General, Bosch expand their American footprint

On behalf of Woodshop News, I had the privilege recently to visit General International's new U.S. distribution center in Murfreesboro, Tenn., and the U.S. headquarters of Bosch Power Tools and Accessories in Mount Prospect, Ill.

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In a nutshell, here's what I learned:

General, based in Montreal, has established the warehouse in Tennessee to better serve its U.S. customers. With the product already in the country, border shipping costs and custom clearance bureaucracy are now a thing of the past. Scott Box, former president of Powermatic and Steel City Tool Works, has set up the whole deal, the warehouse is completely stocked and shipments have begun.

General will unveil 12 new machines at IWF 2010 in Atlanta, including a 1-1/2-hp dust collector, 13" planer with helical cutterhead, 7" molder, 2-hp 10" left-tilt table saw, two 14" band saws (including one with a 12" resaw capacity) and an Excaliber 16" scroll saw.

The company is also expanding its relatively new line of small-shop CNC machinery.

Bosch will be introducing more than 70 new tools and accessories for the construction and woodworking markets, including two (fixed and plunged-base) 2.3-hp routers, a slew of lithium-ion-powered cordless tools, and a 12" dual-bevel miter saw that has a hinged or articulating glide arm system rather than a traditional sliding rail system.

We'll provide more information on many of these tools in upcoming issues, along with details on upcoming visits with Stanley Bostitch and DeWalt.

Sponsor announced

A sponsor has been secured for the new public television woodworking program, "Rough Cut - Woodworking with Tommy Mac," scheduled to debut this fall. Tommy Mac is Thomas MacDonald, principal of Thomas J. MacDonald Furniture in Canton, Mass.

Woodcraft, a supplier of woodworking products and educational opportunities, has agreed to be the exclusive corporate sponsor, according to show producer WGBH in Boston.

"We believe Tommy is ushering in a fresh, new age for woodworking programming and this pairs perfectly with our objective to stay in front of new, as well as experienced, woodworkers. WGBH Boston's leadership in the development and production of how-to programming is unmatched, and we look forward to a successful partnership," says Jeff Forbes, president of Woodcraft.

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This article originally appeared in the July 2010 issue.