By CINDY LADAGE
Illinois Correspondent

DAVENPORT, Iowa — One of the tours offered at this year’s Gathering of the Green in Iowa was of the Sears Manufacturing Co. It is known for its suspension seats for John Deere and other agricultural and industrial companies.

These seats offer ergonomically contoured seat pans, cushions to provide full body support and a patented Fabriform cushion process. The tour offered provided visitors with a view of the production process, as well as a chance to hear about the history of the company and where it is today.

The company is still family-owned and run by a fifth-generation Sears family member. Founded in 1855 by Isaac Howe Sears, the company produced harnesses, saddles and other quality leather & canvas goods for the agricultural industry.

John Kowski, who has been with the company for 30 years, shared, “For 150 years, this has been a family-owned business. Right now, we produce about 1,000 seats a day.”

Sears made buggy whips, saddles and blankets for the Calvary. During World War I, he also made leather goods for the army.
“They sold pup tents, too,” Kowski said. “In 1946, they stopped producing saddles and looked for new outlets. They made a variety of awnings, and had a tent business. It was a tough business. They put up tents at the Mississippi Valley Fair and made conveyer belts and umbrellas.”

When Sears went searching for easier options, it eventually bought a local seat business and made canvas cushions for John Deere and Clark Equipment. In 1947 Sears began producing agricultural and industrial seats.

In 1951, the reins were passed to Isaac Weir Sr. and the seat business expanded to include not only Clark and Deere, but also JI Case and Caterpillar, Kowski said. In 1965 Sears introduced the first mechanical suspension for the agricultural market.

“Sears started making suspension seats,” he explained. “They made the first mechanical suspension seats and created molded cushions. In 2001 (it) developed the John Deere Active Seat Suspension.”

The secret to this seat, he shared, is that “the JD Active Suspension seats keep drivers level.” This seat proved to be so innovative that it won a Gold Medal in Europe at Agritechnia, the world’s largest farm show.

For more details about the company, visit its website or contact it directly at Sears Manufacturing, P.O. Box 3667, Davenport, IA 52808. The phone numbers are 800-553-3013 or 563-383-2800.