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Systainer

modular plastic containers for transporting power tools

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General referenceInterpretive dossier study · Crown Archives visual atlas
Record originEnglish Wikipedia
Text licenseCC BY-SA 4.0
Source revisionJan 6, 2026
Entity authorityQ55634525
Source-derived summary

Systainers (from sys-tem con-tainers) are modular inter-stacking plastic containers used for transporting power tools. Boxes from different manufacturers are compatible and can be stacked and clipped together. A design using four joining clips was introduced by Festool Tooltechnic in 1993. In 2010 the T-Loc variant was introduced using a rotating handle for connecting and locking of containers, in combination with redesigned feet.

To reduce plastic pollution, Festool designed the Systainer to first allow distribution of products, then be reused in stacking form as reusable packaging for tool transportation and storage.

Several power tool manufacturers use or offer Systainer-compatible variants. Other manufacturers use the alternative Sortimo L-BOXX design.

The term "Systainer" was trademarked in the United States in January 1994.

Dimensions

Variations

In 2009, the design of Tanos' T-Loc stacking boxes was registered in the name of Timo Kuhls.

In 2011, the design of Makita's Makpac stacking boxes was registered in the names of Yuji Yamamoto and Kiyozumi Kokawa.

Editorial summary

“Systainer” enters the record as modular plastic containers for transporting power tools. Crown Archives preserves that source wording while asking what Systainer, modular and plastic can confirm, complicate or overturn.

Editorial reviewA practical starting point whose main value is the path it opens into stronger specialist and primary sources. The current lead gives the account dated anchors—1993, 2010, 1994, 2009—that can be checked directly. The selected authority fields contribute no independent date. Its strongest next move is a source search built around Systainer, modular and plastic.
Editorial analysis

Why this record matters

“Systainer” is worth following because a concise public description often conceals a longer documentary argument. Here, Systainer, modular and plastic provides the most credible route into that argument.

Evidence profile

The citation trail is more important than the brevity of the summary: it shows where individual claims can be examined in context. The source revision retrieved here is dated Jan 6, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q55634525. The first chronological checks are 1993, 2010, 1994 and 2009.

Critical limits

The absence of detail may reflect summary conventions rather than a lack of surviving documentation. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.

How to read it

Use the entry as an orientation point, then follow its citations and revision history. Names, dates and institutional relationships should be checked against the original record.

Best used for
  • Subject orientation
  • Search vocabulary
  • Locating named sources
Verify next

The closest primary source, responsible institution and strongest cited specialist reference.

Three-step research path

  1. Establish the record: confirm the title “Systainer”, its source revision and the description used here.
  2. Expand the search: follow Systainer primary sources, Systainer archive and Systainer research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
  3. Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.

Questions for further research

  1. Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Systainer”?
  2. Which institution is responsible for the underlying evidence?
  3. What terminology or title could unlock a more precise catalogue search?
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Source & attribution

This entry incorporates text from Systainer” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.