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The big news at the AWFS show came from a Canadian company. General International announced plans to restructure and expand into the United States to improve its operations in the lower 48. The company wants to reinforce and increase its U.S. sales presence and market share. General International wants its U.S. customers to easily find General Manufacturing, General International and Excalibur products.
To accomplish that objective, the company brought in a big gun. You may recognize the guy on the left in the above photo standing over a granite-top General table saw, alongside Norm Frampton. Two years back, at AWFS 2007, Scott Box rocked the woodworking world with a granite-top table saw. As you can see in the photo, Mr. Box , formally a major player at Steel City Tool Works , is wearing a General International shirt; he has assumed the role of Operations Manager for the newly expanded U.S. division of General International.
The company says a U.S. warehouse and distribution center will be centrally located in the states. With Box’s base in Tennessee, I wonder where that location might be , Murfreesboro, maybe?
At the same time, General International has added several new Territory Sales Managers including Craig Walls, Curt Thomas and Tom Guertin.
I’d keep an eye on General International in the next few years. Things should change, and change for the better.
What did General show at AWFS this year?
– A new 17″ drill press with a redesigned casting to accommodate a full 6″ stroke, and a variable speed 1-horsepower motor, all priced at $877.50 (model # 75-260 M1)
– An 8″ parallelogram jointer (80-225HC M1) for $3,780 that features a “Magnum Helical Cutter Head” (check out the collapsing handles)
– A mini-lathe duplicator (25-024) that fits most lathes with throws from 6″ to 14″. The duplicator hits the market in September at $315 and handles lengths up to 19-7/8″ and diameters to 7″, and can work from an original turning or off a template.
Availability dates for the jointer and drill press are to be determined.
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So is General International the new "Steel City"?
Scott Box was a big driving force behind Steel City and after his departure I wonder how Steel City will fare. I also wonder how Steel City feels about one of their former principals joining a rival. Their 17" drill press was very well received and although the full specs on General’s drill press are not listed, I wonder if that has split head casting too; currently only available on Steel City drill press.
The tangled web we weave. 🙂