Who Owns Worx?

Positec began in 1994 in Suzhou as an original equipment manufacturer, producing hand tools and power tools for Western brands including Black & Decker. When its biggest customers moved production in house in the late 1990s, founder Don Gao decided to build Positec's own brands rather than remain a contract supplier.

The Worx brand launched in 2004, aimed squarely at consumers: lightweight, ergonomic lawn and garden equipment and DIY tools rather than professional contractor gear. Italian designer Paolo Andriolo shaped early products, and a successful infomercial for the Worx GT lawn trimmer in 2007, which sold more than 300,000 units in a year, cracked open big box retail distribution.

Positec hired former tool executive Tom Duncan to run North America from Charlotte, and in 2005 to 2007 acquired rights to the Rockwell tool brand and the German Kress brand, creating a three tier portfolio: Worx for consumers, Rockwell for prosumer, Kress for professional landscaping.

Worx expanded steadily through the 2010s around its Power Share battery platform, which lets one 20V pack run everything from drills to trimmers. Its standout product is the Landroid robotic mower: Positec has sold more than one million robotic mowers, and the wire free Landroid Vision was Europe's best selling robotic mower in 2024, making Worx the global leader in that category per GfK omni channel data.