Blount International, Inc. unveiled a new corporate name that positions it for growth while honoring its heritage: Oregon Tool. The global manufacturer of professional grade cutting tools and equipment selected Oregon Tool as its new name to harness the power of its pioneering origin story.
The company was founded by Joe Cox in 1947 in the basement of his Portland home. Inspired by nature – a timber beetle larva to be exact – Cox studied the creature to better understand how to cut wood more efficiently. With his learnings, he designed a new saw chain that was modeled after the larva’s alternating C-shape jaws. He called it the “Cox Chipper Chain” and started the Oregon Saw Chain Corp. to produce it. Cox’s saw chain revolutionized the timber industry, and it remains widely used today around the globe.
Over the years, the company has grown into a multinational organization with numerous acquisitions and mergers. Today, the newly named Oregon Tool has over 3,000 team members and sells thousands of products in more than 110 countries across multiple consumer brands, among them Oregon, Woods and ICS Diamond Tools. The company is the world’s #1 manufacturer of saw chain and guide bars for chainsaws and diamond saw chain for concrete and pipe, a leading manufacturer of agricultural tractor attachments, and the leading original equipment manufacturer (OEM) supplier of first-fit and replacement parts.
“We are certainly proud of where we’ve been and where we are, but we’re even more excited about where we’re going as Oregon Tool,” said Oregon Tool CEO Paul Tonnesen. “Because Oregon is the undisputed leader in the global bar and saw chain market, we are confident the inspiration and momentum inherent in the name Oregon Tool will help our organization achieve our goals in the years ahead, including aggressive growth across brands and launching into adjacent categories. We will also go beyond serving the professional end user and expand how we’re serving the do-it-yourself consumer.”
In addition to launching into adjacent categories, the company’s growth strategy includes: evolving its branding across product lines, building on its legacy of innovation and leaning into global stewardship to promote the sustainability of the industry as well as to support those who work in it.
The shift from Blount International to Oregon Tool will be effective June 2. Tonnesen said that the brands and reliable, high-quality products that customers have come to know and trust will remain the same – they will simply operate under the umbrella of Oregon Tool instead of Blount International. To learn more, visit www.oregontool.com.
About Oregon Tool
Oregon Tool is a global, premium-branded, aftermarket-driven precision cutting-tool platform. The company’s portfolio of brands specializes in professional grade precision cutting tools for forestry, lawn and garden; farming, ranching and agriculture; and concrete cutting and finishing. Headquartered in Portland, Oregon, with a multinational manufacturing and distribution footprint, Oregon Tool sells its products in more than 110 countries under the Oregon®, Woods®, ICS®, Pentruder®, Merit®, Carlton® and SpeeCo® brands. The company is the world’s #1 manufacturer of saw chain and guide bars for chainsaws and diamond saw chain for concrete and pipe, a leading manufacturer of agricultural tractor attachments, and the leading OEM supplier of first-fit and replacement parts. Learn more at www.oregontool.com.
About Woods Equipment
With a reputation for innovative, high-quality implements and attachments, Woods products are sold throughout North America—as well as in Europe, Latin America, and Australia—through a dealer network of agricultural, landscape, and construction professionals. Woods products are manufactured to American Welding Society standards; tested in rigorous, real-life conditions, and comply with recommended industry safety standards. Woods, a brand of Blount International’s Farm, Ranch and Agriculture Division, is headquartered in Oregon, Illinois.
