For those of you who may not be aware, Infinity Cutting Tools is one of my advertisers. I had the pleasure of meeting up with David Venditto last November when we cut the deal – so to speak – and brought him on.

It was at that time when I realized that – holy crow – his office/warehouse space was tight. I mean like submarine tight. Working out of a 2,000 square foot unit in an airport business park, David walked me through the cramped space. There were racks of router bits, saw blades, jigs, fixtures and other goodies stacked high on racks. This did make it convenient to walk through the warehouse and pick out the parts to complete someone’s order, but wow, if they offered any more tools the place was going to explode.

That’s why I was excited to hear that Infinity Cutting Tools was getting ready to relocate to more spacious digs. This past Saturday, I met David for lunch up at his new facility. It’s a 10,000 square foot space in an industrial area of Oldsmar, Florida – about 20 minutes away from my house. The building has an interesting history with his family – it turns out that his dad custom built the place  in the mid-1990s. Back then, David’s dad owned Jesada tools, and this was part of a larger manufacturing/warehouse facility. “Oh, I can remember working in this building 15 years ago,” said David, “it’s got a lot of family history.”

The building is still empty, but the walls – inside and out – are sporting a new paint job, and he’s outfitting the new offices with furniture in preparation for the big move. The huge warehouse area (nearly 8,000 square feet of uninterrupted space) has freshly sealed floors and is ready for shelves to be installed. The additional space is going to provide him the ability to double his product offerings right off the bat, with plans to expand his inventory quickly after that. “Even with the increase in product offerings, we still have tons of space available for expansion.”  Packing and shipping areas will be far more spacious, allowing his employees the opportunity to spread out while working. David also envisions a friendly area where people can come in right off the street and have their orders fulfilled right there on the spot. Given the large number of woodworkers in the Tampa Bay area, this will be a convenient service.

One thing in the warehouse that surprised me was a walled-off area – about 20 feet wide by maybe 35 feet long. It was recently constructed, and had a ton of power outlets. This is where David plans on setting up a woodworking shop. “We’re planning on using it for product testing for sure,” said David, “but, our vision is to make it a place where woodworkers can come and take classes and really get the hands-on experience.”  When I asked him why, David was very candid. His is a world of steel, carbide and engineering drawings. “The raw materials come on one door and roll out the other side as a complete bit or blade. Once that happens, the process isn’t over – it’s just beginning.” Woodworkers will use the completed product to build their projects, and making that connection between the bit or blade and the wood helps bring the design process full circle. While the plans are still being developed, there’s a chance that you might be seeing yours truly teaching up there in the not too distant future.

The big move is planned for sometime later this month. As the date gets closer, Infinity is planning on offering a moving sale with some pretty sweet deals. “I mean, it’s easier for us to ship our stock out to customers than schlep it across town.”

David has asked me to keep y’all updated as the new facility take shape, and he’s asked me for some input on the new shop. I’ll have to tell him where to put the banana dispenser, just in case a stray shop monkey should swing by.

The countdown reaches FOUR to go to 1,000!