GRAND FORKS, N.D. — Acme Tools, a family-owned business, celebrated its 75th anniversary in the tool equipment industry on July 27. 

Acme Tools was founded in 1948 as a small electric motor repair company. The company was one of the first to start an Internet business when it launched ToolCriboftheNorth.com in February of 1999. After selling its original e-commerce business to Amazon.com in October of 1999, the company relaunched its online business in 2010 and established itself as a retailer of tools and equipment. Acme Tools now has rental locations in Iowa, Minnesota and North Dakota. The company also added Acme Equipment, a division focusing on equipment brands, in 2013. 

“Thanks go to all our employees and customers as we mark our 75-year history in this industry,” said Steve Kuhlman, president of corporate operations for Acme Tools. “Our success and growth as a four-generation family-owned company is a credit to our loyal customers, tool and equipment manufacturers and employees.”

In 2014, a distribution center was built in Grand Forks, North Dakota, to support the growth of online business. As online orders increased during the COVID-19 pandemic, an additional distribution center opened in the spring of this year in Burnsville, Minnesota.  

“Acme Tools has remained at the forefront of the tool and equipment industry for 75 years through innovation, dedication and hard work,” said Paul Kuhlman, president of merchandise operations for Acme Tools. “Some of our success is from our great business relationships with our manufacturers and their representatives who help innovate with industry-leading products which help save the customer time and money.”