• By Brandon Wilson
• Posted 11/15/2022

The Blades Have Arrived - So Has the Snow!

We took over Florian in the midst of a Connecticut heat wave.  It was so hot in the warehouse, I thought I would keel over.  Nothing says "delays" like starting something in the heat and humidity and finishing it in the snow and cold!  But here we are today, with a clear path toward sustained production!

When you decide to take over a company that has been shut down for a few years, you have to expect that there will be "gaps" in knowledge, inventory, technology or equipment.  We got a lot of great stuff (50 pallets worth) when we took control of Florian assets.  What we did not get is end-to-end equipment and technology for making pruner blades.  We got started with the finished pruners and ready-to-go blades that were already in the inventory, but soon that ran out and we had to go through all the searching and learning you would expect when you try to do something totally new.  We did a nationwide search to find a company that was both a.) capable of making blades as good, or better, than what Florian has used in the past and b.) Made in the USA.  This started in August and today, November 15, we finally have our first batch of sharpened blades we can use to catch up on all of our backorders!    We also have a continuous supply forthcoming.   We have found that contemporary methods for creating parts like this have changed with the widespread popularity of laser cutting of pre-hardened steel...this eliminates the need to maintain aging stamping tooling and the separate step of heat treating.  We will be studying and examining blades over the next year.  But I am content now, because I know I will make this product as good, or better, than it has ever been.  Right now we are Freshman, but we're learning fast.