Techtronic: "We Have The Vision To Be No. 1"

Five years ago, Ryobi's limited offering of cordless drills accounted for a tiny piece of the U.S. market. Now, Ryobi Ltd. boasts one of the broadest and best-selling product lines at Home Depot Inc. (HD ). In three years, sales of power tools bearing Emerson Electric Co.'s RIDGID brand have tripled. Last year, Milwaukee Electric Tool Corp. helped revolutionize its industry by being among the first companies to introduce cordless tools that use light, long-lasting, rechargeable lithium ion batteries.

The common element in all these successes is Techtronic Industries Co. The Hong Kong company illustrates how far a determined challenger can go by targeting a narrow industry segment -- and then seeking to dominate. By leveraging a huge manufacturing and engineering base in China to drive down costs and speed innovation, it now is shifting into overdrive through acquisitions. Since 2000, Techtronic's sales have surged fivefold, to $3 billion. In that time, its share of the $6 billion U.S. electric power tool market has grown from less than 5% to more than 20%, says market research firm Freedonia Group Inc. Black & Decker Corp. (BDK ) still holds a commanding 30% share, but Techtronic is thinking big. "We have the vision to be No. 1, and we believe we can do it," says Chairman Horst J. Pudwill, a former Volkswagen executive.