Over the years, Simonds has grown through the acquisition of a lot of companies, and January has been an especially fruitful month for finalizing deals! Here's a quick look at some of the acquisitions Simonds has completed during the month of January:
1889 - The Holyoke Bar & Metal Co. of Holyoke, Massachusetts is acquired. This company and its sixteen employees make engine bar plates and printing machinery, which are additions to the existing Simonds product offering of the time.
1906 - The Canada Saw Co. of Montreal, Quebec is acquired and renamed The Simonds Canada Saw Co. As a result of Simonds success in Canada, the company sees a need to be able to manufacture in Canada, and thus this acquisition. In addition to its brand new factory at St. Remi St. and Acorn St. in Montreal, Canada Saw also has service centers located in St. John, NB; Ottawa, ON and Toronto, ON. Canada Saw itself was the product of the 1904 merger of The James Robertson Saw Company (founded in 1868) and The Ottawa Saw Company (founded in 1893). Simonds is now truly an international player!
1913 - The St. Lawrence Saw & Steel Works Co. Ltd. of Sorel, Quebec is acquired, to further expand the range of saws and machine knives made and sold in Canada. This business is quickly merged into the Montreal factory.
1989 - The Michigan Knife Company of Big Rapids, Michigan is acquired. Michigan Knife was founded in 1974 and in 15 short years grew significantly through five acquisitions of its own. At the time of the acquisition, Michigan Knife has additional facilities in Springfield, Oregon; Greenville, Mississippi; Vancouver, British Columbia and Laval, Quebec. This acquisition firmly re-establishes Simonds in the machine knife business, a business we have been in since the 1840's.
1992 - Wespa Metallsagenfabrik-Lorenz Weisel KG of Spangenberg, Germany is acquired. This acquisition represents Simonds' first manufacturing facility outside of the U.S. or Canada. Wespa, founded in 1950, is a manufacturer of carbon and bimetal bandsaw blades. The business is incorporated as Simonds Industries GmbH, and Wespa's European market presence strengthens greatly Simonds' world market share of metal cutting saw blades.
2001 - The Nicholson Bandsaw Division of Cooper Tools, in Greenville, Mississippi, is acquired. This acquisition unites two great saw-making traditions under one name, as Nicholson itself had entered the saw-making market through its earlier acquisition of such storied brands as Atkins and Barnes. The Greenville facility opened in 1961 under the Atkins Saw name - all the equipment is moved to Fitchburg by the end of June, 2001.
So, as you can see, January has been a busy and significant month in the history of our grand old company, and we look forward to many more January milestones in the years ahead!