THE TOOL DEPOT

Building Maintenance > Building and Construction Machinery

It all began over 110 years ago.
The Faith Company christened its branch office in Sioux City, Iowa and that’s when The Sioux City Iron Company got its start. The year was 1892. Faith sold horseshoe nails, coal, hand tools, hardware for horse carriages and much more.
There was a something happening in our country at that time. It was an exciting period for those pioneers that were forging the future. Terrific growth was taking place.
While The Sioux City Iron Company began as a simple supply house for blacksmiths for a central source of supplies for the implements dealer and garageman, we were poised to become a trusted partner in the building of a region … like many others we helped in the growth of a nation.
We started with 40 people in our shop and 10 men on the road. Our roadmen covered northwest Iowa, southwest Minnesota, all of South Dakota, up into Wyoming and the north half of Nebraska. The life of a pre-turn-of-the-century salesman was a difficult one.

According to historian Walter Friedman, “For the average salesman, used to traveling more or less on his own (and at that time, almost all were male), this meant a number of changes. His routes were planned, his customers evaluated before his departure, and he recorded his every move in sales reports and receipts. Sales managers assigned salesmen specific territories and gave them monthly or weekly quotas to meet. They aimed to make salesmanship uniform and predictable, and capable of being taught to new recruits. They often even instructed salesmen how to stand while talking with a customer, or how to hand over the pen at "closing."

Back then, business was mostly done by rail. Salesmen journeyed throughout Nebraska, Iowa, South Dakota, and Minnesota – even as far as Wyoming – to bring high-quality products to extreme rural north-Midwest America. Once an order was approved, in stepped the U.S. Postal Service. The early business partnered with the most expedient governmental agency of the time to ensure that what the client ordered was received quickly and without problems.
Flash forward to 1910. Following the lead of such respected retailers as Sears and Montgomery Ward’s, we developed a printed catalog. It was not one of the first “tool catalogs.” That came many years earlier by Brunner & Lay, who developed a catalog for “Manufacturers of Marble, Stone, Granite and Bricklayers’ Tools, Stone Jacks, Derricks, and Contractors’ Supplies” in the early 1800’s.
But, our “tool catalog” was just a year after Stanley Rule & Level Co. first released its 1909 “Carpenters & Mechanics Tools: No. 102” order book.
You now know them simply as Stanley Tools.
Our history includes changing with the times. We have owned a lumber yard to source wood for the horse carriages which we used to assemble. We became just one of a few companies that grew during the Great Depression because of our customer service and quality products that we sold to help rebuild America. We survived a major fire, and rose from the ashes … thanks to our dedicated employees.
After the disastrous fire just mentioned, we moved to a new Sioux City location. But this became another test for us and our clients.
It was the early 1950’s. That’s when a flood hit our city. For historians, we were in the back half of what was called the Call Terminal Building at Fourth and Court in Sioux City.
Despite the fact that we were housed in a 6-Story Building, this act-of-God nearly wiped us out because of a devastating rise of the one-time unpredictable Mighty Missouri.
Here’s how we were saved: Our employees. Once more, they dug in. We were worn-for-wear, but the determination of those who had invested their time, their sweat and their dedication, through determination, helped us survive.
Since then, it’s not been all wine-and-roses, but the worst seems to be over. And because of that, we’ve be able to maximize our business and buying-power by learning our lessons and growing in the world of the Big Box retailers.
The company has evolved into four different branch locations. We started with one brick and mortar location called Industrial Tools and Machinery and expanded with two more brick and mortar locations, Tool Depot; the first one in Sioux City, Iowa in 1998 and second one in LeMars, Iowa in 2004. Our 4th location has been christened the Tool Doktor in Sioux City, Iowa.
With a stock of over 32,000 items from over 850 manufactures, we have created a total of 43,800 square feet of showrooms and a warehouse that’s larger than 50,000 square feet.
It’s a lot of history, but we want you to know that you are our customer base. You are in the Agricultural, Industrial, Welding, Construction and Woodworking fields. We are in business to make your job easy by stocking products for you and ship what you need the same day through UPS, Customer Pick-up or through personal delivery by our sales staff.
That’s why we are excited to now be able to take things to the next level.
Sure, gone are the days that have helped define our history. We are entering a new era based on the lessons we have learned for over a century. That’s why ToolDepot247.com can offer you the prices (and in some cases – better savings) that the Big Box stores promise, as our slogan says “We offer hometown service with chain store prices.”
But what is not gone, as we enter the online world, is our dedication to what has kept us an important partner with you for over-a-century. ToolDepot247.com retains its humble promise that has guided us from the 19th-to-the-20th-to-the-21st century. It’s what makes both of us thrive and excel – competitive pricing, super fast response and fair dealings with our clients.
It’s a century-old tradition. A tradition that we rest our reputation upon: One that we promise you, one that makes us more-than-a-business.
When all-is-said-and-done, it’s all about relationships. We hope that our new way of doing business will continue our mutual goals: The goals of creating and maintaining a good business relationship with you and your business family for a long, long time.

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