Dreams Do Come True At IWF.

Festool exhibited at the International Woodworking Machinery & Furniture Supply Fair (IWF) 2008 in Atlanta, GA on August 20-23rd. We had thousands of people visit our booth and there was a lot to be seen. There were seven demo stations showcasing all of our major tools, including the newest products, the Kapex sliding compound miter saw, MFK 700 trim router, OF 2200 router and MFT/3 multifunction table. Marc Spagnuolo, ‘The Wood Whisperer’, also demonstrated the Festool tools at the booth Wednesday and Thursday.

We also did a daily tool giveaway, ranging from a Rotex 150 dual-mode sander to a TS 75 plunge saw. Attendees completed a contest card asking various questions related to the demos and received either a Kapex t-shirt, Festool hat or watch. Two or three entrants per day who were spotted wearing one of the items were randomly selected to win a free Festool power tool. Everyone who completed a contest card was entered into a drawing for a Festool Dream Shop Giveaway held at the end of the show. The Festool Dream Shop Giveaway included a Kapex, MFT/3-Kapex, MFT/3, TS 55, OF 1400, Rotex 150, Domino, CT 22, C 12 with chucks, as well as tool training – a value of over $7000! We would like to congratulation our Dream Shop winnner, William Goodpastor from Cincinnati, Ohio, who is pictured above attending training at our facility in Indianapolis.

Thanks to everyone who stopped by the booth. We hope you enjoyed the show and look forward to seeing you at AWFS in Las Vegas next year – July 15-18, 2009 at booth number 5875!

Faster. Easier. Smarter.

Those are the words we use to describe how our tools are different than others you may have had experience using. There's nothing more frustrating than a tool that doesn't work intuitively and effectively. Now we need your help in sharing the message of Faster, Easier, Smarter tools. From time to time, we like to poll the owners of our products for their Festimonials, or Festool testimonials, so that we can see exactly how our products are impacting the way they work.

Now through October 15th, 2008, visit our website and complete our online form to tell us what you like most about our tools and how they have made you more productive. Last year we received a lot of very positive Festimonials about some of our more widely used tools so this time we want to challenge everyone to write about some of these tools:

• Jigsaws - PS 300, PSB 300
• Planer - HL 850 E
• Sanders - RAS 115.04 E, DTS 400, RS 2 E, DX 93 E, LS 130 EQ, LEX Series Air Sanders
• Organization - Systainers, Sortainers, SysPort

So, if you own one of those tools, head on over to our website and take a moment to tell us your story. Don't worry, if you have something to say about our other products, we will be doing another giveaway for more Festimonials on those products later in October.

At the end of the entry period, one winner will be randomly selected to receive a free Festool ETS 125 EQ orbital sander. We will select some of the best Festimonials from the entries we receive to be included in our 2009 catalog.

All entries become the property of Festool USA and may be used for marketing purposes. Must be a resident of the United States or Canada and over the age of 18. Employees and family of employees of Tooltechnic Systems are not eligible to enter.

A couple of weeks ago, I was fortunate enough to take a trip to the Festool headquarters located in Wendlingen, Germany. During my visit, I had the opportunity to tour the production facilities where Festool power tools are born. The operation was just as impressive as the tools that are produced there with exacting detail given to every step of the manufacturing process.

While there were quite a few moments during the tour where I found myself in awe, one thing that stuck in my mind. During the manufacturing process, if a part of tool is accidentally dropped on the floor (which you could practically eat off of) then it was tossed into a waste bucket and could not be used in a tool. This just speaks volumes about the lengths to which our production facilities go to ensure that every tool that makes its way to our customers are of the absolute highest quality with no compromises along the way.

by Shane Holland,
Business Applications & E-Commerce Manager
Festool USA

"A Picture Is Worth A Thousand Words".

If that's true, then this photo tells an interesting story. We tested the cut quality of the new Festool Kapex sliding compound miter saw (top image) to that of a leading competitor's miter saw (bottom image). Both saws were tested with the stock blade, under the same conditions and using same piece of maple plywood.

The competitor's miter saw left visible blade marks and small undulations throughout the length of the cut, caused severe splintering and the saw blade discolored the wood. The Kapex provided a smooth, clean cut and did not create tear out in the delicate veneer of the test material. Proof that the level of engineering that went into creating the Kapex resulted in a machine that offers an unsurpassed cut quality which is extremely important in miter saw applications. Many of the technologies employed by the Kapex are the same features used by our TS plunge saws.

If you already have a Kapex, we have recently released a new 32-page supplemental manual (3MB).

The Festool USA Website Gets A Face Lift.

At the beginning of September, we launched the new Festool USA website. The new website provides more detailed information on our products, offers more (and larger) images, features a new dealer locator tool and improved navigation.

We would like to invite you to visit the new website to take a look around and feel free to provide us with your feedback.