Milwaukee, WI

From Zero to Tool Industry Dominance: Milwaukee Tool’s Innovative Path to Industry Leadership – Daily Commercial News

Published

2 years ago

May 13, 2024

From Zero to Tool Industry Dominance: Milwaukee Tool’s Innovative Path to Industry Leadership – Daily Commercial News

Uncover how Milwaukee Tool’s relentless pursuit of innovation, including breakthroughs like lithium-ion battery solutions, has catapulted it to the forefront of the power tool industry, shaping its trajectory on a global scale.

How do you transform a 100-year-old brand like Milwaukee Tool, taking it from the back of the pack in market share to the leading maker of professional power tools and equipment?

“You don’t do it by setting goals you know you can achieve,” says Craig Baxter, group president of TTI Canada.

“Very little that’s great has ever been achieved by setting easily achievable goals, I’m a strong believer in audacious goals,” says Baxter. “I love that word. An audacious goal changes everything. It changes the way you think, the way you plan, the way you behave. It changes your entire approach.”

Sixth in a five-horse race

If anyone would know from experience about the power of audacious goal-setting, it’s Baxter.

In 2007, when he first joined Milwaukee Tool, the company’s products were barely on the radar as a job site solution.

“We were sixth in a five-horse race in terms of the market share of professional cordless tools,” Baxter recalls. “My first audacious goal was committing back in 2007 to make Milwaukee the number one brand of professional power tools in Canada by 2017. To achieve that meant we had to grow at least 20 per cent a year for 10 straight years.”

Under Baxter’s leadership, Milwaukee Tool didn’t just achieve that goal — they smashed it. “We’ve compounded at 24 per cent for the last 16 years,” he says.

Craig Baxter, group president of TTI Canada.

Leading by inspiration

But while Milwaukee Tool’s continuous innovation is critical, Baxter credits his workforce – and the incredible spirit of teamwork and collaboration he set out to foster – for these incredible results.

Having taken the company from less than 100 employees in 2007 to almost 800 — “we have single-digit turnover” Baxter notes—he’s determined to build the best possible team and the best possible work culture.

“My job is to create an environment where talented, ambitious people can flourish,” he says.

For Baxter, that all hinges upon leadership. “The predominant leadership style today is command and control,” he says. “But that style is never going to lead to extraordinary results over the long term. And that’s because great people simply don’t want to be controlled.”

To Baxter, one of the great ironies in workplaces today is that business acumen and niche skills become less important as people climb through the ranks and take on positions requiring leadership. “Supply chain, inventory, and metrics are all things that need to be managed. The problem is a lot of managers treat people like they’re things. Leaders need to focus on the inspiration piece, not the management piece when it comes to people,” he says.

To that effect, Baxter himself teaches leadership courses, handing down to TTI’s emerging and experienced managers his tenets for inspiring audacious performance–things like strong communication, building trust by sharing the credit and accepting the blame when things don’t go as planned.

“If you don’t understand how to get the best work out of individuals, then extraordinary results will be incredibly difficult to achieve,” he says.

“Great leaders are able to inspire people to become the absolute best version of themselves, and in so doing, they’re able to stretch for audacious goals.”

Powering the job sites of the future

This focus on leadership is a formula Baxter believes can power Milwaukee Tool for the next 100 years.

“Cordless is an arms race,” Baxter acknowledges. “Our vision is a cordless job site — and by that I mean everything from a small renovation to building a tower downtown. Our vision is to have every single application on that job site powered with a lithium-ion solution brought to you by Milwaukee. We want to replace other batteries, replace hydraulics, replace pneumatic air, replace gas and cords. Any source of power on the job, we want to replace it with one of our solutions. In five years, I see us providing solutions that are beyond anybody’s imagination on a job site,” Baxter says.

With such a great team and strong leaders on his side, it’s yet another audacious goal Baxter believes is within reach. “Just look at what we’ve brought to market so far. You can only imagine how many solutions and the type of capabilities we will provide in the future. We are just getting started.”

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Milwaukee, WI

Milwaukee police chase, 15-year-old driver arrested

Published

7 hours ago

January 8, 2026

Press Room

Milwaukee police chase, 15-year-old driver arrested

article

Milwaukee Police Department (MPD)

MILWAUKEE – Milwaukee police arrested a 15-year-old boy after a pursuit across the city’s north side Wednesday night.

What they’re saying:

The chase started around 9:20 p.m. MPD said officers saw a vehicle that was wanted in an armed robbery and tried to stop it near 33rd and Locust, but the driver took off.

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The chase ended roughly two miles away near 29th and Roosevelt, where the driver got out and ran. MPD said the suspect’s vehicle continued to roll and collided with another vehicle. Officers ultimately caught the 15-year-old and took him into custody.

What’s next:

Criminal charges will be referred to the Milwaukee County District Attorney’s Office.

The Source: FOX6 News requested information from the Milwaukee Police Department.

Police ChasesNewsMilwaukee

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Milwaukee, WI

Milwaukee stabbing near 40th and McKinley; 1 wounded, 1 arrested

Published

19 hours ago

January 8, 2026

Press Room

Milwaukee stabbing near 40th and McKinley; 1 wounded, 1 arrested

article

Milwaukee Police Department

MILWAUKEE – One person was taken to the hospital after a stabbing in Milwaukee on Wednesday night, Jan. 7.

What we know:

According to Milwaukee police, a 26-year-old was stabbed around 7 p.m. near 40th and McKinley.

Milwaukee police arrested a suspect on the scene.

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What you can do:

Anyone with any information is asked to contact Milwaukee police at 414-935-7360 or to remain anonymous, contact Crime Stoppers at 414-224-Tips or P3 Tips.

The Source: The information in this post was provided by the Milwaukee Police Department.

Crime and Public SafetyNewsMilwaukee

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Milwaukee, WI

Milwaukee man charged; officer trapped in defendant’s getaway car

Published

1 day ago

January 7, 2026

Press Room

Milwaukee man charged; officer trapped in defendant’s getaway car

article

MILWAUKEE – A 26-year-old Milwaukee man is accused of fleeing police during an arrest attempt. An officer who was present to make the arrest ended up being trapped in the backseat of the defendant’s vehicle during an attempt to flee law enforcement. The accused is Kewane Daniels – and he faces the following criminal counts:

First-degree recklessly endangering safety
False imprisonment
Operating a motor vehicle to flee or in an attempt to elude an officer
Second-degree recklessly endangering safety

Property taken, arrest attempt

What we know:

According to the criminal complaint, Milwaukee police reported to the Comfort Suites near 118th and Silver Spring after a caller indicated that “property had been taken from her by the defendant,” the complaint says. The caller indicated location data alerted her that the property was in the hotel parking lot. Daniels also had two warrants for his arrest.

The caller reached out to Daniels to come outside and meet her. Law enforcement were going to assist with arresting Daniels and getting the property back.

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The complaint indicates Daniels approached his car, and an officer followed and positioned himself behind an open rear door. He “drew his service weapon knowing that Daniels was reported to frequently be armed,” the complaint says. The officer ordered Daniels not to place the car in drive, but the complaint says Daniels ignored the orders and “accelerated in reverse in an attempt to flee (the officer).”

Arresting officer trapped in defendant’s vehicle

Dig deeper:

The officer, who was now being forced to back pedal, “realized he could not keep up with the quickly reversing vehicle, and feared he may be overtaken and crushed beneath the auto. (The officer) stated that he had to jump into the open rear passenger’s seat in order to escape the possibility of being knocked down beneath the oncoming vehicle’s door and tires,” the complaint says.

The defendant quickly accelerated out of the hotel parking lot with the officer in the rear seat. The officer “continually ordered him to stop the car,” the complaint says. The officer stated, “Daniels fled at a high rate of speed near 90 mph east on W. Silver Spring Drive while losing control and mounting the curb several times,” the complaint says. During this entire incident, the officer said he “kept his service weapon aimed at Daniels while in the back seat. Due to the speeds and reckless driving, (the officer) could not exit the vehicle,” the complaint says.

The court filing says the officer having his firearm pointed had no effect on Daniels pulling over the vehicle. Later, he put his weapon away to try and convince Daniels that he was not in danger and to pull over the vehicle. Instead, the defendant continued fleeing and driving recklessly, the complaint says.

Defendant bails, car crashes

What we know:

Near 92nd and Birch Avenue in Milwaukee, the complaint says, “Daniels opened the driver’s door and abandoned the vehicle which was still moving at approximately 35 mph.” The officer remained trapped in the rear passenger seat of the driverless vehicle which “came to a stop when it mounted the curb, continued into a front yard, and eventually crashed into a tree,” the complaint says. It is noted that Daniels’ vehicle had the child locks engaged, so the officer was unable to exit the vehicle on his own.

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Officers in other squads quickly located Daniels. The complaint indicates the defendant was “missing footwear in extremely frigid temperatures.” His footwear was recovered in a grassy area near where he was taken into custody.

What’s next:

Online court records indicate Daniels is scheduled to make his initial appearance in Milwaukee County court on Thursday, Jan. 8.

The Source: Information in this post was provided by Wisconsin Circuit Court Access and the criminal complaint associated with this case.

Crime and Public SafetyMilwaukeeNews

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