About Selway Machine Tool Co.

The Story of

Selway Machine Tool Company

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The Story of Selway Machine Tool Co.

In 1963 Roy Selway founded Selway Machine Tool Company in Oakland, California. The former Army Mechanic & WWII Veteran worked his way up through the Machine Tool industry, from Technician, to Technical Sales Manager, & finally to owner of what is now the largest machine tool distributer on the West Coast United States. Legend has it that Roy put his sons up as collateral for the bank loan to start Selway Machine Tool Company. Watch video for the whole story.

Founding Brothers

In 1968, at the age of 22 Bill Selway took the helm of Selway Machine Tool Company after the untimely death of its founder, his father Roy. Throughout the early 1970's, Bill, along with his brother Pat, would drive door to door in Northern California towing a state of the art iron worker and high speed to perform live demonstrations for potential customers. After many doors were shut on these youthful salesmen, Bill grew out his trademark mustache that was with him until the end. Over the years, Jim, Chuck, Danny, Dell and Joe (or Bill’s 5 younger brothers) younger brothers joined as the business grew, setting the foundation for the family environment that still exists today at Selway Machine Tool Company.