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Company Profile
Standing in front of the portraits of the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd generations of Wrights at Reed are (L-R) Scott Wright (5th Generation), Ralph Wright (4th), and Mark Wright (5th). Scott and Mark are co-presidents of Reed while Ralph continues as chairman of the board. Five generations of Wrights have also provided a great place to work, and exceptional contributions to the community (for example, all Reed Associates averaged $2850 each to the United Way this year, by far the highest in the region.)
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HISTORY:
Reed Manufacturing Company has been producing fine tools for worldwide professional trades since its founding, in 1896, by Carl Reed. Purchased in 1902 by Reuben Wright, the company continues to be operated by his descendants: fifth generation members of the Wright family. In 2003, Mark Wright and Scott Wright were promoted to Co-CEOs by Reed’s outside Board of Directors. The Board of Directors promoted Mark and Scott to President, Manufacturing & Product Development and President, Sales & Finance, respectively, in 2002. Mark graduated from Yale University and Scott from Haverford College. Both Mark and Scott have been working at Reed in several roles for twenty years. Mark and Scott uphold the family traditions of product innovation, highest quality pipe tools, great customer service, a cutting edge factory, and extra value to customers. The secret of Reed’s continuing, increasing success can be attributed to its corporate culture of excellence and the quality of its company Associates, who are individually committed to exceptional performance and service. With participative management and profit sharing for all, Reed people, products, and service will get even better in the future. Although over a century old, Reed is very progressive and will continue to improve its customer offerings throughout each of its next 110 years.


PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT & QUALITY:
Reed celebrates its 114th year of business in 2010. From the company’s beginning, Reed associates have invented tools that continually become industry standards, including the Quick Release™ Tubing Cutter, various tools for plastic pipe, vises, plus Hinged Cutters™ and Rotary™ cutters for large diameter pipe. In addition to new tools, each year Reed makes end-user driven improvements and refinements to existing tools. The “Best Ever” designation is given to a tool whose quality, benefits, or performance has been significantly improved over all previous versions. These continuous improvements are advantages to buying Reed. “Why Reed” statements throughout our literature and website explain why that tool is superior to any other on the market. The information can be used with confidence to compare Reed products with competitive methods. 2010 marks new additions and improvements to the breadth and depth of Reed’s tool line. Recent additions include more combination Roll Groovers, Ratcheting Hydrant Wrenches, spring-loaded C Cutters, and improvements to long-standing Reed tools. Nearly every Reed tool is the best of its kind in the world, outlined in “Why Reed” statements, and each offers a Lifetime Warranty.


SERVICE:
Committed to providing the best customer service in the industry, Reed's principal goal is to ship 98% of orders complete within three days. Since many inside sales people are trained with outside sales personnel, they know the tools, the industry, and the answer to just about any question. Reed's customer service staff routinely strives to expedite rush orders the day of receipt, thus helping distributors and tool-users meet their own service obligations. Reed's complete team of Reed Associates, Regional Managers, and Manufacturer's Reps works together to provide excellent service to distributors and tool-users. Questions and comments can always be directed to Reed.


CULTURE:
The secret of Reed's continuing, increasing success can be attributed to its corporate culture of excellence and the quality of its company associates, who are individually committed to exceptional performance and service. With participative management and profit-sharing for all, Reed people, products, and service will get even better in the future. At 110+ years young, Reed is very progressive and will continue to improve its customer offerings throughout each of its next 110+ years.


NEW CATALOGS:
Reed’s full-line catalog features 80 pages filled with tools. Reed catalogs are also available (on request) in Spanish, Russian, and Chinese. Reed sells in 90 countries around the world in these major tool categories:


DISTRIBUTION:
Reed sells to professionals only through traditional distributors as good distributors add value in these important ways:
Reed markets all its products through selective distribution to traditional distributors: No Mass Merchants.