Park Tool is the behemoth of bicycle tools, repair stands, and shop equipment for North America, and we got an inside look at how they make it all. From on-site machining, welding, and assembly to partnering with more than a hundred Minneapolis-area vendors and suppliers for everything from cutting to anodizing to heat treating, here’s how it all comes together to help you (and your local bike shop) fix your bike!
CEO Eric Hawkins gave us a complete walk-through, showing off research & development, manufacturing, packing & shipping, and even their awesome video studio…and everything in between. Follow along in the video above, and check out a few photos from our tour below.
Walk in and you’re greeted at the front desk, where you can pick up online orders. They don’t sell directly onsite, but if you order on their website, you can pick it up and check out…
…their impressive collection of classic Schwinn bikes.
Many were donated or acquired after Eric’s father’s passing – he was a Schwinn dealer in the area and helped start Park Tool out of the back of a bike shop.
This vending machine was restored for an episode of American Restoration, which Eric shared was an interesting insight into how not real “reality” TV can be, but still interesting. And the result is pretty cool.
Step into the factory, and you enter their largest assembly station. During our visit, they were putting together wheel repair stands, but it’s a modular layout so they can switch between parts based on what’s needed.
Behind that is their laser engraving area. Parts are sent out locally for anodization, then brought back to have the Park Tool logo etched into them. Here, a bin of bearing presses is waiting for branding.
A little further back are several machining stations. This bin is full of threaded rods for derailleur hanger straightening tools, which are made in-house.
Next in line are two robotic welders. This one was also working on wheel truing stands, with parts being prepped and placed into jigs while the robot arms welded them together behind the closed doors. Eric says these stations have dramatically increased output and allowed them to continue to grow their domestic manufacturing.
Continuing our counter-clockwise lap through the facility, we passed through a huge warehouse area with parts packed and ready to be pulled as needed. Further back, pallets are packed for larger shop and distributor orders all over the world. While you can order directly, the vast majority of Park Tool’s business is B2B.
In the back corner is their famous promo trailer, which opens out into a complete showroom and work station. If you’ve ever seen it at an event like Sea Otter Classic, you’ll know how impressive it is. And if you do see it, know that you can swing by and use any of the tools to fix your bike and get some expert guidance – they won’t do it for you, but you know the old saying: Teach a man to wrench…
Coming back around to the front and you’ll find stacks of raw materials, but make sure to look up! Hundreds more classic (and regular) bikes hang from the rafters. Some of it’s for show, but…
…some of them are there for R&D purposes. Park Tool needs practice bikes to test new tools on, make videos with, etc.
On the upper level is Park Tool’s video and photo studio. If you’ve watched their tutorials on YouTube, here’s where that magic happens.
Outside of the studio are bins and bins of parts, old and new. As Calvin put it, they have one of everything…as long as they can find it!
Back downstairs is their workshop. It’s open to employees to use for personal repairs, but also serves as a spot for testing new tools. There was at least one big new product hiding in plain sight, but we couldn’t photograph it.
The area also serves as a bit of a museum, with generations of tools lined up showing how they’ve progressed…and how some parts have had to change as standards have, too.
Huge thanks to Eric and crew for showing us around!
