Acme Tools Chairman Built National Brand
Grand Forks, North Dakota - September 12th, 2024 - Daniel Kuhlman, who served as Acme Tools’ president for more than 50 years, died on September 9 in Grand Forks, North Dakota.
He joined his father, Acme Electric founder George Kuhlman, in 1962 and expanded the family-owned-and-operated company into tool sales, which drove growth over five decades into a premier tool and equipment retailer in the Upper Midwest.
After opening its first store in Grand Forks, Kuhlman expanded its North Dakota operations to add stores in Bismarck, Fargo, Minot, and Williston. He developed a tool catalog that was mailed to millions of customers and later expanded into the company’s mail-order division in the mid-1980s. Kuhlman created the Tool Crib of the North brand, which became nationally known and was used to launch the company’s first e-commerce website in 1999; the site was sold to Amazon.com the same year.
He invested in new e-commerce technology in 2010, relaunching as AcmeTools.com, and established Acme Tools as a leading authorized online retailer of tools and equipment. Kuhlman supported the growth of its online business by building a distribution center in Grand Forks and adding a second in the Twin Cities suburb of Burnsville, Minnesota.
Kuhlman also started Acme Rents in 1995 and Acme Equipment in 2013.
He served on the advisory board of Stanley Black & Decker and many other tool and equipment manufacturers. Kuhlman made Acme Tools an early member of Evergreen Supply Network, joining in 1991. Acme Tools has been named Evergreen Distributor Member of the Year eight times.
Acme Tools celebrated its 75th anniversary in 2023.
Acme Tools is an omnichannel premier retailer of tools and equipment with more than 75 years of industry experience, 10 retail stores in North Dakota, Minnesota, and Iowa, and a leading authorized online retailer offering more than 100,000 products online at AcmeTools.com.
