Buck Knives, a legend in hunting knives and cutlery, recently celebrated the 20th anniversary of its move from San Diego, Calif., to a 128,000-square-foot, state-of-the-art facility Post Falls, Idaho. There it now manufactures more than 200 knife models, has a museum and operates a flagship store. Things didn’t quite go as planned during the move two decades ago, however.
In the first tractor-trailer truckloads of equipment driving north, a father-son driving team got into an argument. It reached a boiling point. Then the duo pulled over, abandoned their truck and vanished.
When the equipment was long overdue a search was launched. The missing truck was located, another driver dispatched and the cargo finally arrived safely at the new factory.
20th Anniversary Celebrations
In early May, Buck hosted several events at the Post Falls headquarters and factory in honor of the 20th anniversary of the relocation. They began with an all-employee lunch, where team members who made the move two decades ago were awarded a commemorative knife. That was followed by a private gathering with business and civic leaders who helped make the move successful. Then, the Buck Factory Store raffled off prizes, sold commemorative knives and hosted local food vendors in an open-to-the public weekend celebration.
“Idaho’s connection to common sense rural values is a great fit for long-term business values,” stated C.J. Buck, CEO of Buck Knives. Buck held a reenactment ribbon cutting at the celebration event and noted many successes that have followed the two decades in the new factory.
The relocation of manufacturing operation, 60-plus employees and their families 20 years ago was no small task. It began with three years of planning and calculations, along with numerous trips and meetings to formulate the details and scheduling required to move machines, offices, materials, knives, people and more.
Machines loaded for the 1,400-mile move ranged from CNC machines to ceramic tumblers to grinders, along with a machine shop needed to service and repair those machines. The move occurred in two waves of 50-plus trucks each time. Manufacturing equipment was on the first cargo loads.
Buck Knives has been building quality knives since 1902. The company employs more than 320 people, proudly make its knives in America and stands behind each with its exclusive Forever Warranty.
