Celebrating a 30-Year Milestone: On April 12, 2018, Meister Abrasives USA 
celebrated another landmark. Our 30th year in business. The event was marked in style at a ceremony attended by Thomas Meister, Dr. Peter Beyer our President, three members of the Abraxos board of directors, as well as Meister USA’s employees and spouses. Our Vice President and General Manager, Bruce Northrup also presented a plaque to commemorative the event.
During the 70’s and 80’s, as Meister’s reputation for exceptional ID superabrasive grinding wheels spread throughout Europe, Founder and President Konrad Meister was barnstorming the US for business. In 1988, fortified by several lucrative contracts, he opened a sales office and also established a five-year task force to thoroughly evaluate US business potential.
Rudy Arn – Our first employee.
Hard to believe, but that sign hasn’t changed in 30 years.
The sales office, located along busy Rt. 9 in Shrewsbury, MA, housed Meister’s first employee, Rudy Arn, and his assistant, Elana Sachs. And from that small, two person office, Meister Abrasives, USA has grown into the highly successful, multi-employee, multi-million dollar manufacturing business it is today. Many current employees go back 10-20 years, and Rudy continues to serve customers in an Agency capacity for Meister in New England.
Mirroring Production: Although Meister maintains an extensive worldwide network of major sales offices, its unique grinding and dressing products are made in only two locations – Switzerland and the US. That, too, was part of Konrad Meister’s long-range strategy. Today, in our 15,000 sq. ft. plant, Meister USA is a mirror image of Swiss manufacturing processes for Meister’s complete product lines, including external CBN and Diamond pellet wheels. By balancing production between two facilities, Meister is better prepared to meet the ever increasing demand for shorter lead times, assure identical behavior from either source, and be able to say: “Built in the US to exacting Swiss standards.”
Bruce Northrup, Vice President & General Manager
And a 20-Year Milestone: Congratulations to Bruce Northrup, Meister USA’s Vice President and General Manager. Bruce joined Meister in 1998 with the challenge of leading Meister’s US presence into the 21st century. He, along with retired Vice President Andy Miller, spearheaded the search for an ideal US headquarters site and oversaw its construction. The impressive 15,000 sq. ft. North Kingstown, RI plant opened in 2000, and since then the company has seen extraordinary growth and success.
As Northrup likes to say: “We’ve hit a number of benchmarks over the years. One of the things I’ve learned with my 20 years with the Company is that there is one constant with Meister. And that is change. Things are always changing; Always evolving. And that is a good thing because if you’re standing still in this business,…..you’re likely to get run over.”
Happy Anniversaries...to Meister Abrasives USA and Bruce Northrup. And kudos to the entire Meister USA team.
