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Monday afternoon, I left the Popular Woodworking shop early so I could drive to Lebanon, Ind. What’s in Lebanon, Ind.? It’s the new home of ToolTechnic Systems, LLC, the manufacturers of Festool. The company’s U.S. headquarters located there about five months back
I, along with a number of other representatives from woodworking-based magazines, were invited to see the facility and get a glimpse at a few new tools Festool has gathered at the starting line awaiting the “go ahead” from the home base in Germany.
Monday evening were we treated to a great dinner at the Palomino restaurant in downtown Indianapolis. There, we were joined by members of the Festool family including Festool USA President and CEO, Christian Oltzscher.
In addition to the big-hitters of Festool, we were joined by Gary Katz, Marc Spagnuolo and Jerry Work. These guys have vast experience with Festool tools and throughout the following two days added a great amount of insight into the Festool brand.
Tuesday morning we went to work. After arriving at the headquarters we heard from Mr. Oltzscher and Martin Johnson, brand marketing manager. Then it was a look at the new digs. A stop in the repair area made me wonder. There were only two guys working repair and we were told most jobs are turned around in 48 hours. That tells me there aren’t many Festool tools coming for fixes.
Next stop was in the warehouse. While I cannot show you pictures of the warehouse (it’s a warehouse!) I can give a factoid that impressed me. Festool colors are deep blue and green. The green may have to do with the company’s recycling habits. Each month the facility recycles, on average, 1.3 tons of cardboard and more than a quarter ton of plastic.
Back in the conference room, we settled in to get the facts about three new tools that should be released in 2008 (look at late spring and late summer for possible dates, but those dates may change).
If you remember, the Domino release date was pushed back. And, it wasn’t because of any problems with the tool (it was already out in Europe). The reason for the delay was , get this , customer service. Festool wasn’t about to release the Domino in the United States when it was struggling to meet the demand for the tool in Europe.
If you were the customer and had ordered the Domino, whether you’re in the U.S. or Europe, and it was delayed for any reason, you would not be a happy customer. By meeting the demand for the European market then releasing in the U.S., even if it meant a delayed release date, the sales went smoothly and everyone was satisfied.
After a bit of time in the shop, we returned to the hotel to freshen up and jump the Lafayette Limo , read tour bus , for dinner at the Rathskeller, a (would you believe) German restaurant in downtown Indy. Fun and good eats was had by all.
Dying to know what the tools are, aren’t you? There are a couple routers and the Kapex, Festool’s version of the sliding compound miter saw. Cool new features and a number of Festool-like innovations make this a winner in my book. Read more about the Kapex and the second day of training in the my entry.
Here are some supplies and tools we find essential in our everyday work around the shop. We may receive a commission from sales referred by our links; however, we have carefully selected these products for their usefulness and quality.
