It’s value noting the corporate initially had a barely totally different title. When Harbor Freight Tools was based in 1977, it was truly referred to as Harbor Freight Salvage Company. Though the title would finally change, in keeping with the corporate’s official historical past, the aim of Harbor Freight was at all times the identical, with Eric Smidt determining early on that he may supply instruments straight from factories and move the financial savings alongside to his clients.

The Smidts did not cost out of the gate by opening a whole lot of retail shops. Quite the other is true, with Eric and his father Allan initially working Harbor Freight Salvage as a mail-order software enterprise out of a small area in North Hollywood, California. By 1980, the corporate had grown sufficient for the Smidts to open a bodily location, with the primary Harbor Freight Salvage storefront arriving in Lexington, Kentucky.

The firm re-branded to Harbor Freight Tools in 1985 and continued to develop exponentially. In 1999, Eric purchased out his father’s half of the corporate, turning into the only real proprietor and CEO of Harbor Freight Tools. Under Eric’s steering, Harbor Freight has continued to develop and now boasts greater than 25,000 associates and 1,400 retail shops. Each is stocked with an unlimited array of instruments and tool storage options.