More from the Matco Show

The Matco Tool Fair was held at Rosen Shingle Creek Resort in Orlando, FL this year. The sun was shining hot outside and the tools were hot on the inside of the show as well.

With more than 920 distributors, 90,000 sq. ft. of expo space, 110 suppliers and 170 new products with more than 65 New & Exclusives — Matco rocked Orlando. While the Expo floor was filled with celebrities — including Top Fuel Dragsters Cory McClenathan, Tony Schumacher, “Hot” Rod Fuller and Antron Brown — the real stars of the show were the Matco distributors who came from across the country to see what the suppliers and Matco had new to offer. Matco also rewarded the Top 200 distributors with a sneak preview hour on the Tool Expo floor.
Courtney Hansen, host of Spike TV’s “Powerblock” and new spokesperson for Matco, interviewed suppliers throughout the show, including Bill Fletcher from Mayhew Tools and Jon Bielfeldt of Lisle Tools. A compilation of those interviews will be produced into a DVD that will be played on Matco distributors’ trucks.

Mayhew wins Award

I know, I know, when am I going to get off the Mac Tool Fair ride and move onto something else?

Well, I would be a bad tool blogger if I didn't mention that this year, Mayhew Tools won Vendor of the Year from Mac Tools. It came as a complete surprise to the Mayhew team. As a result, Bill Fletcher anointed himself President of Mayhew for the moment when he accepted the award. That's him in the picture to the right, extolling the benefits of owning a Mayhew pry bar to a Mac Tool distributor. The photo does nothing to capture the excitement he felt at earning this prestigious award. It is tough to get. And, to set the record straight, usually, John Lawless is President of the company. Congratulations Mayhew team!

OK - I am officially done with the Mac Tools Tool Fair for this year. Moving on to other tool and equipment news in my next blog.

News from this Week

None of this is late-breaking or hot off the presses, it was already reported by Babcox previously this week, but in case you didn't see it, I thought I'd repeat it here.

Bob Pond dropped me a note to announce the 100 Year Anniversary of Central Tools, in Cranston RI. That's exciting stuff! There are a handful of tool and equipment manufacturers in our market that can make that claim, but not many. So many tool companies have been purchased or merged or simply gone out of business. Congratulations Bob, Bruce Dawson, and the rest of the Central Tools team on a significant accomplishment. Best wishes for another hundred years of success!

And, speaking of a 100-year-old company, allow me to shamelessly segue into another announcement. Yesterday, my old alma-mater, Ken-Tool made a joint announcement with Mayhew Tools about a deal they are working on. Mayhew is planning to acquire the brand name, assets, and manufacturing capabilities for the Oldforge and Carica brands. Congratulations to both companies, and the principals involved: Alec Pendleton and John Lawless! (By the way, it is Mayhew who celebrated 100 years last year.)