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On the occasion of their 90th anniversary, German power tool manufacturer Festool invited a small group of journalists to a weeklong media event at their headquarters in southern Germany. As the sole design publication in attendance (the rest were from the trades), Core77 made it a point to learn about what sets the innovative company's designs apart—and how they do it. The following series of articles is a result of the trip.

Part 1: Introduction

An introduction to the company, and Festool's growing base of American power tool users.

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Part 2: A History of Power Tool Innovation

In this rare look inside Festool's private museum, we see that creating innovative tools has been baked into the organization from the start.

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Part 3: The Thinking that Drives the Company

Festool develops products by starting at the end, with what comes out of a customer's mouth. Here we learn the five points that guide the company's decisions.

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Part 4: Festool's Design Process

Here we take a closer look at how Festool brought a new power tool, the Conturo, into existence. We also see that they're not afraid to start over from scratch in order to get the design right.

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Part 5: Q&A with Festool Industrial Designer Timo Kuhls

Festool works with just two(!) industrial designers, only one of them in-house. Here we get to chat with in-house ID'er Timo Kuhls on what it's like to design for Festool—and we get to see the cool project that got him the job!

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Part 6: Behind the Scenes with Festool's Testing & Quality Control

It's one thing to design and build innovative tools, but how can you be sure they'll stand up to jobsite abuse? Where does durability come from? Here we see Festool's intensive testing and quality control taking the crucial, unsung steps in maintaining the company's reputation.

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Part 7: Ten Modern-Day Innovations

In Part 2 we looked at the inventions that got Festool onto the map. Here we look at the more recent innovations that have kept them there. It was tough narrowing this list down to just ten.

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Part 8: The Wrap-Up

Fun Festool facts like where the Systainer came from, why they won't make a laser, the role of professional tool users vs. hobbyists, and more.

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