Summers 3Pt Supersprayer - Manual (Page 123)

History of Summers Manufacturing Co., Inc.
1965 – Summers Manufacturing is founded by Harley Summers, who purchases patent rights for Goebel truck and pickup hoists from
the Goebel Brothers of Lehr, ND. These hoists, produced in Harley Summers’ blacksmith shop the first year, were distributed
nationwide by a Cincinnati, Ohio, dealer. With increasing sales, the company soon outgrows the small shop. Summers wins the
Herman harrow contract, beginning the company’s Herman culti-harrow line. Summers builds a 7,200 square-foot factory in
Maddock to meet the demand for truck and pickup hoists, as well as Herman harrows.
1969 – Firm incorporates and becomes officially known as Summers Manufacturing Company, Inc.
1970 – Summers purchases rights to manufacture/market the Herman Harrow.
1973 – Company builds new 20,000 square-foot plant and offices in Maddock, adding a 20,000 square-foot assembly plant in the fall
of 1975 (completed in January 1976), bringing total square footage of Maddock factories to 47,000.
1977 – Summers introduces the Agri-sprayer, used in conjunction with the Herman culti-harrow to incorporate herbicides and liquid
fertilizer.
1980 – Company purchases manufacturing and distributing rights to Crown rockpickers from Crown Manufacturers of Regina,
Saskatchewan. This forces another expansion project – a 26,000 square foot factory on a 24 acre site in Devils Lake, ND
Industrial Park.
1981 – Company establishes a branch facility in Regina, Saskatchewan.
1982 – Devils Lake plant begins operations in January, manufacturing supersprayers and rockpickers. The Maddock factory begins
producing the Superweeder, a combination cultivator and harrow.
1983 – Summers buys manufacturing and distributing rights to the Fargo Field Sprayer line from Mid America Steel (formerly Fargo
Foundry), Fargo. This field sprayer line is manufactured at the Devils Lake plant. Harley Summers is selected North Dakota’s
small-businessman of the year by the Small Business Administration.
1984 – Herman Diamond Disk, a disk harrow made in a diamond shape to reduce blade breakage from rocks, comes off the assembly
line.
1985 – Summers signs a contract with Melroe Company of Bismarck to obtain exclusive manufacturing rights to the Melroe harrow
line.
1989 – Summers purchases TorMaster Company of Hordean, Manitoba, giving the company a line of rolling packer equipment,
comprised of harrow packers and hydraulic folding packer drawbars.
1992 – A new engineering office/parts department is added to the Devils Lake factory.
1993 – Company adds two new products: a pickup-mounted sprayer with booms of 80 and 90 feet, and the Summers Superharrow, an
extra-heavy-duty residue-management tool designed for the minimum and no-till farmer.
1994 – a 50 by 125 foot addition to the Maddock factory is completed. Construction begins on a 24,576 square-foot addition to the
Devils Lake factory, which will enable the company to increase production of truck-mounted and pull-type supersprayers and
rockpickers.
1996 – 1500 square foot office area added to the Maddock plant. Company introduces Chisel Plow with floating hitch and 700# trip
assembly.
1997 – 16,800 square foot warehouse in Maddock purchased from local business.
1999 - Company introduces the Ultimate suspended boom trailer sprayer with hydraulic folding booms. Additional sizes were added
to the Chisel Plow line, now ranging from 28’ to 54’.
2000 - Company introduces the Supercoulter, the innovative solution for excessive field residue management on no-till, minimum-till,
and conventional-till farming operations.
2001 - Cold storage building completed at Devils Lake. Company extends boom lengths up to 110 feet on the Ultimate Supersprayer.
2002 - Company adds a warehouse and service man in Aberdeen, SD.
2003 - Company introduces the Ultimate NT Supersprayer featuring a bolt on axle for easier adjustment, and a new family of tanks that
feature a drainable sump and a common width dimension.
2004 - A 124 ft. x 310 ft. addition is added onto the current Devils Lake plant.
2005 - The Summers Superroller is added to the “Field Tested Tough” product line. Additional sizes of 56', 58' and 60' are added to the
Superchisel line.
Summers distributes on a wholesale level to dealers and distributors throughout markets in North Dakota, South Dakota, Minnesota,
Montana, Iowa, Washington, Idaho, Oregon, Utah, Colorado, Kansas, Nebraska, Oklahoma, Texas, Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Alberta
and British Columbia, making it an international company.