A village in New England produced the tools used to build America for almost 200 years.
The only Stanley Black & Decker facility in the company’s hometown of New Britain, Connecticut, also referred to as “Hardware City,” is currently closing.
Workers and local authorities are upset over the tool giant’s decision to close its Myrtle Street plant on May 18 and eliminate almost 300 jobs, including more than 200 union positions.
A manufacturing tradition that started in New Britain in 1843 when Frederick Trent Stanley established what would become The Stanley Works comes to an agonising end with the closing.
At its height, Stanley created thousands of jobs throughout the city and contributed to New Britain becoming one of the most well-known factory towns in America. However, the company’s corporate offices will be the only significant Stanley presence remaining in the city where it was founded by the end of this month.
Stanley asserted that customers’ demands for “more efficient” double-sided tape measures have rendered the plant’s single-sided tape measures obsolete.
Since Stanley already has a factory in Thailand that produces double-sided tape measures and labour costs there are around 75% lower than in the US, it decided not to modify the New Britain plant to create them.
Bobby Sanchez, the mayor of New Britain, expressed his “deep disappointment” with the choice.
Established in 1843 as the Stanley Works in New Britain, Connecticut, Stanley Black & Decker quickly rose to prominence as the center of the local economy. An old postcard depicts the Stanley Works in New Britain circa 1919.
Single-sided tape measures (left), which the business claims are less common than double-sided tape measures (right), were produced at Stanley’s New Britain plant.
He told NBC Connecticut, “Stanley Works has been a part of our city for generations, providing good-paying jobs, supporting families, and helping New Britain’s proud reputation.”
In 2010, Stanley and Black & Decker combined to establish Stanley Black & Decker, which retained its New Britain headquarters.
Stanley was severely impacted by the Trump administration’s tariff policy, which forced manufacturing out of China and raised prices.
The company’s sales decreased somewhat in 2025, but its profitability increased as a result of increased prices and cost-cutting initiatives.
Although it began producing tape measures for the US market in the 1990s, the Thai factory contributed to those cost savings.
In response to growing demand in international markets, Stanley started producing double-sided tape measures at the plant six years ago.
Paul Lavoie, former chief manufacturing officer of Connecticut and vice president of innovation and applied technology at the University of New Haven, stated, “It’s not necessarily an indictment of manufacturing in the state of Connecticut.”
Lavoie told NBC Connecticut that rather than basic tool products, the state’s industrial base is concentrated on high-value items like jet engines, submarines, and cutting-edge technology.
Millions of hand tools were produced by Stanley Black & Decker factories that lined New Britain’s streets not too long ago, giving the city the moniker “Hardware City.”
According to the corporation, customers’ need for double-sided tape measures has rendered the plant’s single-sided tape measures outdated.
New Britain nevertheless maintains a respectable manufacturing base, which accounts for around 15% of the city’s employment, despite the losses.
Smaller businesses produce anything from shotguns to aeroplane parts. According to Sanchez, General Dynamics Electric Boat, a submarine manufacturer, is adding about 8,000 additional employees to the local workforce.
Over 200 union jobs will be among the roughly 300 jobs lost as a result of the plant closure.
The majority of union workers did not accept Stanley’s explanation, according to union representative Jeff Santini of the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers, who spoke to the Wall Street Journal.
He told the WSJ, “They just assumed [Stanley] didn’t want to invest in the membership and themselves here in Connecticut.”
The most recent US plant that Stanley shuttered was this one: Prior to the implementation of the Trump tariffs, it closed two factories in Texas and South Carolina in 2023 and a site in North Carolina in 2024.
