History

From our humble beginnings in the basement of Ken's house to being recognized as a leading manufacturer in the carbide cutting tool industry, our journey has been defined by innovation, dedication, and our commitment to always prioritize quality.

Ken Bolds is one of our founders and is now retired, but he is known for being very proud and demanding of his company and did whatever it took to improve it and satisfy our customers. Heath Bolds is Ken's son and currently runs the day to day operations. He has a mechanical engineering degree from Clemson University and has been working with us for over 25 years. Lynn Center started with the company a few months after its inception and is currently the production manager. He is credited with bringing Ostrem Tool into the new age CNC way of thinking. He has 25 years of manufacturing experience and is also very knowledgeable about the operations, setup, and production capabilities of the machines.

Key Milestones

Charting our path to being a leading manufacturer of Carbide Cutting Tools

1989

Company Founded

Ostrem Tool Company was founded by Duane Ostrem and Ken Bolds. Started production in the basement of Ken's house.

1991

Facility Expansion

Relocated to a 2500sf facility.

1999

Constantly Growing

Completed multiple expansions that made our facility 11,000sf and became our home for the next 9 years. We became ISO 9001 certified in 1998 and had 8 fully automated CNC machines at the end of 1999.

2003

Ownership

Duane Ostrem sold his portion of the company to Ken Bolds, Heath Bolds and Lynn Center. Also made our first purchase of a CNC OD machine during this time.

2008

New Facility

Upgraded to a 36,000sf facility that helped us grow into the business we are today.

2025

Current Day

Now have a 42,500sf facility, currently in the process of adding a new 20,000sf addition to keep up with the growing industry.