Stanley / FatMax.

About Stanley / FatMax

The Stanley Works was founded in 1843 in New Britain, Connecticut, initially making bolts and door hardware. Through the 19th and 20th centuries it grew into one of the world’s largest hand tool manufacturers, by a mix of organic product development and acquisition. In 2010, Stanley merged with Black & Decker to form Stanley Black & Decker, the world’s largest tool and storage company, which also owns DeWalt, Irwin, Lenox and many other professional tool brands.

In the UK professional market, the Stanley name is bound up with certain product categories it has dominated for decades: the Stanley FatMax tape measure, the Stanley 5-25 retractable tape, the Stanley Surform, the Stanley 1-16 blade knife and the Stanley Bostitch range of tacker staples. These products are so well established that they are often referred to generically by brand name, in much the same way people say Hoover when they mean a vacuum cleaner.

The FatMax sub-brand is the professional-grade tier of the range, with heavier construction, better accuracy and more features than the standard Stanley consumer line. FatMax tape measures, levels, chisels and tool storage are positioned as the professional specification within the broader Stanley portfolio, competing with Stabila, Bahco and Roughneck in their respective categories.

Products We Can Supply from Stanley / FatMax

Tape measures, FatMax and Classic. The Stanley FatMax 5 m, 8 m and 10 m tape measures with the standout blade, which holds out unsupported for up to 3.6 m and makes a real difference for solo measuring, plus the Stanley Classic 5-25 and 5-30 retractable tapes for general site and workshop use. Both come with metric/imperial dual-graduated blades for the UK market. FatMax tapes are the most widely used professional tape measure in UK construction.

Knives, chisels and hand tools. The Stanley 1-16 retractable blade knife in standard and FatMax formats; Stanley FatMax chisels with impact-rated plastic handle caps for use with a mallet; Stanley hand planes (No. 4 smoothing plane, No. 5 jack plane) in classic cast iron construction; Stanley Surform rasps and files for shaping wood and soft materials; and Stanley Dynagrip hammers in claw and cross-pein formats.

Spirit levels, FatMax. The Stanley FatMax spirit levels in 600 mm, 900 mm, 1,200 mm and 1,800 mm lengths in I-beam aluminium construction with rubber end caps, and the Stanley FatMax box-section levels for bricklaying and blocklaying. They do not match Stabila’s accuracy specification, but they are an accessible professional option used widely across UK general construction for their balance of price and durability.

STANLEY storage, toolboxes and site boxes. The Stanley FatMax site boxes and tool chests in polypropylene and metal-latch construction for on-site tool transport; the Stanley TSTAK modular storage system for stacking and interlocking toolboxes, organisers and cases; and Stanley Classic tool bags and pouches in canvas and synthetic fabric for carrying hand tools on site and in vans.

Industries

Stanley and FatMax tools are used across all UK building and construction trades, general maintenance and facilities management, joinery and carpentry, electrical and plumbing installation, and any professional or semi-professional working environment that needs widely available, well-priced and reliably performing hand tools and measuring equipment.