Hangzhou GreatStar Industrial Co., Ltd. (巨星科技)
Company Overview
Hangzhou GreatStar Industrial Co., Ltd. (杭州巨星科技股份有限公司) is a Chinese tool manufacturer founded in 1993 and headquartered in Hangzhou, Zhejiang. The company describes itself as one of the world leading tool enterprises and lists on the Shenzhen Stock Exchange since July 2010 under ticker 002444.
What makes GreatStar unusual among Chinese manufacturers is that it grew from an OEM and ODM supplier into an owner of Western tool brands, rather than the other way around. Its portfolio includes US and European heritage names covering fastening, hand tools, industrial vacuums, storage and woodworking. That brand ownership is directly relevant to buyers, because it means some of the tools you buy from familiar Western brands are manufactured within this group, and some brands you might approach for private label are already owned by a Chinese parent.
Main Products
- Hand and mechanic tools: wrenches, sockets, screwdrivers, tool sets and general workshop hand tools.
- Power and pneumatic tools: power tools, pneumatic fastening tools, and industrial nailers with consumables.
- Laser measuring and LiDAR: laser distance meters and optical measuring equipment, plus position-sensing technology through its Hangzhou-based LiDAR subsidiary.
- Tool cabinets and industrial storage: workshop cabinets, chests and industrial storage systems.
- Industrial vacuums: wet and dry industrial vacuum cleaners, including through the Shop-Vac brand.
- PPE and workwear: work clothing and safety footwear through a European workwear and safety shoe brand.
Brands in the Portfolio
The group's own brand portfolio spans both acquired heritage names and brands it built itself. Publicly described lines include ARROW (fastening tools, established 1929 in the US), SK (hand tools, established 1914 in the US), Shop-Vac (wet and dry vacuums, established 1953 in North America), LISTA (industrial storage, established 1945 in Switzerland), Goldblatt (masonry tools, established 1885 in the US), Pony Jorgensen (woodworking tools and clamps, established 1903 in the US), PRIME-LINE (hardware and door and window parts, established 1978 in North America), SWISS+TECH (outdoor tools), EverBrite (DIY lighting tools) and WORKPRO, the group's own all-category tool brand. It also references European industrial fastening and tool brands and a European workwear and safety footwear brand.
Key Facts
- Founded: 1993, Hangzhou, Zhejiang.
- Listing: Shenzhen Stock Exchange, ticker 002444, listed July 2010.
- Global footprint (per company information): more than 35 overseas subsidiaries and offices, sales into more than 180 countries, and direct service to over 30,000 large building material, hardware, department store and auto parts chains.
- Manufacturing: the group reports 23 production bases in total, split across China (11 bases, mainly Zhejiang, Jiangsu and Guangdong), the United States (3 bases, in New Jersey, California and Pennsylvania among others), Europe (6 bases, including Germany, Switzerland, Italy and the Czech Republic) and Southeast Asia (3 bases, in Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam).
- Product breadth: manual tools, power tools, pneumatic fastening tools, laser measuring and LiDAR, tool cabinets and industrial storage, industrial vacuums and PPE.
- Head office area: Hangzhou (registered address in Shangcheng district per company website).
Why a Buyer Would Look at Them
GreatStar is most useful to importers as a quality and price benchmark in tools and storage. If you are sourcing hand tools, tool storage or industrial vacuums, the group's own-brand products set a realistic reference for what good looks like at each tier, and their factories show what volume manufacturing in this category involves.
For private-label buyers there is a second, sharper lesson. A large share of well-known tool brands in the US and Europe are now owned by Chinese manufacturers, including this one. Before you spend time designing packaging around what you assume is an independent brand, check who the parent is. Brand ownership in tools has changed a great deal and it keeps changing.
Buyers should also note that tool products carry market-specific compliance obligations: electrical safety and EMC for power tools, battery transport rules for cordless lines, and PPE certification for anything sold as protective equipment, which must be verified per product and per market before purchase.
Contact
For product lines, brand enquiries and investor information, refer to the official website at www.greatstartools.com. This entry summarises publicly available company information only, and contact details, certifications and current product ranges should be confirmed directly with the company.