Curtis-Toledo, Inc. history

In only a few years Frank and his father would come to own Empire Saw Works and in 1858 they would change the name of the company to “Curtis & Hiles.” After some time, they change the name again to “Curtis & Co.”

During the 19th century, the city of St Louis, including Curtis & Co., produced over 80% of the nation’s saws and saw mill machinery. It was then in 1897 that Curtis started to produce the Master Line (ML) series, which is still being produced by FS-Curtis in St Louis today!

In 1904, Curtis and Company Manufacturing Company purchased 20 acres of land where a steel foundry was built to produce Curtis products and other steel materials.

By 1954 they were the Curtis Saw Division of Curtis Manufacturing Co.

By 1956, the large foundry was shut down as the company focused on a more refined product line.

In 1974 Curtis purchased Toledo Beaver Tools of Toledo, Ohio.

Either way, Wyle failed to understand and fix Curtis' problems, and then in 1976 they attempted to reduce costs by consolidating Curtis' St Louis and Toledo operations into their St Louis plant, selling off excess machines, and laying off a significant portion of the workers.

At the end of 1978 Wyle sold the division for $5.6 million, to Wyle employee Ken Carpenter, who operated them as Curtis-Toledo, Inc.

In 2005 Curtis-Toledo, Inc. became FS-Curtis after being purchased by Fusheng Industrial, a company that specializes in manufacturing a broad range of products from air compressors to golf club heads.