Suburban Tool

What Suburban Tool does

Suburban Tool, Inc. is a privately held precision workholding and inspection equipment manufacturer headquartered at 4141 N. Atlantic Boulevard, Auburn Hills, Michigan. The company designs and builds a comprehensive portfolio of precision vises (toolmaker's vises, N/C vises, sine vises), sine plates, V-blocks, magnetic chucks, optical comparators, pallet fixtures, tombstone fixtures, and related metrology tools used in CNC machining, surface grinding, and quality-control inspection environments. Products are manufactured in the United States, with hardened steel components (Rc 58-60) and class 35-40 cast iron construction. The portfolio is organized across the core Suburban Tool brand, the heritage Taft-Peirce Metrology brand (originating in 1906), Master-View, Value Line (economy), SineSet modular lines, and the LastWord wheel dresser line, supported by registered trademarks such as SineSet®, Taft-Peirce™, Master-View™, Quick-Order Combos™, and Value Line™.

The company's customer base spans aerospace and defense contractors (Lockheed Martin, Boeing, Northrop Grumman, GE Aviation, Sikorsky, General Dynamics, Hamilton-Sundstrand, BMT Aerospace, Aerojet, AM General, Dynetics, Trijicon, B/E Aerospace, Demmer Corporation), U.S. military bases (multiple Air Force installations including Edwards, Hill, Barksdale, Cannon, Creech, Holloman, Kessler, Scott, Tinker, and Warner Robbins), and precision machine shops. Suburban Tool holds CAGE Code 0CRD6 and is registered with the Central Contractor Registration (CCR), enabling direct federal and military procurement. Distribution combines a direct e-commerce storefront at subtool.com (powered by ShopSite), toll-free phone sales, regional manufacturer's representatives such as Fellin Industrial Sales covering 11 Northeastern U.S. states, and a network of industrial distributors across the contiguous United States; shipping is explicitly restricted from Alaska, Hawaii, Puerto Rico, and international destinations.

Revenue is generated primarily through one-time product sales of catalog items, custom-built fixtures (including pallet fixtures and tombstones built to customer specifications and government specs), repair services rebuilding products to like-new condition at roughly half the cost of new units, replacement parts, and NIST-traceable product certifications (Long Form at $161 and specialized certifications at $382-$762). Standard pricing spans approximately $236 for economy vises up to $5,581 for paired N/C precision vises. The company has no recorded external funding, no parent organization, and a single operating facility, indicating an independent, founder-operated private business model.

Name

Suburban Tool

Legal name

Suburban Tool, Inc.

Website

https://subtool.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2001

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

101–250 employees

Short description

Suburban Tool, Inc. is a privately held Auburn Hills, Michigan manufacturer of precision workholding equipment, including vises, sine tools, V-blocks, and optical comparators. It serves aerospace, defense, government, and precision manufacturing customers via direct sales, distributors, and government contracts.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Precision Workholding and Inspection Equipment

NAICS

Cutting Tool and Machine Tool Accessory Manufacturing (333515), Navigational, Measuring, Electromedical, and Control Instruments Manufacturing (3345), Cutlery and Handtool Manufacturing (3322)

SIC

Cutlery, Handtools & General Hardware (3420), Industrial Instruments For Measurement, Display, And Control (3823)

akta.pro primary industry

Metal Cutting Tools, Tooling & Workholding (Cutters, Inserts, Chucks, Fixtures) (IMAHADAB)

Keywords

• Precision workholding equipment
• Machine tool accessories
• Precision measurement tools
• Optical comparators
• Sine vises plates

Headquarters

HQ city

Auburn Hills

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Product Sales - Standard Catalog: Direct sales of precision workholding and inspection equipment including vises, sine tools, magnetic chucks, V-blocks, angle plates, optical comparators, and accessories. Products sold individually or in matched pairs.
2. Product Sales - Custom/Modified: Custom-built tools and modifications to government specs, as well as all-new parts custom made from blueprints. Special order capabilities for custom pallet fixtures (tombstones) in any size or shape.
3. Repair Services: Out-of-warranty repair services rebuilding products to like-new condition for half the cost of new. Includes replacing wear parts, regrinding working surfaces to original tolerances, and repainting.
4. Repair Parts: Replacement parts for all product lines including drawbar assemblies, hinge assemblies, gage block rolls, clamps, rails, handles, and cam kits.
5. Product Certifications: Long form and short form certifications for products. Long form includes NIST-traceable measurements; short form certifies product met specifications before leaving factory.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Suburban Tool, Inc. manufactures and sells precision workholding and inspection equipment used in machining, grinding, and quality-control operations. Core catalog items include toolmaker's vises, N/C precision vises, sine vises, sine plates and angle-setting tools, steel and cast-iron V-blocks, permanent magnetic chucks, optical comparators, spin/index fixtures, height gages, parallels, lapping plates, wheel dressers, and custom-engineered pallet fixtures and tombstones. The business also provides repair services, replacement parts, and NIST-traceable product certifications.

Product overview

Suburban Tool, Inc. is a precision workholding and inspection equipment manufacturer offering a comprehensive portfolio of products for machining and quality control applications. The core product lines include precision vises (toolmaker's vises, N/C vises, sine vises), sine plates and angle-setting tools, V-blocks, magnetic chucks, optical comparators, and various precision measuring instruments. The company also offers the Taft-Peirce premium brand for cast iron V-blocks and the Value Line economy sub-brand. Custom manufacturing services are available for pallet fixtures and tombstone fixtures. The product ecosystem is supported by repair parts, product certifications with NIST traceability, and special orders. The portfolio integrates with ShopSite e-commerce platform for online sales and offers multiple payment and shipping integrations.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Taft-Peirce: Precision measurement and inspection equipment product line including V-blocks and related metrology tools.
• Master-View
• Value Line
• SineSet
• Quick-Order Combos

Products and services

• Precision Toolmaker's Vises High-precision solid one-piece steel vises with body and jaws hardened to Rc 58-60, angled center channels for extra jaw capacity, and ratchet mechanisms with notched pockets and one-piece drawbars. Designed for toolroom and inspection clamping of workpieces for machining, grinding, and measurement.
• N/C Precision Vises Precision vises designed to bolt onto CNC, milling, or other machines with bi-directional keyways for rapid installation and automatic alignment on N/C equipment. Intended for CNC milling and machining workholding.
• SineSet Sine Vises Sine vises providing quick and accurate workpiece holding at angles for grinding or inspection; SineSet® models bolt directly to SineSet® sine plates or compound sine plates of the same series for modular configuration.
• Sine Plates and Angle-Setting Tools Angle-setting tools using the sine principle for precise angular positioning, including compound sine plates and magnetic sine plates, for grinding and inspection setups.
• Taft-Peirce Open Body Cast Iron V-Blocks Premium V-blocks made of class 35-40 cast iron with full outline bearing areas, open body design to reduce weight, heavy ribbing for added strength, matched pairs within 0.0005 inch tolerance, and included clamping systems.
• Steel and Cast Iron V-Blocks Precision V-blocks in steel and cast iron for holding cylindrical workpieces during machining or inspection operations.
• Magnetic Chucks and Sine Plates Permanent magnetic chucks (round RMC series and surface grinder MCB series) and sine plates for holding ferrous workpieces during surface grinding and other operations without mechanical clamping.
• Vacuum Chucks and Pumps Vacuum workholding systems for holding thin or delicate workpieces during machining and inspection, including vacuum sine plate chucks and associated pumps.
• Master-View Optical Comparators 14-inch Master-View™ optical comparators for non-contact measurement and inspection of machined parts, with optional lenses, digital readouts, and accessories.
• Spin and Index Fixtures Fixtures for rotating and indexing workpieces at precise angular positions during machining and inspection operations.
• Height Gages and Master Height Gages Precision height measuring instruments, including Master-View Master Height Electronic Digital Height Gages, for dimensional inspection and setup verification.
• Pallet Fixtures, Tombstones and Tooling Plates Standard and custom pallet fixtures, tombstone fixtures, and tooling plates for multi-part CNC machining operations, offered in hexagonal, octagonal, rectangular, square, T-type, T-slot, and window shapes.
• Custom Tombstones and Pallet Fixtures Custom-built pallet fixtures and tombstone fixtures manufactured in any size or shape per customer specifications, including government-spec build-to-print work.
• Parallels and Straight Edges Precision parallels and straight edges for setup and inspection applications.
• Bench Centers and Accessories Precision bench centers and accessories for supporting cylindrical workpieces during measurement and inspection.
• Lapping Plates Lapping plates for achieving high-precision flat surfaces through abrasive machining processes.
• Wheel Dressers LastWord™ wheel dressers and Value Line wheel dressers for truing and shaping grinding wheels.
• Value Line Products Economy-priced precision tools including vises, wheel dressers, gage pin sets, collet sets, tool post sets, and other precision instruments, offering lower-cost alternatives within the Suburban Tool catalog.
• Quick-Order Combos Pre-configured tool combination packages (e.g., sine plate combos) offering bundled savings on commonly paired workholding products.
• Gage Pin Sets Precision gage pin sets for measuring hole sizes and distances in machining and inspection applications.
• Collet Sets Precision collet sets for secure tool and workpiece holding in various machining operations.
• Fly Cutter Sets Fly cutter sets for precision face milling and boring operations.
• Angle Blocks, Irons and Plates Precision angle-measuring and setting blocks for angular reference and inspection.
• 1-2-3 Setup Blocks and Tri-Blocks Standard 1-2-3 setup blocks and tri-blocks for workpiece positioning and reference.
• Cube Parallels and Precision Steel Cubes Precision steel cubes and cube parallels for three-dimensional setup and positioning.
• Planer Gage Precision planer gages for flatness and alignment measurement.
• Cylinder Magnetic Comparator Reference Squares Magnetic comparator reference squares for cylindrical part inspection.
• Tool Post Sets Tool post sets for lathe operations.
• Wooden Storage Cases Wooden storage cases for organizing and protecting precision tools, sold as accessory items.
• Repair Parts Replacement parts and repair components for all product lines, including drawbar assemblies, hinge assemblies, gage block rolls, clamps, rails, handles, and cam kits.
• Product Certifications Long-form and short-form product certifications providing traceability documentation to NIST standards. Long form includes form showing advertised sizes/tolerances, actual measurements, and a statement of NIST-traceable measurement standards; available for specific models including 9150 Steel Parallel Sets, MasterView, TWP9, and TWP22. Short form (included with product) certifies the product met manufacturer's specifications before leaving the factory. Specialized certifications priced $382–$762.

Quantifiable outcome

• V-blocks matched within 0.0005 inch tolerance
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers25 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration4 records

Feature5 records

Partnerships

Three partnerships are on record, tiered minor.

• Laser DynamicsminorOthersSister company for laser and traditional engraving services in almost any material. Affiliated company under common ownership.
• Association for Manufacturing Technology (AMT)minorOthersIndustry association representing and promoting American manufacturing machinery and equipment providers. Suburban Tool maintains membership.
• Michigan Manufacturers Association (MMA)minorOthersState manufacturing association serving Michigan manufacturers for over 100 years with effective representation at Michigan's capital.

Scale indicators1 record

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Broad incumbents

• Mitutoyo: Global leader in precision measurement and inspection including height gages, optical comparators, and V-blocks; competes head-to-head with Suburban's Master-View™, Taft-Peirce™ V-blocks, and Height Gage product lines, but at much greater scale.
• Grizzly Industrial: Broad-line machinery and tooling supplier including vises, V-blocks, and grinding accessories; competes at lower price points than Suburban but in overlapping SKUs across machine shop customers.
• L.S. Starrett: Heritage precision toolmaker offering V-blocks, vises, optical comparators, and metrology instruments; closely comparable product overlap with Suburban Tool across workholding and inspection categories.
• Hexagon Manufacturing Intelligence (Brown & Sharpe): Owns the Brown & Sharpe precision metrology heritage brand and competes across optical comparators, height gages, and precision V-blocks; a broader incumbent with much larger R&D and global distribution.

Others

• Travers Tool: Industrial distributor specializing in metalworking tools and precision instruments; relevant as a channel where Suburban Tool's vises, sine plates, and inspection products are stocked and compared against peers.
• MSC Industrial Direct: Large industrial MRO distributor that lists Suburban Tool's products alongside competing workholding brands; channel peer that controls access to many of Suburban's mid-market machine shop customers.

Direct peers

• Kurt Workholding: Manufactures precision machine vises and CNC workholding solutions — directly overlapping Suburban Tool's core N/C precision vise and Toolmaker's vise lines for aerospace and general machining customers.
• Gerardi (Standard Workholding): Specializes in precision vises, multi-axis tombstones, and zero-point workholding systems — directly competes with Suburban's N/C vises, SineSet®, and custom tombstone offerings for precision machining.
• Carr Lane Manufacturing: Manufactures workholding and tooling components including clamps, fixtures, and locating elements; comparable to Suburban's pallet fixtures, tombstones, and workholding accessories for CNC machining applications.
• Fowler / Fred V. Fowler Co. Manufactures precision measuring instruments including height gages, V-blocks, and optical comparators; comparable mid-sized competitor in the precision metrology space where Suburban Tool also operates.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/user/SuburbanToolInc/playlists
• Xx.com/suburbantoolinc

Compliance3 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

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 Suburban Tool