THE POWERS MANUFACTURING COMPANY was founded in the spring of 1902 by L.J. Powers. Seven workers started manufacturing canvas products, and in the next year, seven more were hired. An additional 9,000 square feet of factory space was added. 

 

In 1905, POWERS MFG began producing sweat pads for horses as a companion item to the collar. These sweat pads would heal rubbing sores from the horse's collars while they worked in the fields. The idea was proposed by W.H. Lankford, a famous man who was without the use of his legs. With this disability he trained goats to push him around in a three wheeled cart. After extended amounts of time the friction between the goat's head's and the back of the cart would cause soreness. W. H. Lankford devised a canvas pad filled with flax plant seeds to put on the cart. The oil from the flax seeds healed the goats sore areas as they worked. This eventually became the Lankford Humane Horse Collar which POWERS MFG produced from 1905 until 1919. 

 

In 1914, L.J. Powers started to experiment with accessories for Henry Fords new invention the automobile. POWERS MFG started producing automobile items such as side curtains, radiator fronts, spare tire covers, and a driving coat called the 'DUSTER'. It proved to be a very good financial move. 

 

In 1919, the automobile accessories business flourished. POWERS MFG started producing a number of different automobile items. One such item was the one inch fan belt. This belt proceeded the 'V' fan belt used in today's automobile. L.J. Powers soon found out that demand for his products started to exceed the capabilities of his company. 

 

In 1923, the sweat pad operation was sold to another manufacturer. The remaining products made during this period were mainly men's work clothing, dress shirts, underwear, shorts, pajamas, counter cloaks and uniforms. The dress shirts were produced for retail stores such as: Montgomery Wards, Marshall Fields, and Rice Stick  

Wholesalers. 

 

In 1928, a man wanted some shirts for referees, and a stripped material was used. This material was previously used for pajamas with a 1/2 inch stripe. Later on the referee shirts became one inch stripes because when viewed from a distance the 1/2 inch stripes were not distinctive. At the time no other manufacturer wanted to purchase the large amount of material to manufacture the referee shirts so POWERS MFG took a chance and  

became the first manufacturer of referee shirts in America. 

 

In 1929, the Burr Brothers of Rockford Illinois, tried making athletic wear and uniforms and failed. POWERS MFG bought their knitting machines, patterns, and inventory, and brought everything to Waterloo. They started making physical education clothing and later evolved into uniforms for teams in high school and college. 

 

In the late 1930's, bowling was getting popular as the economy was slowly turning around. A plant manager here at POWERS MFG put together a two color shirt of skinner satin, and POWERS MFG becaume the first to produce two color bowling shirts manufactured in America. 

 

POWERS MFG first government contract for WW II was in 1939, when they started making army officers shirts. These were an olive drab wool dress shirt. The contract was for 10,000 shirts. 

 

From 1948 - 1959 athletic uniforms became POWERS MFG main manufacturing product. Woven fabrics became the principal line for distribution nationally. Knitting operations were expanded by an addition of more knitting equipment and stripers to produce solid and striped knit fabrics for football and basketball jerseys. 

 

The period from 1960 - 1987 were the years that POWERS MFG perfected and dedicated its entire resources to the sporting goods market. From the 1940's until the present time, supplying services to the sporting goods industry has been the sole mission of the company. 

 

In 1988, POWERS MFG dedicated itself to growing a thriving business by expanding facilities and improving the efficiency of producing custom uniforms. POWERS MFG purchased a building in Sumner Iowa which became a dedicated sewing facility. In addition, an automated cutting system was purchased that would allow for quicker  

turn around times and less material wasted in the cutting process. 

 

1991 was the next year that POWERS MFG made a commitment to expand its facilities. Another sewing facility was opened in Allison, Iowa. Meanwhile, a state of the art cutting building and warehouse was opened at the main facility in Waterloo. This 27,000 square foot facility handles all of the fabric inspection, storage and cutting responsibilities for the Company. 

 

Prior to 1995, everything on the sewing floor had to be bundled and hand carried from sewer to sewer along the assembly process. However, 1995 POWERS MFG invested in an automated unit production system which automatically carries the uniform parts to the proper sewing stations on the sewing floor. This implementation helped the plant perform more efficiently and with higher quality to produce an even better uniform. 

 

In 2000, POWERS MFG again saw the need to increase production capacity. The need for an additional screen print facility was necessary to handle the increased volume of orders. A second operation was opened 1/2 mile from the main facility in Waterloo. Separately, this year also marked the first time that off shore manufacturing was used for the production of stock products. 

 

2003 brought another change to the production environment. This year, POWERS MFG opened a facility in the Dominican Republic for the production of all stock products and new line of semi-customizable products. Ownership of this facility gave POWERS MFG total control of quality and production methods to ensure all our products are built to the highest standards. 

 

As we look to the future we'll never forget our past. POWERS MFG has always been committed to providing products built to a high quality standard. As our founder Mr. L. J. Powers would often declare, ' We build our products up to a standard, not down to a price'. That was a 100 Years ago and today we continue going strong with the same quality and service you have come to expect from the POWERS MFG name. 

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