EAST LONGMEADOW -- Local workers will once again make Craftsman tools here in the Pioneer Valley.

Stanley Black & Decker, which bought the Craftsman brand from ailing Sears in January 2017 for $775 million, will likely start making Craftsman-brand saw blades and other tools at the former Lenox American Saw plant in the second half of 2018, said spokesman Tim Perra.

"We'll begin integrating Craftsman into our operations in the second half of 2018," Perra said. "Production here would probably coincide with the launch of the product in the second half of 2018."

Danaher Inc. used to manufacture some Craftsman ratchets and wrenches in Springfield before shutting down in 2005.

Sears had Craftsman brand tools manufactured by various makers. In recent years many Craftsman products were made in China. Craftsman tools are available at Sears, Kmart and at Ace Hardware stores and other hardware chains.

Stanley Black & Decker has owned the former Lenox American Saw plant in East Longmeadow for just less than a year, Perra said.

Based in New Britain, Connecticut, Stanley bought Lenox American Saw along with the rest of Newell Brands' hardware division for $1.95 billion. The acquisition was first announced in October 2016 and became official March 2, 2017.

What followed was a busy year at the half-million-square-foot factory.

Now called Stanley Black & Decker's Lenox Plant, it has added 100 workers for a new head count of 670 employees, and has plans to add another 40 to 60 positions in the coming year, said Hannah Butler, senior human resources manager.

The factory also received $7 million to $8 million in new equipment and plans to get $10 million or more in investment in the future, said Scott Burkins, director of operations and engineering.

"It is great being part of a company that is American-owned and American-made," Burkins said. "We make products with purpose here. We make products that fit the organization."

Newell has many brands in and out of the hardware business, including Sharpie markers, Goodie hair accessories and Yankee Candle in South Deerfield.

As Newell Rubbermaid, today's Newell Products company bought the former American Saw & Manufacturing Co. from the Davis family in 2003 for $450 million.

Founded in Springfield in 1915, Lenox American Saw built its East Longmeadow plant in 1952 and shifted its entire operation there in 1964.

Stanley Black & Decker has already started making saw blades and other tools for its DeWalt line in East Longmeadow. Perra said DeWalt production came to East Longmeadow for the same reason Stanley Black & Decker will make Craftsman there.

"They are the best in the world at what they do and they have been doing it for more than 50 years in that plant," Perra said.

Soon after the 2017 acquisition, Stanley Black & Decker announced plans to make as many Craftsman products in the U.S. as it could.

Stanley Black & Decker has 30 manufacturing plants across in the country with a total of 16,000 employees. Since 2015, the company has increased its manufacturing jobs in the U.S. by 40 percent.

The company has three Connecticut factories: New Britain, Farmington and Danbury, as well as a factory in Holliston, Massachusetts, that makes steel storage bins and containers for industry. Stanley's plant in Gorham, Maine, makes tools and is a sister plant to the one in East Longmeadow.

Stanley also announced in December that it plans to open an advanced manufacturing training and research center in downtown Hartford sometime this spring or summer, according to the Hartford Courant.

Workers in East Longmeadow make blades for hacksaws and for reciprocating saws, hand tools, drill bits and hole saws. These products are for contractors and home handypersons and are sold in hardware stores and home centers. The plant also makes large industrial bandsaws for cutting metal.

The plant manufactures tools and blades under the Lenox, Irwin and now DeWalt brand names.

Butler said besides adding 100 new employees she's had to hire 12 workers to replace those who retired in the last year.

"We are finding people and they are excited to be given the opportunity," she said.

There is an on-site recruiting event every two weeks.

Jobs she's filling include machine operators, electromechanical technicians and electricians. Rates of pay range from $15.69 to $26 an hour.