Polski
DEWALT Takes Aim at Industry, While Polish Construction Catches a Second Wind
This week in the tool industry is a tale of two speeds. Across the ocean, Stanley Black & Decker is steering DEWALT toward margins and expansion beyond traditional home construction, while in Poland, GUS data shows that construction is the sector bouncing back fastest from the economic slump. We take a look at what these two signals say about where the market is heading.
01 · Strategy & Margins
DEWALT Moves Beyond the Construction Site
On September 17, during an investor conference, Stanley Black & Decker CEO Chris Nelson outlined a plan that could reshuffle the balance of power in the power tools market. The goal is ambitious: raising gross margin from the current roughly 32% to 35% — without assuming that demand will simply rebound on its own. This is a significant declaration, as it means the company is betting on hard cost and product-mix optimization rather than waiting for better market conditions [1].
The DEWALT brand plays a key role in this strategy — it already generates about half of the group's total revenue and is growing faster than the market. Importantly, this growth increasingly has less to do with traditional residential construction — DEWALT is expanding into commercial and industrial segments, including data center and energy infrastructure work. This signals that one of the biggest players in the professional tools market is now looking for growth in areas where it hasn't traditionally been a major force [1].
At the same time, the company is reducing its exposure to China — production is being shifted to North America, with the aim of bringing the Chinese share of U.S. market revenue down to just around 5%. This move fits into the broader reshoring trend in manufacturing, but coming from the leader in the power tools segment, it carries particular weight — it shows that diversifying supply chains is no longer a backup plan, but a core part of margin strategy [1].
02 · Economic Climate
Polish Construction Rebounds Hardest, Industry Waits
From a completely different angle, but no less significant, September's reading of the GUS business climate indicator brought its own set of data. Construction turned out to be the sector with the strongest improvement of all — the indicator jumped from -5.8 to -2.5 points. This is a clear sign that finishing and construction companies are starting to look to the future with greater optimism [2].
Retail trade also performed well, improving from -2.7 to -0.5 points. The picture looks different in manufacturing — here the indicator barely moved, holding at -6.9, even though industrial output has been growing at a solid pace for months. GUS also points to an increasingly visible polarization in hiring decisions among industrial companies — some are expanding their workforce while others are cutting back, and these trends are diverging more and more sharply [2].
For suppliers of tools, finishing materials, and safety equipment, this is a signal worth noting: in the coming months, it may be construction — not manufacturing — that drives demand on the Polish market. It's worth comparing this with DEWALT's direction in the US: there, growth is being sought beyond residential construction, while in Poland, construction is returning to favor as the fastest-rebounding segment of the economy.
Summary
Summary
On one hand, a global giant is shifting its center of gravity toward industry and infrastructure; on the other, Polish construction is showing that it still has the potential to be a growth engine for the entire supplier industry. Both of these threads — the strategies of major manufacturers and local market conditions — will be topics of hallway conversation at the Międzynarodowe Targi Narzędziowe i Prac Wykończeniowych – Warsaw Tools & Hardware Show 2026. Stay tuned for further installments of our review, and be sure to save the date for the show.
Invitation
From DEWALT's global strategies to the rebound of Polish construction — these are exactly the topics that will be actively discussed at the Międzynarodowe Targi Narzędziowe i Prac Wykończeniowych – Warsaw Tools & Hardware Show 2026. Meet tool manufacturers, distributors, and finishing market experts all in one place, and see who's best positioned to capitalize on growing demand in construction. Reserve your spot today.
Warsaw Tools & Hardware Show 2026Footnotes
[1] MarketBeat — https://www.marketbeat.com/instant-alerts/event-stanley-black-decker-targets-margin-gains-as-dewalt-takes-share-2026-09-20/[2] Nowoczesny Przemysł (za GUS) — https://nowoczesny-przemysl.pl/koniunktura-przemysl-stoi-w-miejscu/