't look like your usual "pillage and burn". I think they'll be O.K.

I treasure my Starrett tools. As a civilian toolmaker for the DoD, I help prototype repair tooling for the hottest military aircraft in the galaxy. It really sucks to turn in your favorite U.S. made calipers and micrometers for calibration and have them replaced with some offshore brand.

I just read about this recently on the Toolguyd website. (Corporate buyouts and who-owns-what are a hot topic there.) Time will tell but the comments there are not all that positive. Many feel that Starrett has been going downhill for some time, and many, like folks here, treasure their "old" Starrett gear.

Toolguyd has another interesting change-of-ownership article, but probaby not bad news as it's acquired these brands from their previous Chinese owners.

Canadian Company Acquired USA Drill Bit Brands

...Walter Surface Technologies, a Canadian-based company that “provides innovative solutions for the global metalworking industry,” has acquired Greenfield Industries, a group of USA-based tooling manufacturers, from TDC, which is based in China.

Greenfield Industries includes brands such as Cleveland, Chicago-Latrobe, Cle-Line, and Greenfield Threading, which have maintained “robust manufacturing capabilities and infrastructure” in the USA.

These brands produce drill bits, thread-cutting taps, and other such tooling.

Walter is acquiring Greenfield Industries from the Top-Eastern Group (TDC), a Chinese-based company that specializes in drill bits and similar cutting tools...

I had no idea that Walter Surface Technologies was Canadian. Based in Quénec. They make good stuff. I usually buy Cle-line or Triumph drill bits.

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"I drank WHAT?" (Socrates)

Ah yes. Six Sigma…….. vintage Chris Collins. I miss that guy. He had Erie Co on tract for a while.

...is change. It's a shame having a company that you've known and trusted your entire life close its doors and come under 'new management' but that's life. And we do much better when we adapt rather than mourn the past.

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"He was kinda funny lookin'"

Have your review the companies I linked to? What is terrible about them??
Read the post by burneyr #6

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Still Running Against the Wind

Finally got around to "re-clocking" my old Starrett 120A caliper's dial indicator yesterday.

A great company with a legacy for producing quality products.

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Ret. LE, FA Instr, S&W Armorer

I'm not a precision-anything (except perhaps procrastinator) but several years ago I picked up this old #436F in a second-hand store for about $30 "just because". I like nice old tools and enjoy using them. Don't know when it was made but it's obviously fairly old. Last time I checked this model was still available for around $135

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"I drank WHAT?" (Socrates)

Maybe they'll move to Tennessee with S&W. Another Mass business that got sick of getting nickled and dimed at every turn.

Cerberus Capital Management

Remington, Marlin and Bushmaster... call your former offices

I have spoken previously about Whataburger, the large Texas fast food burger chain. Founded in 1950, until about six or seven years ago, it was essentially a privately owned family corporation and very proud of it. But the ultimately reached the point where capital requirements for expansion and the level of internal management skills were holding back further growth. So they negotiated a takeover deal with a large private equity group out of Chicago. So far, it has apparently worked out very well for the chain, and the have been rapidly expanding. Of course, there is little similarity between a fast food chain and a manufacturer of precision measurement instruments.

The only Starrett tools I own is a set of spindle micrometers from 1" to 6" that I bought at an estate sale many years ago at a giveaway price. I have never needed to use any size larger than 1". My workhorse measuring instrument is a no-name 5" dial caliper I bought at a flea market back in the late 1970s. Really - nothing on it indicates its maker or country of origin. Yet it is as sturdy and reliable as any dial caliper I have ever used. I greatly prefer a dial caliper. Don't need no stinkin' digital readouts. I also have an 8" Mitutoyo dial caliper, but seldom need anything that long. I also have a 24" vernier caliper which will measure to a precision of 1/256" (0.004"). I have needed to use it a few times but not recently.

Brown and Sharpe went out in the early 80's I believe. The 1 million SF building in " Precision Park" North Kingstown, RI is mostly warehousing foe many companies. I am not sure that they are completely gone. I think some manufacturing moved to England, at least for a while.

I believe that was the longest labor strike in US history. Lot of people lived there. The plant was 2 miles from my house. Striking labor was out there 24/7 for over 3 years. Striking labor killed a lot of manufacturing in RI

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Pete
I ain't no fortunate son

Since 2001 B&S has been a division of a Swedish corporation and the B&S measurement devices are made in Sweden.

Thanks for the update According to Wikipedia.

Brown & Sharpe is a division of Hexagon AB, a Swedish multinational corporation focused mainly on metrological tools and technology. During the 19th and 20th centuries, Brown & Sharpe was one of the best-known and most influential machine tool builders and was a leading manufacturer of instruments for machinists (such as micrometers and indicators). Its reputation and influence were such that its name is often considered to be inseparably paired with certain industrial standards that it helped establish, including:

• The American wire gauge (AWG) standards for wire;
• The Brown & Sharpe taper in machine tool spindle tapers; and
• The Brown & Sharpe worm threadform for worm gears.

Since being acquired by Hexagon Metrology in 2001, Brown and Sharpe has concentrated exclusively on metrology equipment...

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"I drank WHAT?" (Socrates)

The 2 that I always go to are Brown & Sharpe and Mitutoyo. Starrett was once a premium brand, one of the best, but has been in decline in terms of quality for 40 years or so. The older Starrett tools are still some of the best you can get. Now they are cheap on eBay.

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protocalldesign.com

At one time, I frequently drove through a small West Texas town called Knippa, which was not very far east of Uvalde. One of the few businesses there was the Knippa Tool Trader. I don't know where the owner (an elderly gentleman) got his merchandise, but he had about every type of used tool imaginable. I occasionally stopped in just to see what he had. He always had lots of measuring instruments, many were known brands. I have bought some tools from him, but the only measuring device I bought there was a hole depth micrometer. It came in a case with a set of rods up to about 4" long, so the depths of blind holes up to that depth could be measured precisely. I might have used it once, but I don't remember why. But it's easier to just use the hole depth rod on a dial caliper. He shut down about ten years ago. It was a very interesting place in an unlikely location. I was sorry to see it go.

Well.... all I can say is I HOPE you more optimistic fellas here are correct and I am wrong!

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