Stanley Plant Closing, Thanks to Tape Measures

Stanley Black & Decker's last factory in the Connecticut city it helped build is shutting down this month—and the official culprit is what's printed on a strip of yellow steel. As the Wall Street Journal reports, the New Britain plant that makes FatMax measuring tape will close May 18, cutting about 300 jobs. Layoffs began taking effect this week, notes NBC Connecticut. Stanley says demand has tilted toward tapes with markings on both sides of the tape—or "blade"—a feature its Thailand facility can produce but the Connecticut plant cannot. Workers and some longtime customers question that logic, calling the "single-side" explanation cover for a shift to cheaper overseas production.

The company has been steadily moving manufacturing abroad for decades, and the closure follows other US plant shutdowns aimed at trimming costs and inventory. While double-sided tapes are now common, tradespeople are split on whether they're needed. Meanwhile, in New Britain—once known as "Hardware City"—the shutdown marks the end of a manufacturing era that began with the Stanley Works in 1843. Some local leaders say the severance deals are reasonable and point to other regional employers hiring, but they note that the loss of the city's last Stanley factory is a powerful symbolic punch. The company's headquarters, however, remain in the city.