Private Factory Tour at Oster

Last Monday on our way back from the Nashville Sharpeners Workshop we had a stop in McMinnville, TN. It is rare to get a tour through the Oster facilities and we were delighted when Casper Kizer graciously extended an invitation to tour the factories. We have known Cas for over 12 years when he was a sharpener at the Arius Eickert plant in Ohio. At the time, Eickert was private labeling several of our popular shears including the ProMaster and the currently discontinued International Twister.

Since Oster purchased Eickert they have moved the scissor making factory into their clipper factory, making Cas the manager of the scissor factory section. Not everything was in place, but we were super impressed with what we saw. Their factory was very different than some of the videos we had viewed about overseas operations. Most workers I talked to had been with Oster for 20+. Every step in the scissor making operation had a check before it was allowed to move on to the next phase. Cas showed me a large rack of their reject scissors. Nothing was allowed out except the best of the best. (Note: Many of the Arius Eickert and Oster scissors are imported. However, their top-of-the-line shears are made with pride at the North Carolina plant.)

Cas gave up his whole morning for us. We not only viewed the scissor making process, but the clipper making, forging, warehouse, shampoo factory and the sharpening / warranty facility. What a morning!

I had a whole list of questions he asked which he answered including: Which is first the bend or the rideline? How is set put into the shears? (His answered floored me!) Is there really a negative angle on the ride of thinners? How is the ride put on the shears? and so forth. I plan to cover these answers at my Scissor Sharpening Boost class a week from Saturday at the Sharpener's Jam.

Unfortunately, Oster would not allow us to take photos in the factory. But in all phases from the Cryo-Freezer to the flathone sharpening system I was as impressed with the skilled, dedicated workers as I was with the modern, efficient machinery. Walking through a USA factory like this, made me proud to be an American.