Festool is (partially) moving to imperial in North America

[JCLP]

There are 3 countries not  using the metric system. Liberia, Myanmar and the US.
There are 23 officially recognized countries in NA. All are officially metric but only the US refuse to change even though Federal construction projects are mandated to be done using metric and the Auto industry is in the process of standardizing to metric to remain consistent with their autoplants around the world.

 

[RVHernandez]

PS - If you're not happy about this, call Festool - 888-337-8600, option 3, fill out this form: http://www.festoolusa.com/contact/ or comment on their Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/Festool/?fref=nf

The only way they will possibly adjust their direction is by feedback...

 

[Kev]

I haven't read all the posts here, so sorry if any of these points have been made...

Sorry, but I am not on the "happy" bandwagon regarding Festool's announcement to ONLY offer their tools in the US as imperial only! This is just going to make it frustrating to add a new "imperial" tool for those of us that have a large investment in their current tools. Imagine having two routers with metric and a new one in imperial. Using an imperial TS55 with metric parallel guides...

If this was a marketing/sales problem for Festool in the US, they should have "added" imperial while retaining metric. Or. like the TS55 REBQ, offer a second scale as a sticker. Sadly, I don't think Festool thought this out!

One last thought - people who buy Festool tools know exactly what they are getting and "buy" into a system. Their tools are different - quality, engineered, precise - and German. Most of us are smart and sophisticated enough to use their tools - if they are trying to "bring" more customers into the fold, using imperial isn't the barrier for new sales, it's cost. But that's a whole other topic...

[member=11301]RVHernandez[/member] it would seem that the current loyal Festool NA customer base is not a major factor in their planning. Obviously speculation on my part, but the points you've made would make anyone in the middle of investing in Festool potential collateral damage of their changes.

 

[RVHernandez]

While adding support for imperial measurements does make some business sense and may increase the customer, removing metric support alienates the existing base.

Exactly, on point!

 

[TylerC]

So .. what are these "imperial-dominant" countries - outside of North America?

Of course I'm referring to the US and Canada. I phrased it as such because the point isn't that you (and others) don't live in North America; it's that you don't live in countries where imperial is the standard.

 

[JCLP]

Did you know that all Dewalt tools are developed fully in metric and that 90% of Black & Decker's documentation in metric. Non-metric are for old tools.

 

[chrisrosenb]

I'm so glad I live in Australia.

If this story isn't a joke, Festool US management certainly is a joke.

Then why does it matter to you what products are available for sale in North America.

 

[RVHernandez]

Surely your marketing folks have not concluded that there is 0.00245% increase in sales potential by catering to the US Imperial prejudice?

RMW

No, I think the conclusion was a 0.00254% increase

That would be a 1/400% increase in the US - LOL

 

[TylerC]

[member=11301]RVHernandez[/member] it would seem that the current loyal Festool NA customer base is not a major factor in their planning. Obviously speculation on my part, but the points you've made would make anyone in the middle of investing in Festool potential collateral damage of their changes.

We're trying to find a balance. If our current customers didn't matter, I wouldn't be responding to this thread. However, growing and reaching new craftsmen matter as well.

The reality is that most of our NA customers already have lots of imperial tools. Even if they prefer metric, imperial is hard to avoid in NA.

 

[Ajax]

As an aerospace engineer working on advanced flight structures in the US I welcome this news.  I use Imperial units every day and I never use metric.  Having my Festools with Imperial scales would be fantastic.

All the complaining from woodworkers about the US not using metric is laughable. 

 

[GarryMartin]

Will this change in any slow the introduction of new tools to NA even further given the additional engineering that it seems is required to change from a default metric design to an Imperial one?

 

[jdm5]

I also think this is a massive mistake. Offering imperial versions, as an option - yes; Removing the metric versions completely - ridiculous.

+10000 - as an American who immediately moved to metric for woodworking, this is a big mistake.  Give us 'more worldly' Americans the choice of staying with the world's measuring system vs forcing an anachronism on us.

Is a barleycorn really the best unit of measure?

Per Wikipedia:

An Anglo-Saxon unit of length was the barleycorn. After 1066, 1 inch was equal to 3 barleycorns, which continued to be its legal definition for several centuries, with the barleycorn being the base unit.[10] One of the earliest such definitions is that of 1324, where the legal definition of the inch was set out in a statute of Edward II of England, defining it as "three grains of barley, dry and round, placed end to end, lengthwise".[10]

 

[Kev]

Will this change in any slow the introduction of new tools to NA even further given the additional engineering that it seems is required to change from a default metric design to an Imperial one?

If there's effort, there's cost .. and you can imagine that cost is not going to be reflected as a price increase to the very market they're trying to exploit.

 

[TylerC]

Will this change in any slow the introduction of new tools to NA even further given the additional engineering that it seems is required to change from a default metric design to an Imperial one?

Good question. No, it shouldn't. This adjustment is pretty simple, so it shouldn't release product release timelines.

 

[chrisrosenb]

I have been using Festool for about ten years. I never used metric before I started using Festool. I never complained to Festool about the metric markings, I just worked around scales being metric. Some users made & sold imperial scales for Festool tools.

Festool announces that they are going to make tools, sold in America, with imperial markings to match the preferred measuring system measuring system in this market. So the rest of the world screams that the world is coming to an end because of this change.

This change is not going to make me go out & replace my metric marked tools with imperial versions. I see nothing the says any one will be required to replace their tools because of this change.

Look to me like an opportunity for some to make some extra money. If you believe the demand for metric marked tools will be in high demand, buy up the current stock of metric marked tools & resell them when their value skyrockets.

I still fail to see why the measuring system that is used in the United States matters to the rest of the world. 

   

 

[leakyroof]

After reading this whole thread during my lunch hour, it seems easy to point out that if this whole affair doesn't work out as Festool intended, they can always go back to what they offered before in Metric scales, or maybe throwing in the odd Imperial scale as a spare sticker when you buy the tool like on the track saw.
There's nothing dire here, just a marketing change that can always be undone if need be. The tools will probably still come off a retailers shelf or warehouse like they did when only Metric scales were the norm.
The Dust Collection ability and features of each tool are what draw me to them, not what Scale of measurement they have on them.  [popcorn]

 

[TylerC]

If there's effort, there's cost .. and you can imagine that cost is not going to be reflected as a price increase to the very market they're trying to exploit.

Prices are remaining the same.

 

[rmwarren]

76 replies in 4:44, or 1/225 seconds, errr.... make that 1 per 3 & 24/32 minutes.

This is fun.  [popcorn]

RMW

 

[Kev]

Then why does it matter to you what products are available for sale in North America.

[member=1903]JD2720[/member]

If Festool for NA operated completely (design, manufacture, finance) in isolation I wouldn't give a fig. Demands and changes from NA send ripples through an international organisation like, Festool .. and Festool isn't a massive company. Consequently new product development takes longer and products become more expensive. Normally a wider market has the potential to improve a product. We don't see this with Festool from an "outside of NA" perspective. All we see is demands for 110V non metric tools.

 

[Kev]

If there's effort, there's cost .. and you can imagine that cost is not going to be reflected as a price increase to the very market they're trying to exploit.

Prices are remaining the same.

Exactly what I'm saying ...