Foley-Belsaw Institute
920th St. • River Falls, WI 54022 United States
The Foley-Belsaw Company has always been in the business of helping people start their own businesses and teaching people how to become successful.
The Foley and Belsaw Companies first started manufacturing sharpening equipment. They soon offered in-house training to teach their customers how to use this equipment and to run their own businesses. This evolved into correspondence courses in a wide variety of subjects, everything from Air Conditioning to Woodworking. This was a time when there were very few vocational schools available, especially for people in rural areas. At the same time, the Foley Company continued to manufacture a wide range of sharpening equipment, housewares, small engine parts, sawmills and woodworking tools, and even canteens for the military during World War II and mess kits for the Boy Scouts. The Foley name has always meant quality and their products were built to last for generations.
Times changed in manufacturing and the two companies merged in the 1980’s to form The Foley-Belsaw Company. They focused on building industrial grinding equipment for the golf course industry and continue to this day to be the leader in that industry under the Foley United brand. They also focused on their distance-learning courses, training hundreds of thousands of people around the world. Eventually, their training efforts focused on Locksmithing, an industry that has never been adequately served by technical colleges or vocational schools. Perhaps, it is the secretive nature of locksmithing, like Masons, this knowledge was once closely guarded and only passed down from master to apprentice.
Times continue to change and so has the locksmith industry. We now live in the age of information and there really are no secrets anymore. Some states now require licensing, background checks, and many require that the applicants take a basic locksmithing course like the course offered by Foley-Belsaw Locksmithing.
And yet, some things never change. As the fourth generation of owners of the Foley-Belsaw Company have decided to slow down, selling off some of their manufacturing businesses and their sharpening supply business, they graciously put one more person in business, me. The correspondence course has moved online for convenience and efficiency, but you still get the locks, tools, and supplies needed to get the hands-on experience that you just can’t get from watching a video or reading a book. You also get lifetime technical support and access to the best tools and supplies. Times may change, but the name Foley-Belsaw will always be about helping other people succeed.