Blount, Inc., the Portland, Oregon-based manufacturer of professional-grade cutting tools and equipment, has unveiled a new corporate name: Oregon Tool. All of the company’s brands and products will operate under the umbrella of Oregon Tool.
Oregon Tool was selected as the company’s new name to honor its heritage, the company reports. The company was founded by Joe Cox in 1947 in the basement of his Portland home. Cox studied the timber beetle larva to better understand how to cut wood more efficiently, then designed a new saw chain 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.
Today, the newly named Oregon Tool has more than 3,000 employees and sells thousands of products in more than 110 countries across multiple consumer brands, including Oregon, Woods and ICS Diamond Tools, among others. The company’s portfolio comprises precision cutting tools for forestry; lawn and garden; farming; ranching and agriculture; and concrete cutting and finishing.
“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,” says 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 to Oregon Tool will be effective June 2.