The sheet metal forming tools such as Wiss snips, scissors and shears will become Crescent products and use that line’s orange colors. Also affected will be Lufkin measuring tapes, rules, and wheels, Nicholson files and saws, and H.K. Porter’s heavy-duty cutters.

During the change, the products will be sold as Crescent/Lufkin, Crescent/Wiss, Crescent/Nicholson and Crescent/H.K. Porter until fully assuming the Crescent brand early this year.

The Crescent brand has been trusted by professional tradespeople for well over 100 years,” said Curt Weber, the company’s senior brand management director. “We are building on this trust by expanding the Crescent offering to include products not only from Crescent, but from several other respected hand tool brands in the Apex Tool Group portfolio. This expansion will give our customers a wider selection of quality products from which to choose, all under the Crescent name.”

Once the changeover is final, an estimated 2,600 tools will be under the Crescent brand, officials added.

As part of the marketing campaign, Apex will be marketing the brand with the slogan “Trusted by the trades.”

“We’re extremely excited about this major expansion of the Crescent brand,” said Rena Fiorello, Crescent’s senior marketing manager. “A substantial marketing initiative for the brand is planned for 2018, including a comprehensive multimedia advertising campaign and a potential partnership with NASCAR and Chip Ganassi Racing. This investment will provide additional energy to the brand and demonstrate that Crescent is committed to continued growth.”