About Us

ABOUT US

SAND-RITE MANUFACTURING CO.

ELIMINATE COSTLY HAND SANDING

Our belief has always been to manufacture products that are durable, reliable and require little maintenance and that when you require service for sandpaper or replacement parts, your order will go out promptly.

RELIABLE

Our core business since the beginning has been coated abrasives.

Sand-Rite stocks all grits from #60 to #150 on a fast turn-around special order basis. Sand-Rite is a one-stop resource with all the convenience that it implies with low manufacturers pricing. We can make any size belt, sleeve or roll in aluminum oxide, cloth back in both X and J weights/P-Grade.

Whatever the application, call or e-mail us so we can assist you in selecting the right abrasive. We will try to give you a very competitive price for a quality material that will give you the smooth finish you demand from your work.

Award Winning

We’ve won more awards than we can count, but we don’t let that go to our heads. We dedicate ourselves to every project.

Expert Team

Your project will be handled by experts every time. We make sure you have the most experienced professionals working for you.

Quality Guaranteed

You’ll find the support you need to ensure that things runs smoothly. We’re here to help you with any questions.

HISTORY

Sand-Rite was created in 1942 by my father, Meyer S. Kaplan. He was the foreman of a mill room here in Chicago, and they had an order for 1,000 Queen Ann chairs which required a lot of sanding. He put together a crude sander to speed up the process, and it worked!

Chicago at that time, had a very strong furniture industry with many woodworking machinery dealers on Lake Street. He went out showing his “machine,” and the dealers liked it. From an idea, Sand-Rite became a business.

I am Mark I. Kaplan, the son. As a boy, I acquired a working knowledge of woodworking machinery. In 1950, my father took over a business called J&S Furniture, which produced a quality line of custom upholstered furniture. In 1978, I joined my father in a working relationship. We had different ideas on how to grow a business, but I listened to him, and he, in turn, listened to me. I had a strong background in advertising and marketing and put together a model to make Sand-Rite the market leader in contour sanding and coated abrasives.

Within one year, our sales increased tenfold doing trade shows, direct mail, and trade magazines. Recognizing there were markets other than furniture, we started selling to the orthopedic industry, mill worker, musical instruments, DIY (hobbyists), and even shoe repair shops. Sales increased again. By this time, we needed more space and purchased an industrial building (In Chicago's West Loop area).

Fast forward 37 years later, I started my career when I was 30 years old. And now I am 67 and ready for the next chapter in my life. I decided in May to find a buyer for Sand-Rite. His name is Charlie, a fellow woodworker who understands this business. The legacy of Sand-Rite was important to me, and I wanted to continue Sand-Rite from its humble beginnings (73) years ago into the future.

Thank you so much for your continued support over the years. I have genuinely enjoyed working with many fine people and helping them to produce beauty in wood.

A toast to Charlie and Sand-Rite Mfg. Co.