Cutco
Type	Private
Founded	1949
Headquarters	Olean, New York
Industry	Kitchen accessories
Products	Cutlery
Revenue	Over $175 million
Employees	over 800
Slogan	The World's Finest Cutlery
Website	www.cutco.com

CUTCO is a brand of cutlery and kitchen accessories directly marketed to customers through in-home consultations with independent sales representatives who are almost exclusively college students.^[1][2][3] The products cannot be purchased in stores. Cutco is owned by Alcas and has been in business since 1949. All its knives are produced in Olean, New York in the United States, although a few products (such as the ice cream scoop and the metal heads of the flatware) are partially made outside the US.[1] More than 100 kitchen cutlery products are sold under the Cutco name, as well as a variety of kitchen gadgets, utensils and flatware. Image File history File links Cutco_logo. ... Olean is a city in Cattaraugus County, New York, United States. ... Used cutlery: a plate, a fork and knife, and a drinking glass. ... For the tax agency in Ireland of the same name, see Revenue Commissioners. ... This article is about work. ... Look up slogan in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... A website (alternatively, Web site or web site) is a collection of Web pages, images, videos or other digital assets that is hosted on one or several Web server(s), usually accessible via the Internet, cell phone or a LAN. A Web page is a document, typically written in HTML... For other uses, see Brand (disambiguation). ... Steak Knife redirects here. ... A kitchen is a room used for food preparation and sometimes entertainment. ... Sales are the activities involved in providing products or services in return for money or other compensation. ... Retail redirects here. ... Alcas Corporation is the parent company of Cutco, KA-BAR, and Vector Marketing. ... Year 1949 (MCMXLIX) was a common year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... This article is about the tool. ... Olean is a city in Cattaraugus County, New York, United States. ... For other uses, see Gadget (disambiguation). ... ... Starch_polyester disposable cutlery Cutlery refers to any hand utensil used in preparing, serving, and especially eating food. ...

Product

The primary selling point of the knives is that they maintain their sharp cutting edge. The company will polish and resharpen all Cutco products if they are mailed back to the company. Additional features include a modified serrated edge Cutco calls a "Double-D" edge, ergonomic handles, and a "forever guarantee" that promises that "Cutco is the last set of knives you will ever have to buy." Ergonomics (or human factors) is the application of scientific information concerning humans to the design of objects, systems and environment for human use (definition adopted by the International Ergonomics Association in 2007). ... Look up handle in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... This article needs to be wikified. ...

The Double-D Edge describes an edge with V-shaped serrations separated by recessed strait segments of blade. The company claims that the recessed edge is protected from dulling caused by cutting on an unsuitable surface because the points are the only thing that touches a hard surface such as a cutting board while the blades do the actual cutting. Like other serrated knives, Cutco knives can be professionally sharpened at home by a representative or can be mailed back to Cutco for professional resharpening.^[4][5] 1 saw-like shape, consisting in a series of sharp peeks/teeth resembling triangles (the verteces, not the edges) Immagine a series of triangles layed on their edge and connected at that edges vertices, the remaning vertices (the non-connected ones) make-up the serration. ...

Handles are made of Celcon (injection-molded thermoplastic). It has been suggested that Delrin be merged into this article or section. ... Injection molding (British variant spelling: moulding) is a manufacturing technique for making parts from both thermoplastic and thermosetting plastic materials in production. ... For other uses, see Plastic (disambiguation). ...

Vector Marketing

Main article: Vector Marketing

Vector Marketing is a wholly owned subsidiary of the Alcas Corporation and does all of the marketing of the Cutco products. Vector Marketing is the domestic sales arm of Alcas Corporation, the Olean, New York-based company that manufactures Cutco products. ... Alcas Corporation is the parent company of Cutco, KA-BAR, and Vector Marketing. ...

Awards

• Winner of 2002 [Union Label & Service Trades Department, AFL-CIO] Labor-Management Award
• Winner of 2002 Share Our Strength "Frontier Award" for its contributions fighting hunger

Memberships

• Direct Selling Association (DSA)
• Direct Marketing Association (DMA)
• Better Business Bureau (BBB)

Controversies and criticisms

Cutco and its marketing arm, Vector Marketing, have been the subject of varied controversy. Vector Marketing's employment tactics have been targeted for criticism, specifically for deceptive recruitment practices. Vector was sued by the Arizona Attorney General in 1990, the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission in 1999, and was ordered by the state of Wisconsin not to deceive recruits in 1994. Each time their legal trouble revolved around allegedly fraudulent recruiting tactics, and each time Vector settled and promised not to mislead their recruits anymore. Vector Marketing is the domestic sales arm of Alcas Corporation, the Olean, New York-based company that manufactures Cutco products. ... Recruitment refers to the process of finding possible candidates for a job or function, usually undertaken by recruiters. ... Civil action redirects here. ... Official language(s) English Spoken language(s) English 74. ... In most common law jurisdictions, the Attorney General is the main legal adviser to the government, and in some jurisdictions may in addition have executive responsibility for law enforcement or responsibility for public prosecutions. ... This article is about the year. ... The ACCC Logo The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) is an independent Australian commonwealth government authority established in 1995 from the amalgamation of the Australian Trade Practices Commission (TPC) and the Prices Surveillance Authority, to protect consumer rights, business rights and obligations, perform industry regulation and price monitoring and... Events of 2008: (EMILY) Me Lesley and MIley are going to China! This article is about the year. ... This article is about the U.S. state. ... Year 1994 (MCMXCIV) The year 1994 was designated as the International Year of the Family and the International Year of the Sport and the Olympic Ideal by the United Nations. ... For other uses, see Law (disambiguation). ...

In the early 2000s, Vector made what they called "transparency" changes to become more upfront about what they offered representatives. Vector asserts that many of the people who were in upper-level positions with Vector 10 to 15 years ago when most of the criticism occurred no longer work with the company. Groups of former Cutco employees or contractors argue that these changes have not altered Cutco's business practices.

The company tells recruits they can make significant profits, but depending on multiple factors, they may only make a few hundred dollars a month. Like many sales positions profit depends largely on the sales reps.^[6].

Employees can only begin to attempt sales after purchasing or borrowing a sample set of Cutco knives to show customers. Some Vector programs allow representatives to attain a sample set free of charge, while others offer the set at a 70% discounted price or security deposit of $135 pretax.

Misc

CUTCO was recently featured on The History Channel program "Modern Marvels" in a show titled "World's Sharpest." http://www.cutco.com/company/video.jsp?play=modern_marvels

References

External links

• Cutco Official Site
• Cutco Store