Sponsor Highlight: Stanley Black & Decker

A decade of driving innovation through partnership. 

Over its long history, Stanley Black & Decker (SBD) has evolved far beyond just making hand tools. Today, the company is a leader in industrial innovation, smart manufacturing, and operational excellence.

For over a decade, SBD and Tauber student teams have collaborated to tackle some of the most challenging problems in modern manufacturing. 

“The Tauber program has been instrumental in providing SBD with a robust pipeline of exceptional talent, cultivating future leaders for our company,” said Nathan Dietrich, Director, Advanced Manufacturing and Process Engineering - Industrial NA at Stanley Black & Decker. “Through hands-on experience in our manufacturing plants, Tauber students have tackled complex operational challenges, delivering innovative solutions that have generated over $5 million in realized savings over the past decade.”

From predictive maintenance to warehouse automation, these projects showcase how academic insight and industry expertise can deliver real-world transformation and measurable business value.

The Tauber Connection

The Tauber Institute values its 10-year engagement with Stanley Black & Decker. 

“Stanley Black & Decker’s partnership empowers Tauber teams to deliver real-world innovation and reflects their commitment to developing future leaders by hiring our students, creating a true win-win for both industry and talent,” said Anne Partington, Managing Director at the Tauber Institute. 

 

These collaborations have served as pilot labs for innovation, exposing the company to fresh ideas, structured methodologies, and measurable impact. Key takeaways include:

  • Industry 4.0 & Predictive Maintenance. In one project, the Tauber student team built analytics models (e.g., a motor vibration model, a heat treat transformation model) to predict equipment failures and reduce downtime. In one case, the motor vibration model forecasted a failure, saving about 4 production hours. The full rollout of related recommendations is estimated to yield more than USD 180,000 in annual savings per site, prevent over 1,300 hours of downtime, and protect more than USD 2 million in production loss.
  • Warehouse & Distribution Center Optimization. In another project, the Tauber student team reimagined scanning, verification, and information flows at a distribution center for the Stanley Engineered Fastening (SEF) unit. They proposed scanning automation (reducing cycle time by about 45%) and dashboards for real-time visibility. The projected annual savings exceeded USD 910,000, more than double the target.
  • CribMaster & Commercialization of Smart Tool Tracking. CribMaster, a tool/asset tracking business unit, was a popular Tauber client. The student team developed a proof-of-concept that integrated RFID tracking, lean operations, and market strategy. The proposed improvements included about a 3% reduction in direct labor cost, USD 400,000 working capital gains, and a roughly 50% reduction in lead time. More impressively, CribMaster later won a multi-million-dollar contract in aviation MRO (maintenance, repair, overhaul), validating the approach.
  • Recognition & Ongoing Excellence. Stanley Black & Decker projects have repeatedly earned Spotlight! awards(the Tauber Institute’s team project and scholarship competition. In 2022, SBD’s warehouse optimization project won first place. In 2024, a project on optimizing work-in-progress inventory and packaging also won first place.

Connecting Tauber Lessons to Today: Why It Matters

The Tauber collaborations went beyond the classroom. They were early probes, pilot ventures, and testbeds for ideas that the company can now scale. The same themes are showing up in SBD at a broader scale:

  • Data-Driven Decisions & Predictive Tools. Early pilot successes in predictive maintenance are connected directly to SBD’s broader commitment to cost reduction and margin expansion.
  • Lean & Technology. The Tauber projects emphasized blending lean process improvement with digital tools, not just installing sensors. That balanced perspective is evident in SBD’s current playbook, which includes cost reduction, supply chain restructuring, and pricing discipline.
  • Quick Wins to Build Credibility. In Tauber projects, teams often targeted low-hanging fruit to demonstrate early returns. Similarly, SBD is layering quick supply chain and price moves while working toward larger structural changes.
  • Governance & Scaling Mindsets. Prioritization frameworks and scaling roadmaps were central to the student teams’ work. SBD is applying them at a corporate level via large cost targets and global deployment plans.

A Shared Vision for the Future

Across years of collaboration with Tauber, a clear theme emerges: Stanley Black & Decker invests in technology and talent to make manufacturing more intelligent, efficient, and sustainable.

As the industry evolves and the world shifts, the partnership between Stanley Black & Decker and the Tauber Institute demonstrates what’s possible when business and academia work together.

“This collaboration creates a win-win environment for both the students and our organization,” said Dietrich. “I truly enjoy working alongside these students—their boundless energy and passion are inspiring and infectious, driving positive change throughout our teams.”

If you’d like to sponsor a Tauber project and see how your business can be transformed, visit: https://tauber.umich.edu/team-projects/sponsor-project