The story of Powermatic began in 1921 when Leonard F. Smith, Sr., a timber and rough-cut lumber seller in middle Tennessee, decided to enhance his products by planing the wood himself. Rather than buying a planing machine, he built his own in his workshop on the family farm. The machine proved so effective that he sold it and built four more, which quickly found buyers in the lumber industry. Encouraged by this success, Mr. Smith shifted his focus entirely to manufacturing.

In 1928, he established Powermatic and relocated his burgeoning business to an old blacksmith shop in town. There, he expanded his product line to include sanding machines, drill presses, and the innovative Tilting Arbor Table Saw. The demand for Powermatic products soared, prompting several moves to progressively larger factories through the 1940s.

The company changed hands in 1966 when the Smith brothers sold Powermatic to Houdaille Industries. Despite the acquisition by a Fortune 500 company, Powermatic maintained its community ties and operated autonomously. In 1986, it became a division of DeVlieg-Bullard, Inc., and in 1999, it was acquired by WMH, joining forces with Jet Tools and Performax Products under the WMH Tool Group. In 2014, Powermatic, along with its sister brands, was purchased by the Tenex Group and became part of JPW Industries Inc.  Throughout its history, Powermatic has been seen as the gold standard in woodworking machinery.