There is a lot of potential in the Irish market, especially with the growing construction industry.

Manufacturing tools for professional tradespeople is one thing. Developing first-class power and air tools literally in the hands of tradespeople is quite another. In the process, we attach great importance to quality and reliability.

Many Festool power tools have already been in use for 30 years – or longer. The long service life of our professional tools is no coincidence. One thing is essential to the successful design and manufacture of professional tools which are high-performing and robust yet reliable and lightweight, such as bench-mounted circular saws, compound mitre saws, jigsaws, circular saws, plunge-cut saws, routers, stirrers, electronic planers, polishers, drills, hammer drills and all types of sanding machines, such as eccentric sanders, orbital sanders, long-reach sanders, angle grinders, belt sanders, as well as construction site radios, LED working lights and many more: You have to know, think, feel and live trade. Uncompromising. With your head, your heart and your hands.
Here Andrea Duca talks to us…

Pro Builder: What makes FESTOOL different from other brands?
Andrea Duca: We have a family ethos, one of trust and mutual respect for each other and our customers, this is very much represented by the fact that our Chair of the Supervisory Board Barbara Austel, the granddaughter of Berta and Gottlieb Stoll plays an active role in the business. We are pleased that another Festool family member is involved in a very important subject for the business of sustainability.

Festool tools work together as a system with the dust extractors being one of the best in the industry. We pride ourselves on premium quality and that is what we provide, not only seen in the manufacturing of our tools and systems but also in our customer service. We identify customer needs and provide solutions with leading technology and three year warranty on all our tools and the 18V range including the batteries and battery chargers.

PB: Would you be able to give a bit of background about your best-selling products please?
AD: The mobile dust extractor CTL MIDI is our best selling product in Ireland. Dust extraction is the hub category for Festool, it connects to many power tools and provides the best solution for healthy dust free work with award winning M and H classification extractors.

Another key product for us is the cordless plunge-cut saw, the TSC 55 K. This power tool with kickback stop technology is the top-class sawing system. Thanks to the two 18V batteries, the customer has complete mobility. Festool is famous for precision tools, in 1930 we invented the first mobile circular saw and since then precision has been a focus point for all our tools.

The plunge-cut saw is a must-have tool in any tradesperson’s van. The KS 120 mitre saw is particularly relevant to our customers because it has the perfect cut thanks to the extra-large columns keeping the carriage precisely on course.

The RO 150 sander is one of the favourites in the Irish market, it’s been around for more than 30 years. Just with one sander you can use it for coarse sanding, fine sanding, and polishing material, instead of three separate tools you will only need one. It saves you money, time, and effort.

PB: Over the next few years, what can we expect to see from FESTOOL?
AD: Over the next few years, we plan to extend our product portfolio in the cordless power tool market, we feel this is an area of further opportunity. Many of our cordless tools have brilliant and innovative accessories that make our customers’ lives a lot easier around the workshop and construction site.