Page 2 - Buffalo Book - Final

CUSTOM VS. STANDARD

FOUR GUYS

HAD AN IDEA...

Buffalo Abrasives was founded in 1988 when John
R. Russ, Jeffrey Binkley, Arthur Russ and John
L. Russ purchased the company from American
Optical, the parent organization of Radiac & National
Grinding Wheel. John R was the driving force behind
the idea of a ‘new company’ and the three cousins
approached Jeffrey with the concept. Good idea!

John R. was named president & Jeffery was named
CEO. Serving as a silent partners, Arthur (Secretary)
continued working as an attorney while John L.
(Chairman) relocated to Florida.

July 5, 1988 marks the first official day in business
with twelve employees including Jeffrey’s brothers,
Howard (Treasurer & Admin Mgr.) and Gary (Mgr.
of Technical Services). Today over 30 years later,
Jeffery, Arthur, along with Judy Homiszczak and
Gayle Mitchell—all part of the original 12—are still
with Buffalo Abrasives!
The very first load of cutoff wheels were
manufactured on a Saturday. All hands were on deck
as John R., Jeffrey, Arthur and John L. all worked
to strip the Teflon from the wheels. A lot of hard
work, stress and enthusiasm ensued as the company
began it’s 30 year quest to become a reliable
supplier of grinding wheels and bonded abrasives.

By 1991, the non-compete preventing the
manufacturing of Industrial Products was off the
table and the company was on the path to Industrial
Product range, which is the larger portion of Buffalo
Abrasives’s business.
In the 30 years since its inception, Buffalo Abrasives
has sold more the 26 million grinding wheels and
serves more than 2500 industrial customers.
Today, the company legacy lives on and continues
operations as one of the few remaining American
abrasive manufacturers. With more than 12,000
products and more than 7,000 formulations, the
business is still growing every day as a solely owned
subsidiary of SAK Abrasives effective February 1,
2019 under the management of Jeffrey Binkley and
Arthur Russ a bond that was forged many years ago.