Who Makes Milwaukee Power Tools? And How Good Are They Really?
As the name probably tipped you off, the Milwaukee tool company was founded in the city of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, all the way back in 1924. That's nearly a hundred years of construction and tool development, compounded by the fact that the city itself has never challenged the company's name, so it's kind of a given that these folks know what they're doing.
Still, there's nothing wrong with wanting to know where your tools are coming from, especially since the company has become much more multinational since its humble beginnings. So, where exactly do Milwaukee tools come from, and perhaps more importantly, are they any good?
Milwaukee tools is a subsidiary of the TTI Group, a global superpower in the power tools, outdoor equipment, and general D.I.Y. scenes. In addition to Milwaukee, TTI's holdings include multiple other prominent home and construction brands such as Ryobi, Hoover, AEG, and more.
TTI's headquarters is based in Hong Kong, so a sizable chunk of its brands' products are produced in China, Milwaukee included. That said, Milwaukee still maintains several active manufacturing plants in the United States, with locations in Tennessee, Mississippi, and of course, Wisconsin.
Are Milwaukee tools any good?
Milwaukee has nearly a century of experience in the tool development field, carefully adjusting its offerings based on consumer trends and evolving technology. One of the brand's big claims to fame are the M12 and M18 swappable battery systems, allowing you to charge multiple instances of the same battery model and then quickly slot them into any compatible Milwaukee tools to reduce work downtime.
Said compatible tools include quite the wide variety of handiwork implements, from the classics like power drills, chainsaws, leaf blowers, and hedge trimmers, to more esoteric implements like tire buffers, soldering irons, and transfer pumps.
Are these tools worth the money? Based on consumer feedback, they definitely seem to be: Milwaukee's various tools maintain four to five-star ratings nearly across the board at major home improvement retailers like Home Depot, with customers praising the tools' impressive power output and sturdy compositions. One of the only real complaints about the brand is that its offerings are a bit pricier than tools offered by other similar brands, but for the most part, that extra cost translates to strong value.
So if you're looking for a reliable brand to fill out the blank spots on your garage tool shelf, you could definitely do a lot worse than some Milwaukee implements.