Blount now Oregon Tool

Blount unveiled a new corporate name that positions the company 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. He designed a new saw chain with his learnings 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. According to the company, 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 more than 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. It manufactures saw chain and guide bars for chainsaws and diamond saw chain for concrete and pipe, agricultural tractor attachments, and original equipment manufacturer 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. “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 said its 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 and supporting those who work in it.

The shift from Blount to Oregon Tool will be effective June 2.