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three-year limited warranty, one-year free service contract and 90-day money-back guarantee. Brand loyalty is something tool manufac- turers strive for, especially within the pro- fessional realm. While this is not the only reason to ofer warranties, it certainly doesn't hurt. "Te nature of cordless tools makes brand loyalty a lot more competitive. When somebody gets into a system, they are often reluctant to have two systems with two sets of batteries and chargers and so forth, so it's very competitive to get someone into a sys- tem and keep them," Bosch's Stevens says. "We do protect our users with cordless, and one of the incentives we have is what we call ProVantage. It extends the warranty to three years and includes a two-year warranty on the battery, and that's a key thing we ofer extra to cordless users to incentivize them to take on our system and maintain it." | guarantee. Tis guarantee provides peace of mind that once a customer buys a tool, they can be sure it will serve them for the next 10 years with available service parts." DeWalt ofers a standard power tool and battery warranty, which is composed of a the tool and ready to go," Stevens says. "Tat's going to be helpful for a lot of users. We even ofer a type of holster for vehicles so someone moving from one job to another can charge their drill and battery as they're on the go." A preview of what's to come from Bosch, Stevens shares, is a new accessories system for its oscillating tool in the next year. Also new to the market, Festool launched several random orbit sanders with brushless motors that remove the bulk and expanse of standard operating air sanders. MAKE IT LAST With the investment remodelers and other users spend on their tools and the day-to-day requirements, tools arrive on jobsites with high expectations, which is where warranty programs can come into play. "Festool now ofers a program we call 'Service All-Inclusive.' Tis program is more than just a warranty; it is a family of services we provide with every tool we sell. 'Service All-Inclusive' starts with a 36-month warranty and a 30-day money back guarantee. On top of these we ofer three years of free shipping from the customer to the service department and back. We also ofer a dedicated applica- tion and service hotline, 48-hour standard repair, instructional videos and a 24/7 online service hub," Bush says. "One outstanding piece that has been well received amongst Festool customers is a 10-year spare parts Dress Up a Tool with all the Accessories T H E D E V E L O P M E N T of power tools acces- sories follows a very similar path as that of tool development. "We have a dedicated team who focuses on gathering insights from end users and relaying them to the brand team for consideration in future new products and cate- gory ideation sessions," says Ian Birdsall, senior manager in brand marketing for IRWIN Tools. "We also run any new product concepts by a panel of end users to assess various elements of an idea, and their feedback is very much key to the decision if we take concepts forward." Performance is a key factor for IRWIN's acces- sories, which will ultimately save a remodeler time and make a tool more efficient. "The Marples range of circular saw blades are engi- neered to a very high specification to endure high performance in terms of smoothness and quality of cut along with durability," he explains. A high-spec grain of carbide is used to make the blade's teeth long-lasting and resharpenable. Birdsall provided unique insight into what tools and technology to keep an eye on in the future, which will expand into the accessories market. "The impact driving tool that appeared in mainstream construction around 2006 already has 93 percent usage amongst tradesmen we talked to, and that usage is moving more from weekly to daily. As a result, accessories that are compatible are needed, so I expect that to con- tinue to grow," he says. "Secondly as cordless batteries increase in power, the capa- bilities of those tools will grow and might shape the develop- ment of subsequent innovations." MILWAUKEE TOOL introduces its M18 Drill Drivers, Hammer Drills and Compact Impacts with Powerstate Brushless Motors, Redlithium XC5.0 Battery Packs and Redlink Plus Intelligence Hardware and Software. Circle 8 on inquiry card Circle 9 on inquiry card QualifiedRemodeler.com QR October 2015 45