Acme United Launches Lawn and Garden Tools Under Scotts and Miracle-Gro Brands

Acme United Corporation and The ScottsMiracle-Gro logos

Acme United Corporation and The ScottsMiracle-Gro Company formed a licensing partnership to create two new lines of innovative lawn and garden tools for the home and garden market

Acme United (ACU – $12.44) and The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company (NYSE: SMG) have formed a partnership by which Acme will market and sell two lines of lawn and gardening tools branded ‘Scotts’ and ‘Miracle-Gro’. These tools will be manufactured by Acme’s Clauss brand and will also carry the ‘powered by Clauss technology’ label.

The tools will be launched at the National Hardware Show in Las Vegas in May and will most likely be in stores by the end of this year, ahead of the 2014 gardening season. The deal with Scotts Miracle-Gro is bound to open up distribution channels as the company is known worldwide for its fertilizers and pesticides for professional and at-home use.

These will be the first lawn and garden tools in Scotts Miracle-Gro extensive line of products. Scotts will advertise the tools in their catalogues and at trade shows. No photos are available yet, but we’ll make sure to publish them as soon as they are.

Clauss Gardening Tools

The Clauss Enviro-Line is a line of lawn & garden products like pruners, snips, floral knives, spring assisted scissors, etc. The blades are titanium bonded, making them 3 times harder than untreated stainless steel and corrosion resistant. In addition, the packaging and handles of the tools are made from recycled materials.

The Clauss AirShoc line of professional lawn & garden tools includes loppers, hedge shears, branch saws and grass and garden shears as well as their respective replacement blades. The Titanium-Bonded Non-Stick blades prevent saps and adhesives from sticking to the blades. The tools also feature Microban antibacterial treated blades and grips to protect the user as well as the plants themselves. The AirShoc grips are engineered to reduce the impact and fatigue of cutting through branches, etc.

The AirShoc line also features “Tool-Less Blade Change” allowing the user to change from a bypass blade to an anvil blade to a snip in seconds. The Tool-Less Blade Change technology also makes sharpening and clean up a simple process.

The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company

The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company has its roots dating back to 1868 and has since grown into the world’s largest marketer of branded consumer lawn and garden products with nearly $3 billion in worldwide sales and more than 8,000 associates.

The Company owns some of the most recognized brands in the industry. In the U.S., the Company’s Scotts, Miracle-Gro, and Ortho brands are market-leading in their categories, as is the consumer Roundup brand, which is marketed in North America and most of Europe exclusively by Scotts and owned by Monsanto. In the U.S. the Company operates Scotts LawnService, the second largest residential lawn care service business. In Europe, the Company’s brands include Weedol, Pathclear, Evergreen, Levington, Miracle-Gro, KB, Fertiligene and Substral.

Conclusion

Acme United already manufactured excellent gardening tools, but faced strong headwinds in a market dominated by a few key players. This may all change with the well-known Scotts name on them.

Rick Constantine, the Vice President of Marketing with Acme United, said: “This partnership leverages both of our strengths, combining ScottsMiracle-Gro’s knowledge and presence in lawn and garden with our expertise in cutting tool designs, bonding technologies and manufacturing. [As such]…we’re providing consumers with differentiated, long-lasting products backed by a well-known, trusted name.”

It’s still too early to determine the interest of retail chains for the new products, but the Scotts name will for sure open some doors for Acme United that were locked in the past.

Smallcaps.us Advice: BuyPrice Target: $59.86Latest Company Report (pdf)
For important disclosures, please read our disclaimer.

For important disclosures, please read our disclaimer.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published.