The Onsrud family's machine manufacturing legacy, was born in the heart of the Chicago industrial core, and now spans 5 Generations. Oscar Onsrud and his son Rudy took manufacturing to a new level in 1915 when they built the world's first "Jet Motor" (air turbine) hand router. Since that day, the Onsrud family has become synonymous with cutting materials. And so has the entrepreneurial spirit. After honing his skills in his grandfather and father's business, Onsrud Machine Works, C.R. Onsrud founder, Charlie Onsrud headed south to bring the innovative thinking and skills to North Carolina. Like a piece of heirloom furniture, that same innovative spirit has been handed down to Charlie's sons, and grandchildren.
Virtually every aircraft built for the U.S. war effort in WWII had parts made on Onsrud routers. Most of those machines are still in use today! Almost every M-1 rifle stock built in the Springfield Armory was made on an Onsrud machine. It is difficult to walk through any major furniture plant worldwide without finding an Onsrud machine in service. In 1976 we raised the standard again when Charles Onsrud patented the "Inverted Router™", an idea and a machine that revolutionized the woodworking industry, increasing safety and usability. Today our CNC routers are quietly revolutionizing the concept of value by giving you the best-performing machines in the industry at a cost that our competitors say is not possible.
How do we do that? Through mass production and standardization, through modular construction and efficient design, we can supply 4000 inch per minute (ipm) speed, the rigidity of cast iron construction, "multi-drill" units, aggregates, saws, C-axis and 5-axis capability with multiple spindles on any of the many frame designs we offer. For the 4th year in a row C.R. Onsrud, Inc. has won the "Wood Digest Brand Preference" study!
When the Wood Working Machinery Distributors Association decided to honor the machinery manufacturer that most exemplified the type of company they wanted to represent, through quality and innovation, parts availability, overall value, and customer and distributor support, they created "The Partner of the Year Award" in 1994. Who won that very first Partner of the Year Award? C. R. Onsrud, Inc.! Yes! We have always done things differently and we're proud of it! That's what American leadership is all about!As always, our competitors will someday offer the innovations we have already introduced, but you can have them today from the innovators - C.R. Onsrud, Inc.
