Interbike Ambush: Park Tool!

Today's featured impromtu Interbike chat is with the good folks at Park Tool. If you've ever been inclined to tinker with your bike, you know Park Tool already -- their ubiquitous blue packaging adorns the wall of the tool corner at your LBS, in all likelihood. Located in St. Paul, Minnesota, they've been in the business of producing tools specifically for the bike world for nearly half a century, and if you don't have some, chances are your shop mechanics do.

As Interbike attendees go, Park Tool are fairly well-known and established. So what do they have to gain from being at Interbike, yet again? That would be dialog with the shops. As much as anyone, Park Tool are there to rap with the shop guys. What do you think of our products? What changes are needed? What did you think of the last round of new products and designs? What problems do you encounter for which nobody has made a tool yet? In other words, feedback, which is the lifeblood of most businesses and which happens every day, but Interbike is the perfect gathering for companies like Park Tool to get a lot of really useful feedback in a short time.

To the flip...

My ambushee today is Park Tool President Eric Hawkins...

So there you have it. I'm not a Wrench guy like some of you, so I'm happy to start a tool chat and let you guys go from there. Oh, and if you love tools, chances are you'll really love their factory tour. Metal shards! Lasers! That's manufacturing in the U.S.A for ya.

Photo courtesy of Park Tool