Vermont American

Vermont American

is a tool company which has been in business since November, 1947. For over sixty years the company has manufactured tools and accessories. The business began when Lee B. Thomas, Sr., founded the American Saw & Tool Company in 1947. Lee realized the progress in the development of power tools and the need for replacement parts for cutting tools. While growing up, Lee worked in his father’s hardware store and while in college he studied merchandising. He later worked for the Ernst Hardware Co., then later became a buyer for R. H. Macy Company, and head of the hardware department. He then spent 12 years with Butler Brothers in charge of merchandising. He was also the President of Ekco Products, which manufactures household products. All of this experience gave him the courage to venture out on his own and the idea of replacement blades and parts was what made him and his company so successful.

The company began their business with one customer which was Sears and Roebuck & Co. The only product they made was the circular saw blade and it was made in the old American Elevator Plant (where he had worked previously), in Louisville, Kentucky. They sent out their first shipment of blades in the first week of January in 1948. Lee had two other helpers in the beginning and they were former workers of American Elevator Company too. The were W. E. (Gene) Cowley, who was in charge of taking care of the engineering functions, and John Beam managed the administrative end of the business. They used some of the old elevator equipment for a while because they had a low budget. They used them to make their prototype saw blade. They later war surplus machines, gear cutters, and grinders to expand the business.

All of the bits and blades that the company carries are backed by a prove-it-to-yourself lifetime guarantee. The blades and bits are made to fit any and all brands of tools so they are universal. They are designed to meet the toughest jobs at home or on the jobsite. Every blade and bit carries the Vermont American name with pride because they strive to make the best and have very strict standards.

Vermont American is one of the companies’s divisions within the $1 billion category and has 4,000 employees, of the Robert Bosch Tool Corporation. This is a North American brand of the largest power tool and accessory manufacturer in the world.