One of the early lessons learned by Simonds' management team was the value of vertical integration - controlling major portions of what goes into one's products. For example, Simonds opened its steel mill in order to control its own raw material. Another item that was very important in the manufacture of just about all saw blades back in the early part of the 20th century was grinding wheels, for forming and sharpening teeth, as well as leveling and tapering saws. In the 1920's, Simonds was on the hunt!
The two major players in the grinding wheel market at the time were A. P. Desanno and The Abrasive Company, both of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. In June of 1927, Simonds purchased The Abrasive Co. Founded in 1893 as The Abrasive Material Co., the company had developed a reputation as an innovator in the abrasives market. In addition to their expansive Philadelphia manufacturing plant complex located at Fraley and Tacony Streets (built in 1912), they had a compounding plant in Hamilton, Ontario.
Simonds Canada Abrasive Co. completed construction on a new Crude Abrasives Plant in Arvida, Quebec in 1938, moving the Hamilton plant to this site. The new facility featured hydroelectricity from the powerful dams at nearby Lac St. Jean.
In early 1946, The Abrasive Company was renamed the Simonds Abrasive Co., becoming a full operating division of Simonds Saw & Steel, and their products were sold alongside saws, knives and files by the full Simonds sales force.
The Philadelphia abrasives plant underwent a $4,000,000 expansion and modernization of the facility in 1951 - the first modernization of the plant since before Simonds purchased it. In 1967, Simonds Abrasive started construction on a modern one-level manufacturing plant in Salem, Illinois. The new plant was on a 100-acre plot and cost $1,000,000 to complete. The new 50,000 square foot plant opened in 1968.
In 1975, The Simonds Abrasive Co. was sold off by Wallace Murray to Unicorn Industries of Windsor, England (operating under the Universal Abrasives brand). A few years later, Unicorn sold the business unit to M&R Industries/DeSanno of Philadelphia. The new business, known as DeSanno-Universal, consolidated operations into the expanded Salem, Illinois plant in 1983. The name was changed to Radiac in 1985, a name that is quite strong in the abrasives market still today.