Developing a new product line from scratch is no easy feat in a normal environment. Add in a global pandemic, new materials, new colors; and no ability to travel, and it’s a recipe for disaster. So how did BLACK+DECKER, a Stanley Black & Decker brand, pull it off?
Teamwork
Working closely with Eastman, BLACK+DECKER released its reviva™ line, its first sustainability-led power tools, in early 2021. The housing of the reviva tools is made using Eastman’s Tritan Renew™ copolyester, a tough, durable material made with 50% recycled content**. Reviva means “new life” in Latin. The tools are black and white, with green highlights. Ten reviva products launched in 2022, including a 12V MAX* drill, jigsaw and sander.
“Since we were working with a new material, we had to learn and understand how it reacted,” said Ed Higgins, Stanley Black & Decker’s product director for power tools.
Since the applications development and technical services teams from both companies were not able to travel because of the COVID-19 pandemic, almost all meetings happened virtually, which opened dialogue despite the lack of traditional, face-to-face communication.
“I was amazed at how we were able to move such a complicated project forward while communicating mostly over video conferences for the first few years,” said Rick Noller, Eastman business development manager.
“Materials used in energized equipment, like power tools, have more different testing requirements than non-energized products: including higher thermal targets, and the need to meet third party certifications, which Tritan Renew delivered" -explained Brett Jones, advanced application development representative at Eastman. "Other critical-to-quality requirements included stiffness, durability, chemical resistance to certain cleaning agents and oils, and the ability to handle high torque.”
“Throughout the process, we were very open in sharing the test requirements,” said Ed Higgins, Stanley Black & Decker’s product director for power tools. “Eastman carefully reviewed all the formulations to make sure we could meet our stringent test requirements. On top of the testing, we had brand and corporate targets,and the color matches had to be in the right palettes for BLACK + DECKER’s new reviva brand".
Deep collaboration
“Early in the process of testing a special glass-filled grade of Tritan, Eastman Advaced Application Development Representative Brett Jones insisted we also try to mold classic Tritan,” said Noller. “This was a pivotal moment because instead of just replacing an existing material, our technical teams engaged the BLACK+DECKER team to understand their true material performance needs.”
“When we looked at the critical-to-quality requirements and the current incumbent materials, we felt Tritan Renew would be a good fit for the reviva product line,” Jones said.
The BLACK+DECKER and Eastman teams collaborated shared insights into what was needed and what worked best for Tritan Renew. Eastman engineers Jeff Skelton and Aaron Grills helped educate the BLACK+DECKER team on where to start when using Tritan RENEW.
“The knowledge, collaboration and agility of BLACK+DECKER allowed us to make the ideal material recommendation,” Jones said “The close working relationship of both teams contributed to the overall success of reviva by allowing for quick problem-solving during product build and testing.”
Eastman Senior Technical Representative York Li served as a key point person and was able to attended most molding trials in person at a Stanley Black & Decker factory, lending tech service support and expertise about Tritan Renew. Over time, York’s knowledge sharing helped build the BLACK+DECKER team’s understanding of the Tritan materials allowing even more open, live collaboration.
“Every time we encountered a test that we weren’t quite passing or an internal obstacle, the Eastman team was there,” Higgins said. “The support was incredible every step of the way. We see this collaboration going beyond just the reviva platform products. Eastman understands and respects our sustainability vision. We want to see how far and wide we can take this collaboration with our other brands as well.”
*Certified recycled content allocated using ISCC mass balance.
** Maximum initial battery voltage (measured without a workload) is 12 volts. Nominal voltage is 10.8 volts.
