Blackstone Industries, LLC

What Blackstone Industries, LLC does

Blackstone Industries, LLC is a privately held, Danbury, Connecticut-based holding company that owns and operates a portfolio of six specialty tool and equipment brands serving professional artisans and consumer hobbyists. The company's brand family includes Foredom Electric Company (flexible shaft rotary power tools, established 1922), Olson Saw Company (band saw and scroll saw blades, established 1918), Zona Tool Company (precision hand tools including razor saws and miter boxes, manufacturing in the US since the 1950s), Handler Manufacturing Company (dental lab equipment, lathes, dust collection, and custom lab furniture, founded early 1900s), The Edge Finisher Company (acrylic and plastic sheet edge-polishing machines and Shannon plastic benders), and Star Struck LLC (jewelry supplies, testers, gauges, cleaners, and findings, acquired 2023). The company manufactures primarily in Bethel and Danbury, Connecticut, with continuous Foredom manufacturing in the state since 1955.

The company makes money through one-time sales of physical precision tools and equipment, distributed via four parallel channels: (i) an authorized global dealer/distributor network with drop-shipping and marketing support, (ii) six brand-owned e-commerce storefronts (foredom.net, olsonsaw.net, zonatool.net, handlermfg.com, edgefinisher.com, starstruckllc.com), (iii) marketplace channels on Amazon, Etsy, and eBay, and (iv) a tiered affiliate program paying 2.5%–5% commissions on quarterly cycles. Customer segments span jewelry professionals, woodworkers, dental laboratories, jewelry manufacturing/retail businesses, industrial buyers, and individual hobbyists.

Founded in the 1970s by Willard Nelson and re-established under current ownership when Richard C. Milici Jr. purchased the assets in October 2013, the company is individually owned with no parent company, no outside institutional shareholders, and no disclosed outside funding. In 2025, the company completed the consolidation of all six brands into a single Danbury, CT headquarters, reflecting an active but self-financed roll-up strategy executed through channel buildout (ERP, websites, showroom, affiliate program) and bolt-on acquisitions.

Name

Blackstone Industries, LLC

Legal name

Blackstone Industries, LLC

Website

http://blackstoneind.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1976

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

101–250 employees

Short description

Blackstone Industries, LLC is a privately held Connecticut holding company operating six specialty tool brands — Foredom, Olson Saw, Zona Tool, Handler Manufacturing, Edge Finisher, and Star Struck — serving jewelers, dental labs, woodworkers, and hobbyists through dealers, e-commerce, and marketplaces.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Bethel

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices3 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

Supply Chain, Operations, Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. Hardware/Product Sales: Revenue generated from the sale of precision tools and equipment through the company's six brand portfolio including Foredom rotary tools, Olson Saw blades, Zona Tool hand tools, Handler Manufacturing lab equipment, Edge Finisher acrylic finishing machines, and Star Struck jewelry supplies.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Blackstone Industries, LLC is a family of six specialized brands that manufactures and distributes precision tools and equipment for jewelers, dental professionals, woodworkers, and hobbyists. Its portfolio includes flexible shaft rotary power tools (Foredom), dental lab equipment (Handler), band and scroll saw blades (Olson Saw), acrylic polishing and plastic bending machines (Edge Finisher), precision hand tools (Zona Tool), and jewelry supplies and testing equipment (Star Struck). The company sells primarily through an authorized dealer/distributor network supplemented by direct e-commerce, affiliate programs, and marketplace channels.

Product overview

Blackstone Industries, LLC is a family of premier quality brands providing precision tools and serving artisans worldwide. The company operates as a portfolio of six specialized brands rather than a single unified product: Foredom Electric Company (flexible shaft rotary power tools for jewelers and artisans), Olson Saw Company (band saw blades, scroll saw blades, and woodworking accessories), Zona Tool Company (precision hand tools including razor saws and hobby tools), Handler Manufacturing (dental lab equipment and custom lab furniture), The Edge Finisher Company (acrylic polishing machines and plastic bending equipment), and Star Struck LLC (jewelry supplies including testers, gauges, cleaning systems, and findings). The company, originally established in 1976 and purchased under LLC in 2013, serves professionals across jewelry, dental, woodworking, and hobby industries with a focus on quality, innovation, and craftsmanship.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Foredom Electric Company: Leading manufacturer of flexible shaft rotary power tools for jewelers, woodcarvers, and artists. Established in 1922 with continuous manufacturing in Connecticut since 1955.
• Handler Manufacturing
• Olson Saw Company
• The Edge Finisher Company
• Zona Tool Company
• Star Struck LLC

Products and services

• Foredom Flexible Shaft Rotary Power Tools Flexible shaft rotary power tools used by jewelers, woodcarvers, and artists for precision cutting, grinding, polishing, drilling, and finishing operations. Continuous manufacturing in Bethel, Connecticut since 1955.
• Handler Manufacturing Dental Lab Equipment Dental and jewelry lab equipment including lab design, Redwing Lathes, splash hoods, model trimmers, sandblasting equipment, boilout and curing units, dust collection systems, and custom lab furniture.
• Olson Saw Band and Scroll Saw Blades Band saw blades, scroll saw blades, saw frames, and woodworking accessories manufactured in the USA for superior cutting performance, clean accurate cuts, and durability.
• Edge Finisher Acrylic Polishing and Plastic Bending Machines Machines that produce clear, polished edges on acrylic and plastic sheets, plus a full line of Shannon Plastic Bending Machines (sales and service).
• Zona Tool Precision Hand Tools High quality razor saws, metal and plastic miter boxes, sanding tools, pin vises, tweezers, pliers, saw frames and blades, clamps, and other precision hand tools for hobbyists and professionals.
• Star Struck Jewelry Supplies and Equipment Jewelry distribution including gold testers, precision jewelry gauges, microscopes, magnifiers, diamond scales, gold scales, plating and engraving systems, ultrasonic and steam cleaners, ionic cleaning systems, jewelry findings, customized repair envelopes, antitarnish liners, bench tools, rolling mills, watch repair parts, and battery replacement tools.

Segments6 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Stuller: Stuller is a major manufacturer and wholesaler of jewelry findings, tools, and supplies, directly competing with Star Struck in the consumables and equipment side of the jewelry trade. Both companies serve professional jewelers with broad catalogs of tools and supplies.
• Otto Frei: Otto Frei is a long-standing jewelry tools and supplies distributor serving bench jewelers and repair shops. It competes directly with Star Struck's jewelry supply distribution business and overlaps with Foredom's customer base among working jewelers.
• Gesswein: Gesswein is a long-established supplier of jewelry-making tools, equipment, and consumables, overlapping directly with Blackstone's Foredom rotary tools, Handler dental/jewelry lab equipment, and Star Struck jewelry supplies. It serves the same jewelry professional customer base from a competing product portfolio.
• Rio Grande: Rio Grande is one of the largest wholesale distributors of jewelry supplies, findings, tools, and equipment in North America. It directly competes with Star Struck's jewelry supply business and shares an overlapping customer base of professional jewelers and bench jewelers.
• Proxxon: Proxxon manufactures precision rotary and micromotors tools popular among jewelers, dental technicians, and model makers — a near-direct overlap with Foredom's flexible shaft rotary tools. The two compete for the same artisan/professional user seeking precision at low RPMs.
• Dremel (Robert Bosch Tool Corporation): Dremel is the dominant mass-market rotary tool brand and competes most directly with Foredom. While Dremel focuses on corded/cordless consumer and prosumer rotary tools, Foredom specializes in flexible-shaft configurations favored by jewelers and artisans — making them head-to-head competitors in the broader rotary power tool category.

Broad incumbents

• Apex Tool Group: Apex Tool Group owns brands like Crescent, Nicholson, and others producing hand tools, saws, and cutting accessories — directly comparable to Olson Saw (saw blades) and Zona Tool (hand tools). As a broad industrial tool conglomerate, it offers overlapping capabilities across Blackstone's hand tool brands.
• Festool: Festool specializes in premium woodworking and precision cutting tools, overlapping with Olson Saw's blade/scroll saw focus and serving professional woodworkers. It is a much larger premium-positioned incumbent rather than a niche-direct competitor to Blackstone's brands.
• Stanley Black & Decker: Stanley Black & Decker is one of the world's largest tool conglomerates with brands spanning woodworking, construction, and DIY tools. Its broad portfolio overlaps with Blackstone's Olson Saw, Zona Tool, and (via Craftsman/DeWalt) the broader power tool space where Foredom operates.
• Bosch (Power Tools division): Bosch's Power Tools division owns Dremel and competes broadly across professional and consumer rotary tools, saw blades, and precision tools. It overlaps with Blackstone's Foredom (rotary), Olson Saw, and Zona Tool product categories, though as a much larger incumbent with broader portfolio scope.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UC1NTTFNI4tk4L4BwrWBELhg
• Facebookfacebook.com/BlackstoneIndustriesLLC
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/blackstone-industries

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Subsidiaries6 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Blackstone Industries, LLC