Starrett Tools - Company History & Lore
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- Опубликовано: 30 июн 2024
- In this video we do a deep dive into the history of the L.S. Starrett Tool company, known for their precision measuring tools.
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From Laroy Starrett's beginnings with Athol Tool & Machine, to going public on the New York Stock Exchange, acquiring numerous other business and expanding to a worldwide company, to a failed hostile takeover attempt in 1964, and a raid by the FBI over allegations of fraud, Starrett has survived for over 100 years, and was recently acquired by MiddleGround Capital,
a private investment firm.
Free Starrett Literature:
www.starrett.com/resources/ca...
More Starrett History:
www.company-histories.com/LS-...
Starrett History Book:
archive.org/details/the-starr...
Merger Announcement:
www.businesswire.com/news/hom...
Starrett Patents:
patents.google.com/?assignee=...)
Old Starrett Catalogs:
archive.org/search?query=crea...
1913 Athol Machine catalog:
archive.org/details/AtholMach...
00:00 Intro
00:21 Early Days
01:41 Depression & WWII Era
02:28 Starrett Goes International
03:01 Hostile Takeover Attempt
03:53 70's & 80's
04:28 Raided by the FBI
05:28 Outsourcing & Factory Closures
06:03 MiddleGround Merger
08:07 My thoughts on Starrett Tools
09:05 Outro 
Авто/Мото
Update: The latest SEC filing on 4/12, says the shareholders will be voting on the merger on May 21st.
Private Equity is the kiss of death for every business they acquire. Load up the debt, sell off the most valuable parts, then bankrupt the residue.
We must admit that there is major competition these days in this industry.
Paging Mitt Romney.
Private equity firms have a reputation not much better than the mafia. In other words they'd slowly liquidate the assets and leave a husk of a firm.
I'm hoping that won't happen, but there is definitely a pattern of that happening with these types of firms...
As a retired machinist, most all of my micrometers and other measuring tools were Starrett made. Good tools.
Great tools. Hopefully they stay that way with the new owners...
I've got loads of Starrett tools I've bought from retiring guys during my 45yrs in the trade. The latest generations don't even know what half the Starrett measuring instruments are or how to use them. Everything is designed by CAD, to be made by CAM, and measured by a CMM. Starrett digital tools are being made in China. The Model 799 digital caliper my company bought me was a $159 piece of junk!
Hopefully, the Starrett brand will continue! I've had some of my products for decades! my Dial vernier caliper works as well today as it did in the 70's. That, and a few other products that I have. Great quality.
Supposedly there's a quote from one of Starrett's CEOs saying that their biggest competitor, was the tools they made 40+ years ago. I hope they continue too.
PRIVATE EQUITY = BYE, BYE AMERICAN JOBS AND AMERICAN QUALITY.
Yeah, that's the pattern that's repeated multiple times in the past.
@@ballinatorwhich is exactly what Apex Tool group does all the time...
I bought some Starrett pin punches a couple of years ago, there's no authoritative mention of where they were made but the label does have a Scottish and a German business address and mentions the "co.uk" domain name? There's no mention of USA anywhere I can see so if I didn't know better I'd assume they were a Scottish company!?!
@sandy_knight They could have been made in the Scotland or UK plant. Starrett's been a little ambiguous on the country of origin of their tools in recent years.
I'm an Australian Aerospace Engineer who did his degree in America (U. Illinois 88)
I've ended up working mostly in industrial control systems but its allowed me to also work across a number of industries including Australia's automotive and mining industries. We have had massive issues in both manufacturing and mining with skill sets. What you call "craft" in America we call "trade skills" (as in tradesmen).
Part of our economic policies was to get rid of manufacturing by sending it to cheaper places like China, Japan, South Korea, Vietnam,... etc. The problem we now have is that we have LOST 2 generations of skilled tradesmen. This is most notable in the higher trades like tool making, instrument making, instrument fitting,...etc. That loss includes those people who can train those skill sets.
If that sounds familiar its because many of the Economists who pushed these policies in Australia went to places like Harvard, Yale, Oxford,... etc to do their MBAs. The problem is that all these MBA programs taught similar versions of vulture capitalism. I am all for capitalism because anyone with a brain knows what a mess the Soviet socialist system and its offshoots were, but this type of vulture capitalism that came out of places like Harvard, Yale, Oxford, Cambridge is so damn destructive. They care nothing about the long term effects of their decisions.
They operate on 3 month blocks of time because the only thing that matters is the next quarterly statement.
By their very nature companies like Starrett help maintain industrial skill levels. In particular, companies like Starrett that require very high level skill sets have to maintain that skill base. If you let the vultures of Wall Street strip that away its very very hard to get it back. This is what we are struggling with in Australia. Now that we have lost 2 generations of people who can teach and train welders, electricians, tool makers,...etc. We have massive shortfalls and are struggling to even support our mining industry. I know because I have been on our mines for most of the last 20 years after watching our manufacturing be wiped away.
If you let these vultures get into Starrett and they strip it back to nothing this will hurt American industry in ways that might not become evident for a decade or longer.
To allow this is madness.
Sorry for the long rant.
Athole!! 😂Imagine yelling that out to some guy in their warehouse looking for a part?
STARRETT was almost legendary to me growing up in the 50-s and 60-s. as it seemed that there was nothing better when it came to measuring or tolerances. Business models have changed, though, and the idea of commanding a presence in a particular field seems to have fallen victim to short-term gratification and international business forces. If they go, STARRETT will definitely leave a whole in the American tool industry. FWIW.
Thanks for the history lesson!
You're welcome! Thanks for watching.
Excellent video !!
Thank You
You're welcome. Glad you're enjoying the channel.
Thanks for the heads up on the free literature, I had no idea!
You're welcome! I'd order it now, in case they change the policy after the buyout goes through.
@ballinator I just went on their website and for the life of me I can't find the literature section anywhere?? I tried their search option,departments,bottom of page? Is there any way you could tell me where the actual literature tab is on their website please,I really need that book it would greatly help me get started. Please &thx 🙏.
@@coffeytime1979 It looks like it's under the "catalogs" tab now:
www.starrett.com/resources/catalogs
Scroll down about 1/2 way down the page, there's a link that says "Visit Starrett Literature Website" Create an account there and then you can select the literature you want mailed.
Quickly fell in love with the channel. Kudos
Thanks! More videos are coming soon.
starrett has been a great company and there older tools do comand a premium in the used market
Some of the finest tools on the market anywhere in the world...and going back so far in time that I have nothing but respect for the brand...being from nearby in massachusetts..
Crappy company to work for. They low ball you on salary, then expect you to work a 45 hour week! They state this during your interview with them! The HR departments of many of the manufacturers in their general area (northwestern Massachusetts/tristate area) get together once a year and wage fix to keep salaries low. H1-B visa workers are also used extensively these days.
My mother's family is from Athol and I know it well. My grandfather was a master machinist. This is truly sad.
Yeah, hopefully they'll keep the US based plants open.
Crappy company to work for. They low ball you on salary, then expect you to work a 45 hour week! They state this during your interview with them! The HR departments of many of the manufacturers in their general area (northwestern Massachusetts/tristate area) get together once a year and wage fix to keep salaries low. H1-B visa workers are also used extensively these days.
If the financial problems are true I agree the sale will more than likely take place,great video I learned alot 👍
Thanks! Yeah, I don't see the sale getting blocked, I think it will likely go through.
Great video.. great company
Thanks for watching! Glad you enjoyed it.
use their products and makita when i was a steel worker
I am always wary of PE buyouts, but the note about re-shoring does give me some hope. There are definite quality differences in US amd EU maxe stuff vs Asian made tools, and Starret being a premium brand can definitely capitalize on demanding higher prices for more US made products. I have trusted them and B&S for my entire career
Time will tell. Hopefully the new owners will preserve the company.
That Arts & Crafts style catalogue cover at 0:45 is really beautiful. Sorry to hear about Starrett's problems, I have lots of their punches, scribes etc and I've always respected the brand.
Yeah, the artwork in the older catalogs is way better than the stuff produced today.
I once knew a Athole from Athole.
LOL. Nice.
I mean their quality was majorly lacking so I’m not surprised they were sold out while they could still get something for it.
Yeah I've heard that about their quality from a few others. All my Starrett stuff is 40+ years old so mine have been fine.
Are there any good American manufacturers left or am I JST fully committed to mitutoyo now?
PEC still makes measuring tools in the USA. I only have a couple of their steel rules, so I can't say if their other stuff is up to Starrett quality or not. pec.tools
I've got quite a few Starrett mics., compasses, etc., from the 40s-50s. Can barely read the markings.
Priv. Eq. ?! Bummer. Maybe I'll go on McMaster-Carr or ? and splurge on something.
Looks like the buyout deal got finalized a couple weeks ago. They're no longer listed on the stock exchange. Time will tell what happens to the brand now.
Beware! AI
Crappy company to work for. They low ball you on salary, then expect you to work a 45 hour week! They state this during your interview with them! The HR departments of many of the manufacturers in their general area (northwestern Massachusetts/tristate area) get together once a year and wage fix to keep salaries low. H1-B visa workers are also used extensively these days.
Interesting. Thanks for the info.
Manufacturing on the way to India, China or Mexico ?........................
Yeah, they already have plants in China and South America, so it would be pretty easy for the new owners to do that :(
Another one bites the dust. The future of America lay in the hands of vulture money managers
Great video, but please no more AI generated art
@infiniteefpv Thanks for the feedback. I try to use actual images where possible, but when there is no known photo (or no non-copyrighted photos) of a historical event, I have to recreate it. I could spend hours in Blender, or Unreal Engine, manually re-creating scenes, or a few minutes working an "AI" prompt. The alternative is my talking head on the screen, which trust me, you do not want to see..
Starrett is headed down the drain.
Great example of terrible, lazy AI generated images. My eyes deserve better.
AI content is pathetic… channel blocked.
Well, I guess it's time for private equity to ruin another great American company.
😒
Eminent? It already happened. Get a clue.
No. It hasn't been approved by the shareholders yet. When it goes through I'll change the video title..
@@ballinator Incorrect.
The March 11 SEC filing says it's subject to a two-thirds vote of the stockholders. The stock was still being traded publicly on Friday, so it hasn't gone through yet. Once it does there will be another SEC filing, and the stock will be removed from the NYSE.
@@ballinator You know the majority owners are moving ahead with this. Avalanche has started, too late for pebbles to vote. Grow up and face facts
@@desertdweller9548 Be nice sweetheart..
more chinese 👎☹️