Does anyone know if there will be a U.S. version of the HK85?

Isn't the HK55 similar? Not having a need for either of these saws, I don't know what the differences are except for cutting depth? Not sure why people get upset about what Festool offers in the US. As far as I know, no single tool company offers all the tools I need and use in my shop. Why would Festool be any different?
 
TylerC said:
Peter Halle said:
It is time some posters take a deep breath.  If you honestly think that FESTOOL will answer some of the questions posted here in a public forum on the internet then you are extremely optimistic.  FESTOOL has long had a policy that they will not discuss internal business or marketing on this forum.

Tom is correct that UL approval is not required by law, but I offer that it is fairly common for insurance carriers to have requirements that are contractual. 

I am not speaking for FESTOOL here but rather from my own experiences.

Peter
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Peter is right. It wouldn't be wise for us to publicly discuss internal details of our business practices. We want to answer things as well as possible (ex. "The HK 85 isn't coming to NA anytime soon because of UL approval"). However, it wouldn't be prudent for us to offer details on topics like this (ex. "The reasons this tool wouldn't is UL approval are ..."). I'm sure you all can appreciate the balance that we have to strike.
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Thanks for answering my question Tyler...
 
A Festo/ol 110v 85mm saw isn't available in the north american market, however a Mafell equivalent is.  Personally, I'd take the latter any day, if only for their vastly superior rail system.

Doesn't this answer any possible questions regarding availability rather comprehensively?

"There are none so blind as those who will not see".  Jonathan Swift.
 
I recently spoke with a Festool Employee at length about their tools entering the US market and while other companies have different inspectors and may push for a tool to hit the usa, Festool does not push back on the decision! Other tool manufacturers like Makita and Mafell who seem to get away with whatever tools they want to enter the market here, for some reason Festool is getting a denial or not even trying to get the tool sent here because of a little red tape or amount of work required to have it pass standards......which is a little ridiculous!
 
dmick said:
I recently spoke with a Festool Employee at length about their tools entering the US market and while other companies have different inspectors and may push for a tool to hit the usa, Festool does not push back on the decision! Other tool manufacturers like Makita and Mafell who seem to get away with whatever tools they want to enter the market here, for some reason Festool is getting a denial or not even trying to get the tool sent here because of a little red tape or amount of work required to have it pass standards......which is a little ridiculous!
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I don't know who you talked to, but don't take one employee's opinion as gospel truth.
 
dmick said:
I recently spoke with a Festool Employee at length about their tools entering the US market and while other companies have different inspectors and may push for a tool to hit the usa, Festool does not push back on the decision! Other tool manufacturers like Makita and Mafell who seem to get away with whatever tools they want to enter the market here, for some reason Festool is getting a denial or not even trying to get the tool sent here because of a little red tape or amount of work required to have it pass standards......which is a little ridiculous!
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As has been mentioned, some companied don't bother getting UL ratings for some, or all, of the tools they sell in the USA. If a manufacturer only expects to sell a small number of that particular tool or model it's not worth the cost. While I'm not sure the exact cost, I've read that it can cost tens of thousands of dollars to have some tools UL rated. If a company is worried about cost, and the cost of liability if they don't get a tool UL rated, they may choose not to sell the tool in the USA.

There are actually a bunch of Makita tools that Makita has never sold in the USA, and others which they stopped selling in the USA. Some of the tools though are still sold in Canada. It may be less costly and or easier to get tools CSA rated than UL rated.
 
Here is the list of currently accepted NRTLs, of which the most recognizable
s probably UL and second probably CSA, at least here in North America.
As far as I know they are considered equal and interchangeable as far as OSHA
is concerned, meaning that both stamps are not required. CSA certification is
accepted here in the USA w/o having to also obtain the UL cert and the opposite
is true.
https://www.osha.gov/dts/otpca/nrtl/nrtllist.html

I believe this is the specific UL standard under which portable power tools are covered:https://standardscatalog.ul.com/standards/en/standard_745-1_2

In addition there are requirements in NFPA70 & NFPA70E (aka NEC) which have to be met.
 
In Canada they accept the USA UL Rating?? I thought the CSA was a lot tougher standard?
 
Don't know about Canada, I was referring to OSHA considering them the same or equal in
their eyes. Didn't mean to imply the Canada accepted the UL label. I have no idea if they do.
 
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