Executive Report:

TTI tools up for growth

Phil Mist, EHN's Power Tools Specialist, suggests that the group behind brands such as Milwaukee and Kango looks set to raise the profile of its products.

Over the last few years, several well-known power tool brand names have all but disappeared from the UK market, invariably as a result of being bought out by competitors. Subsequent discussions about new marketing strategies can last months or, even, years - a criticism that can definitely be levelled at the TTI group, which owns brands like Ryobi, AEG, Milwaukee and Kango, and has kept a very low profile.

TTI has seemed to ignore the UK market, with virtually no investment on product development and promotion.
It has often been difficult to obtain any details of new equipment, with the result that the brands have under-performed, and been eclipsed by other, more pro-active suppliers.

Obviously, to create and maintain a presence in the UK power tool market, there is a need for a steady supply of new tools, marketing initiatives and an aggressive attitude to selling. In particular, to make any inroads into the hire industry, a product range must include tools that are well designed, simple and yet robust. Certainly, ranges from TTI's brand portfolio include well-made, competent machines, but owing to the company's low-profile approach, they have suffered from poor representation at hire counters.

Vast new complex

However, there are signs that the situation could be about to change dramatically. TTI has very recently moved into a vast new office and warehouse complex in Didcot, Oxfordshire. Not only are many thousands of power tools already being stored there, but also a number of the group's other office-based departments are about to move into the building. A training school, including an enormous hands-on power tool testing area and a very large, well-equipped classroom, is already open. It is all very impressive - as must the budget allocated for it.

The building contains large display areas, each dedicated to a specific brand of portable electric tools or petrol-powered products. They all contain interactive computer systems with large screens, enabling information on the entire product range to be shown. The display area has been designed to cater for visits from tool dealers and hire companies, and it is the best such facility I have yet seen.

More than 50 new products

The offices are palatial, and new staff will shortly be moving in to assist in a renaissance of the power tool brands. Indeed, TTI plans to launch, by the end of 2009, more than 50 new tools bearing the Milwaukee brand name and a similar number in the AEG range. The latter tools are aimed primarily at power tool dealers and small to medium sized end users, whereas Milwaukee products are targeted at large users, construction companies and hirers.

Some Milwaukee tools will also carry the Kango name, and there are plans for a small number of new models under this banner, including the K750S (which EHN previewed in our July Power Tools Market Report). Also promised under the Milwaukee brand are more Lithium-Ion cordless tools, both 18 and 28V; new SDS Plus hammers; a very large and powerful 230mm diameter angle grinder; and additional diamond core drilling tools and accessories.

The change of TTI's 'invisible' presence in the market to a new 'in your face' approach is quite startling, and is epitomised by the new training and display facilities at Didcot. If the group maintains the same level of quality and commitment to its tools, and in marketing them to the hire industry more effectively, then we could see the brands making a strong comeback in the near future. •

W www.milwaukeetool.co.uk

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