SIC 3425 Saw Blades and Handsaws

SIC 3425

This category covers establishments primarily engaged in manufacturing handsaws and saw blades for hand- and power-driven saws. Establishments primarily engaged in manufacturing power-driven sawing machines are classified in the major group for industrial and commercial machinery and computer equipment.

NAICS CODE(S)

332213

Saw Blade and Handsaw Manufacturing

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, roughly 175 establishments operate in this category. Industry-wide employment in 2000 totaled 9,724 workers receiving a payroll of almost $344 million; 6,703 of these employees worked in production, putting in almost 14 million hours to earn wages of more than $196 million. Overall shipments for the industry were valued at approximately $1.293 billion in 2005.

After 2001, the U.S. Census Bureau combined the saw blades and handsaws industry with another, for the purpose of tracking employment, to form the larger category of hand tool and saw blade manufacturing. Industry-wide employment in this larger category was 44,271 workers in 2004 (down from 51,603 in 2002) receiving a payroll of $1.7 billion. Of these employees, 31,758 worked in production, putting in more than 63 million hours to earn total wages of $1 billion.

Blount International Inc. of Montgomery, Alabama, the industry leader at the time with 1998 sales of almost $832 million and 5,300 employees, merged with Lehman Brothers Merchant Banking Partners II L.P. in an April 1999 consolidation worth $1.35 billion. By 2003, Blount had moved its headquarters to Portland, Oregon. Sales in 2005 year totaled $756 million. Vermont American Corp. of Louisville, Kentucky held second place in the industry with sales of more than $400 million. In 1998, Vermont American implemented training and teamwork programs for its nonunionized manufacturing workers and its unionized distribution center workers, resulting in improved customer service, improved turnover of inventory, and profits surpassing corporate projections. In 2000, Robert Bosch GmbH raised its stake in Vermont American from 50 percent to 100 percent, making it a wholly owned subsidiary. Other industry leaders included Black & Decker Corp.'s Power Tools and Accessories division of Towson, Maryland; L.S. Starrett Co. of Athol, Massachusetts; and W.C.I. Outdoor Products Inc. of Nashville, Arkansas.

Shipments for the saw blades and handsaws industry fell steadily throughout the late 1990s and early...

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