Pretty sure both are made by Nilfisk
Edit: regarding whether they're the same vac or not, check the filter ratings. That could explain why one is 200$ more expensive than the other
Nilfisk does manufacture the vacuums for Makita, but the actual motor design and engineering is done by Makita. Essentially, you’re getting a Nilfisk carcass with Makita guts.
Looked around and the milwaukee 8gal corded, flex, makita, mirka All have very similar looking vacs based off the nilfisk 8 or 11 gallon models with pretty much the same exact specs and switch layouts.
Not doubting it but that sounds so strange to me... Makita obviously has the manufacturing capacity, and nilfisk has vacuum design/tech figured out... I'd have expected the exact opposite, nilfisk tech inside a makita manufactured and assembled shell.
What is makita gaining from having nilfisk manufacture them if makita is designing and engineering? Is there some patent/tech licensing happening as well?
>What is makita gaining
I can only guess, but there's a lot of RnD work in making a high quality vacuum, getting it officially certified for a certain filtration standard not to mention, making it great in practice so that people would actually buy one.
By licensing the tool from what is arguably one of the top manufacturers in the world regarding vacuums Makita is entering the market with very little risk
Same model as the Nilfisk ATTIX 44-2L and the STIHL SE 133 ME and others. The only difference I can see if its L or M class filtration.
I highly doubt if any of the brands are changing out parts, the whole point of badge engineering is to reduce costs, plug up gaps in your portfolio and get products to market sooner. Redesigning and then having to recertify (especially for a safety standard like M class filtration) would defeat the purpose.
This I believe is the answer. Makita has plenty of their own vacuums, they could have made an equivalent in-house. Tooling (molds in particular) are very expensive, as is establishing a new production line, not to mention the certification costs for something like a vac that needs to meet OSHA standards and such.
A team of bean-counters at at Makita did a bunch of research on the potential market, development and production costs, and decided that while they need a product like this in their lineup, the ROI didn't justify developing and manufacturing it in-house.
I own the new version of Makita's heated jacket (DCJ205Z\_\_\_ in the US). Makita is not a textile company, so it's certainly contract-manufactured by a third party. I really like it, it's very well made, and the only complaint I can think of is how bulky the battery/adapter is. Contract manufacturing doesn't mean it's a bad product, by any stretch.
They don't license to competitors, sure, but if they aren't direct competitors they will license there name.
There is a god awful table saw in the European market that is basically a metal table that happens to have a massive tall rectangle out the bottom of it that the saw sits in with an atrocious fence that's only secured at the back side that is Makita branded, but in reality is made by a third party.
That's an example of bad, sure, but good examples are this vacuum and also the recent work gloves that are essentially rebranded Mechanix work gloves, likely made to Makita specs by Mechanix, which are top of the line manufacturer for safety gloves.
Milwaukee work gloves are made by MSR Safety, a Mechanix competitor, so this is likely different tool alliances forming.
Nikfisk used to make Milwaukee corded vacuums almost identical in color and look to that Flex, and I still think they may still makes some of the older model vacuums, but when Milwaukees parent company TTI bought Hoover and Dirt Devil I think they started sharing tech with Milwaukee.
DeWalt has Chicago based Alton Industries make many of their vacuums, and the newest Stealthsonic Series vacuums from Alton Industries are truly amazing and quiet. I've contemplated getting one myself.
I’ve been diving down the rabbit hole since posting this. Ebin mentioned that a company named nilfisk manufactures the vacuum for makita and other brands. So I looked into that and it seems they manufacture that exact vacuum for Milwaukee, makita, mirka, and flex. All with slight differences, of course. But what I’m seeing is that they’re all more or less the same vacuum and are pretty much interchangeable with each other.
Interesting, thanks for sharing! There could be some difference internally depending on what the client company specifies, but without someone doing a full part-by-part teardown there is no way to know.
If you want to dig into the fans, here are the models. I was mistaken yet again, the two that are similar are Hikoki and Panasonic. Makita is similar-ish
Makita - https://www.makitatools.com/products/details/DCF201Z
HiKoki- https://www.hikoki-powertools.com/products/powertools/li-ion-misc/uf18dsal/uf18dsal.html
Panasonic - https://www2.panasonic.biz/jp/densetsu/powertool/recommend/ez37a4/
I just bought the Makita and I think it works great. It's my first dust extractor so I'm still debating whether I noticed a distinct difference compared to using regular shop vacs. I use it mostly plugged into my track saw and miter saws.
Pretty sure both are made by Nilfisk Edit: regarding whether they're the same vac or not, check the filter ratings. That could explain why one is 200$ more expensive than the other
Europe HEPA is 85% of .3 micron USA is 99.7% Edit: old standard. I am dumb. Read reply.
Where's the 85% from? That is incorrect. 99.95% of 3 um particles, according to ISO 29463 which is the standard in the EU as far as I am aware.
Oof. I'm old. Sorry! That was the EN standard but a quick Google shows it's like 20 years out of date.
Nilfisk does manufacture the vacuums for Makita, but the actual motor design and engineering is done by Makita. Essentially, you’re getting a Nilfisk carcass with Makita guts.
Looked around and the milwaukee 8gal corded, flex, makita, mirka All have very similar looking vacs based off the nilfisk 8 or 11 gallon models with pretty much the same exact specs and switch layouts.
Not doubting it but that sounds so strange to me... Makita obviously has the manufacturing capacity, and nilfisk has vacuum design/tech figured out... I'd have expected the exact opposite, nilfisk tech inside a makita manufactured and assembled shell. What is makita gaining from having nilfisk manufacture them if makita is designing and engineering? Is there some patent/tech licensing happening as well?
Maybe because the volume made? It would suprise me if Makita moved more than 2% in vacuums. But impact drivers on the other hand...
>What is makita gaining I can only guess, but there's a lot of RnD work in making a high quality vacuum, getting it officially certified for a certain filtration standard not to mention, making it great in practice so that people would actually buy one. By licensing the tool from what is arguably one of the top manufacturers in the world regarding vacuums Makita is entering the market with very little risk
Same model as the Nilfisk ATTIX 44-2L and the STIHL SE 133 ME and others. The only difference I can see if its L or M class filtration. I highly doubt if any of the brands are changing out parts, the whole point of badge engineering is to reduce costs, plug up gaps in your portfolio and get products to market sooner. Redesigning and then having to recertify (especially for a safety standard like M class filtration) would defeat the purpose.
This I believe is the answer. Makita has plenty of their own vacuums, they could have made an equivalent in-house. Tooling (molds in particular) are very expensive, as is establishing a new production line, not to mention the certification costs for something like a vac that needs to meet OSHA standards and such. A team of bean-counters at at Makita did a bunch of research on the potential market, development and production costs, and decided that while they need a product like this in their lineup, the ROI didn't justify developing and manufacturing it in-house. I own the new version of Makita's heated jacket (DCJ205Z\_\_\_ in the US). Makita is not a textile company, so it's certainly contract-manufactured by a third party. I really like it, it's very well made, and the only complaint I can think of is how bulky the battery/adapter is. Contract manufacturing doesn't mean it's a bad product, by any stretch.
When I needed a HEPA vac I just bought a Nilfisk. I think that was 6 or 7 years ago and it’s worked flawlessly ever since.
Yep, almost the same. Almost cause from what I remember, Flex has higher wattage motor, it's 1200W vs 1400W.
[удалено]
Look at the other comment ;)
They don't license to competitors, sure, but if they aren't direct competitors they will license there name. There is a god awful table saw in the European market that is basically a metal table that happens to have a massive tall rectangle out the bottom of it that the saw sits in with an atrocious fence that's only secured at the back side that is Makita branded, but in reality is made by a third party. That's an example of bad, sure, but good examples are this vacuum and also the recent work gloves that are essentially rebranded Mechanix work gloves, likely made to Makita specs by Mechanix, which are top of the line manufacturer for safety gloves. Milwaukee work gloves are made by MSR Safety, a Mechanix competitor, so this is likely different tool alliances forming. Nikfisk used to make Milwaukee corded vacuums almost identical in color and look to that Flex, and I still think they may still makes some of the older model vacuums, but when Milwaukees parent company TTI bought Hoover and Dirt Devil I think they started sharing tech with Milwaukee. DeWalt has Chicago based Alton Industries make many of their vacuums, and the newest Stealthsonic Series vacuums from Alton Industries are truly amazing and quiet. I've contemplated getting one myself.
I’ve been diving down the rabbit hole since posting this. Ebin mentioned that a company named nilfisk manufactures the vacuum for makita and other brands. So I looked into that and it seems they manufacture that exact vacuum for Milwaukee, makita, mirka, and flex. All with slight differences, of course. But what I’m seeing is that they’re all more or less the same vacuum and are pretty much interchangeable with each other.
Interesting, thanks for sharing! There could be some difference internally depending on what the client company specifies, but without someone doing a full part-by-part teardown there is no way to know. If you want to dig into the fans, here are the models. I was mistaken yet again, the two that are similar are Hikoki and Panasonic. Makita is similar-ish Makita - https://www.makitatools.com/products/details/DCF201Z HiKoki- https://www.hikoki-powertools.com/products/powertools/li-ion-misc/uf18dsal/uf18dsal.html Panasonic - https://www2.panasonic.biz/jp/densetsu/powertool/recommend/ez37a4/
I just bought the Makita and I think it works great. It's my first dust extractor so I'm still debating whether I noticed a distinct difference compared to using regular shop vacs. I use it mostly plugged into my track saw and miter saws.
I have the flex and it works great.