A USA-Made Tool Manufacturer: Behind the Scenes of Eagle Grip®
Bringing American-made quality back to manufacturing is what Eagle Grip is all about. As a USA-made tool manufacturer, we value strengthening our communities and economy by keeping jobs local and providing trade pros the specialty tools they need to get the job done right. Since the grand opening of our production facility in DeWitt, NE, our dedicated team of employee-owners has worked tirelessly to design, manufacture, and distribute the world’s toughest and highest quality locking tools. Looking for an inside scoop into what happens behind the scenes at Eagle Grip? We’ve got you covered.
How A USA-Made Tool Manufacturer Operates for Success
Currently, at the Eagle Grip facility, we have 67 employee-owners who know a thing or two about hard work. Midwest values and dedication to craftsmanship baked into every tool is what sets Eagle Grip apart from the competition. When new employees get hired, they receive corporate and department training to set them up for success.
As far as how our staff is allocated within the facility, there are a total of 10 departments, including Assembly, Engineering, Forging, Human Resources, Maintenance, Manufacturing Administration, Planning, Receiving, Second Operations, and Tool & Die. Every day, we strive to work cohesively as a unit among all departments.
To kick off production, steel shipments are delivered every 2–3 months. The steel and all components are sourced from the United States. Typically, it takes about 40–60 steps to produce a single plier or C-clamp, depending on the SKU. The different machines that are used include a forging press, broaching machine, brazing line, punch press for stamped parts, annealing, CNC machining, CNC grinder, induction heat treat, and robotic sanding.
At Eagle Grip, we believe that producing high-quality tools requires strict quality control during each step of the manufacturing process. There are inspection procedures at each station with either hard gauges or criteria to meet if it is a visual inspection. For example, if the jaws are mismatched, the tightness of the joints is off, or the plating appearance is unsatisfactory, we have an opportunity to correct any imperfections that do not meet our standards.
On top of our sourced materials from America, we utilize local vendors in Nebraska for other services to finish our products. These companies include Lincoln Plating in Lincoln, Liberty Boxes in Omaha, and Nebraska Machining in Beatrice.
As a proud USA-made tool manufacturer, we believe that imported tools simply don’t compare to Eagle Grip. Why? Because nowhere else produces quality like America. The spirit of hard work, sweat, and determination are present in every step of our process, all the way through to the end of your toughest job.