For immediate release December 20, 2006
Contact: Tom Ruzich
(760) 765-0597
PRESS RELEASE
CUTTERS EDGE ANNOUNCES RELOCATION PLAN
Cutters Edge, a division of Edge Industries, Inc. has announced plans to relocate their manufacturing facility from Julian, California to Baker City, Oregon. The company is a manufacturer of Multi-Cut™ firerescue saws.
On a tip from former Baker City Fire Chief Tim Frost, Economic Development CoordinatorTroy Phillips began corresponding with Tom Ruzich, the president of Cutters Edge, in May of 2005. “This is precisely the type of company we want to focus our efforts on; a company with small town roots and the ability to create family wage jobs”, said Phillips. “Tom has been fantastic to work with, you seldom meet an individual of his character”, added Phillips. After two visits to the area and much due diligence, Mr. Ruzich chose BakerCity over locations in Idaho andMontana. “Baker City’s small town rural atmosphere, coupled with its proximity to a major transportation route, are just two of the reasons Cutters Edge chose the community as our new home”, stated Ruzich. His love of the mountains and affinity for outdoor activities also made BakerCounty an ideal relocation choice.
Ruzich said that the company is in the process of purchasing two acres at the ElkhornViewIndustrial Park in BakerCity and plans to begin construction of a manufacturing facility in the summer of 2007. Construction and the subsequent relocation will take several months; operations are scheduled to begin in March of 2008. The company will bring three or four key people with them to BakerCity and initially hire six to nine people from the local labor pool.
In 1984, Tom Ruzich, a California forest ranger and firefighter at the time, developed a carbide-tipped chain that stayed sharp when cutting most building materials and suffered substantially less carbide breakage. Ruzich’s improved chain made using a chainsaw with a carbide-tipped chain cost-effective, and in 1985, Cutters Edge was founded to manufacture that chain. Seeing the need for a “dedicated” fire rescue saw, in 1987 Cutters Edge introduced the first chainsaw engineered specifically for the fire rescue service.
In 1993, Cutters Edge developed the BULLET® Chain. The BULLET® Chain was the first, and is still the only chain that does not use a modified standard wood cutting chain with carbide attached to it. In 1998, the company then introduced the first gasoline-powered concrete-cutting chainsaw. Today, Cutters Edge is recognized around the world as the benchmark for ventilation saws, fire rescue saws, and cutting chain.