There are new rumors that Makita USA is about to launch a tool box system at Home Depot.
The new Makita tool box system has been heavily-documented in patent and trademark applications, and looks to be based on a larger form factor, seemingly similar to the Milwaukee Packout tool chest, or the new Dewalt ToughSystem DXL drawered tool chests.
A week ago, a reader (thank you, Nathan!) left a comment:
There are also new whispers of the [Makita stacking tool box] storage system being launched end-of-year
I haven’t heard anything yet, and chalked this up to being an unsubstantiated rumor.
However, another reader (thank you, Andrew!) wrote in with this comment today:
I ran into a Makita sales rep at Home Depot last month and asked if they’re planning on releasing a new modular tool storage system. She said Home Depot has seen it and is planning a release in the fall and in stores around December.
Just like that, I went from doubting this new modular tool box system would ever see the light of day, to believing it’s about to launch.
This rumor seems plausible to me.
Here’s a Milwaukee Packout rolling tool chest with tool boxes and organizers stacked on top.
Now visualize it with the red color-swapped for Makita teal.
That could work, right?
Patent application documents show off a couple of different components and configurations.
Here’s the concept art we’ve seen so far:
- Rolling too chest
- Large tool box
- Half-width tool box
- Compact half-width tool box
- Organizer
We don’t know what the attachment system would look like, but all signs point to a cleat-based system that’s like Packout with top and bottom components reversed.
From the artwork, these are going to be large tool boxes.
If we assume that the rolling tool box has 9″ wheels, similar to the Milwaukee Packout, this would mean a roughly 32″ overall length for the large tool box, and around 15.5″ for the half-width tool boxes.
That’s assuming the artwork is to scale.
I should add that the Makita TrakLock trademark application has been abandoned, and it’s unclear if they have a new name in mind.
Questions
I have so many questions.
Is this really coming out? I was extremely doubtful a week ago, but have since changed my mind. I’m now convinced that’s it’s coming out, but nothing has been officially confirmed.
Makita USA won’t respond to our inquiries, but maybe you’ll have better luck asking sales reps – please let me know what you find out!
Where are the drawers? Hopefully there are drawer tool boxes included in the first wave of products.
Where does Home Depot have room for this? My local Home Depot stores sometime have Husky rolling tool chests and similar on display, at least seasonally. Home Depot’s regular and seasonal modular tool box displays seem maxed-out with their current offerings.
My Home Depot stocks Milwaukee Packout tool chests on occasion, and those take up a lot of space.
I guess they can fit… somewhere?
December?? A December launch would signal a lot of things to me, none of which I’ll discuss now. If I were in charge of things, I’d work towards an October or early November launch.
Will there be introductory sales? It seems to me that Makita has been pulling back on discounts and promotions. Last year, I found regularly-priced Makita tools in Home Depot’s holiday season gift center.