Klingspor Abrasives, Inc. of Hickory, North Carolina, is a manufacturer of coated abrasives (commonly known as sandpaper) and bonded abrasives (commonly known as grinding wheels or grinding discs) to the United States industrial market. ^[1] It offers flap discs; abrasive sheets, such as board file sheets, kiss cut sheets, and standard sheets; non-woven abrasives; quick change discs; abrasive belts; specialty abrasives; bonded abrasives; abrasive discs; safety products; abrasive rolls; abrasive flapwheels; and power tools. Klingspor Abrasives, Inc. offers its products through its distribution points to distributors and businesses. It also sells products through its retail division and catalog.

Klingspor Abrasives Inc. is a subsidiary of the international abrasives manufacturer Klingspor AG, a German-based company based in Haiger, Germany, and is one of 31 Klingspor manufacturing and distribution facilities located around the world, and one of the parent company's 6 general agencies around the world. ^[2]

In October 1979, the company opened under the direction of Christoph Klingspor, in a small leased facility in Hickory, North Carolina with less than 20 people.

It was at the time, a wholly owned subsidiary of the Haiger, Germany-based manufacturer C. Klingspor GmbH. Larger facilities and warehouses were added in subsequent years. The company now has manufacturing facilities in Hickory, North Carolina, and Tijuana, Mexico.

In the late 19th century, the founder Johann Friedrich Klingspor could not increase the production of its glue factory (founded in 1893), as demand for glue declined.

Therefore, he began to manufacture products for which he needed a large amount of glue, for emery cloth or abrasive cloth. In addition, the company was in "Siegen glue factory and Naxos Schmirgelwerke" renamed (Naxos is the name of a Greek island, on which a drab, mineral stone has its origin, which is used for grinding and polishing). From 1900, Klingspor sold ground emery.

After two years, the production has been increased, as the demand for sandpaper rose. A new mill and a boiler house was set up to accommodate this new production demand. In Cologne, a branch was set up a sales office as well. Many areas of industry and commerce (especially the then rapidly growing steel industry) needed abrasives, so Klingspor began to establish itself in the market for abrasives.

Carl Friedrich Klingspor took over the company management in 1917.

In 1925, he travelled to the US to discover new advances within abrasive technology and the automotive industry fields.

As a result, he brought waterproof sandpaper to the US market.

^{[3] [1]}

In the 1950s, Klingspor invented cutting and grinding wheels 1954, the Schleifmoprad (Fächerschleifrad), 1972 Abrasive (flap disc). ^{[1] [1]}

The company is one of the four largest producers of coated abrasives in the world, among other companies Norton, 3M, and SIA Abrasives.

The parent company, Klingspor AG Klingspor (Unternehmen), is responsible for some early innovations in the development of abrasive products:

By 1950, The company had developed the first cut-off wheels and grinding discs for high-speed use (80 meters/second).

^[3] For this Carl Klingspor was awarded the Gold Diesel Medal from (German Inventors’ Association) in 1961. ^{[1] [1] [1] [1]}

Abrasive flapwheels were patented by the company in 1954, and it designed and developed the abrasive flap disc in 1972.

Many abrasive manufacturers now have a version of these popular abrasive tools.