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Date: 9/16/2015
EAST LONGMEADOW – American Saw and Manufacturing recently celebrated its 100th anniversary during a ceremony in front of the Lenox/American Saw facility at 301 Chestnut St.
Bill Burke, chief operating officer at Newell Rubbermaid, which owns Lenox and American Saw, said there are not many companies that have lasted a century to a crowd of 100 people from countries across the world.
“We’re not only celebrating this first 100 years; we’re celebrating what will be the next 100 years,” he added.
Board of Selectmen Chair Paul Federici also congratulated the company for doing business in the town since 1915.
Burke said Newell Rubbermaid employs 500 people at the East Longmeadow facility and 900 people around the world in factories in China, Brazil and Europe.
"We specialize in cutting products – bandsaw blades, reciprocating saw blades, whole saws – and the way you need to think about it is, bandsaw blades go on big machines that cut steel to make automobiles, planes, [and] bridges, and we also manufacture the accessories that go in hand tools,” he added.
In 2002, American Saw and Manufacturing was sold to Newell Rubbermaid for $450 million and there were concerns in the region, Burke said.
“If you think about it, back then there was a lot of concern with this $6 billion company coming in and destroying what was special here,” he added. “I was fortunate to come in as the first president and my biggest mission was not to mess things up here and keep what was special and build on it and with the power of Newell Rubbermaid investments to make it bigger and more global.”
Burke said he believes the fears about Newell Rubbermaid taking over American Saw have diminished since 2002.
“There are very few companies that still manufacture in the [United States], never mind in Western Massachusetts,” he added. “This is company that not only manufactures in Western Massachusetts, but sells its products in China and competes with China.”
He believes that more manufacturing companies should operate within the United States.
Burke said the company recently unveiled a new product within the past year, including a Lenox Gold power arc curved reciprocating saw blade used by demonstration expert Lee “Hackman” Breton to cut through a wooden 100th anniversary American Saw birthday cake.
“It’s faster than any other product,” he added. “It’s one of the first ever curved reciprocating [saw blades].”
Breton, who has been demonstrating saw blades since the 1980s, said with traditional saw blades, one could cut faster by rocking the blades back and forth. With the curved blade, there is no need to rock the blade.