Our History

1983 – The Beginning
Union Grove Saw and Knife, Inc. was founded in 1983 by Ed Bissell with a strong desire to become a regional tool company known for exceptional service and quality. Today we service over 300 customers. Most importantly we still service and maintain the original 10 accounts we began with.

The keys to our success have been accomplished by building a team of employees dedicated to serving our customers in a way they should be served. We pay close attention to producing and servicing quality products in a timely manner using tried and proven techniques. We are known for being competitively priced while delivering a consistently high standard of workmanship and quality products. We are proud to have done this while maintaining a timely delivery with each and every order.

In today’s competitive environment we understand the need to be highly organized for maximum efficiency and cost savings to remain competitive. This is our culture and most importantly our workforce understands this with every operation that is performed. This combined with our desire to only provide the highest quality service has allowed us to remain steadfast in the marketplace regardless of the economic conditions the woodworking industry has been faced with over the past decade.

Our goal is to form long term partnering relationships with customers who seek to gain a competitive advantage thru better management of their cutting tool resources. We are committed to helping you achieve better management and efficiency of your tooling which results in a lower total cost of ownership and utilization. While it may sound cliché our goal has always been to become the leading service provider in the Southeast.

To realize that goal we embarked upon a mission in 2012 of "Advancing the Science of Cutting Tool Technology". We began offering more complex cutting tools and solutions with the installation of more advanced production equipment. We began working with new suppliers and industry leading experts on the development of carbide grades, saw blade geometries and other tooling enhancements dedicated to providing more value to our customer base.

2016 – The Rebirth
To further realize that goal and to insure the long term success of our company we are making significant changes in 2016. A large selection of highly specialized equipment is being installed in our Union Grove facility as the result of a unique partnership created by Ed Bissell and Anthony DeHart. Both individuals have vast experience in the cutting tool industry and are seasoned entrepreneurs that recognize the need to focus your efforts and energy on your best most effective use of time and talents. Bissell has a passion for being in the production environment and applying quality control at every step in the manufacturing process. DeHart enjoys helping customers and brings a strong sense of front office skill sets to the table. This unique combination combines to form an excellent management team that truly understands the needs of our industry and is making substantial commitments to continue the growth and goals long ago established by both individuals.

The new company will now have over 125 pieces of specialized equipment all dedicated to servicing cutting tools. This equipment along with a highly-trained staff provides the highest level of craftsmanship and tooling specifications within the industry. We are now fully equipped to handle the secondary woodworking industry markets just as effectively as we have serviced the primary markets in recent years.

We have expanded our ability to provide indexable carbide insert knives both new and replacement to the market at large. We will offer insert knives in multiple carbide grade configurations and have coating capabilities where some improvements have been shown to be very effective. We will also be offering carbide insert knives for all standard applications, ICK knives and planner knives for all standard tool bodies.

Our new management team and the core employees within our organization have a vast experience in not only the production and design of cutting tools but most importantly the disciplines surrounding the effective selection, utilization and maintenance for the lowest possible total cost.

To further supplement that goal and provide the highest level of quality to our customer base we will be introducing the Phoenix brand of cutting tools to our customer base. Phoenix is a well-known story of re-birth and was very fitting for our company. Phoenix tools will be available in Carbide Tipped and PCD Tipped Circular Saw Blades, Insert Tooling for the woodworking Industry, Solid Carbide Tools and much more.

Our Core Business Strengths Include

• Consistently reliable delivery of a consistent quality service  
•  A dedicated technical staff with over 120 years of combined tooling expertise
• Technical support and training to our customers as an integral part of our commitment
• Application Specific Cutting Tools refined to your Production Requirements 
• Total lower cost of Ownership for all of your Cutting Tool Resources