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Weaver Museum Logo Weaver Llaboratory Garage in Springfield Illinois

    

Weaver Manufacturing Company
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THE WEAVER HISTORY
 

Weaver's History includes not only the Jack Production, but also a variety of many Automotive Products, some of which are no longer made.  Weaver started producing Automotive Products around the turn of the century. The Weaver Manufacturing Company was incorporated in 1910 and grew to become the nation's largest manufacturer of garage equipment.  Weaver Jack's earliest Jack (The Auto Twin Jack) was first manufactured in 1910, was widely advertised in 1912 and was issued a patent  in 1914.  Mechanical Jacks  were still  produced after  the introduction of the fully hydraulic model in 1928.

Other Weaver Products included Safety Test Lane Equipment --Brake Testers and Alignment Testers - which are still currently manufactured by Weaver Jack Corporation.  Previous product lines included Automotive and Heavy Truck Lifts, Brake Tools, Hydraulic Presses, Headlight Testers and many other items.

Weaver began in Springfield, Illinois around the turn of the century. It was founded by two brothers - Gailard and Ira Weaver ( Ira Weaver was awarded over 100 patents for garage equipment, and in the industry he was known as "The Edison of the Automotive Industry").   Patent Office records show that Ira Weaver's first Jack was patented in 1899 - a Wagon Jack. A large complex of buildings composed the original Weaver Factory on South Ninth  Street.  These buildings are all gone now, (the buildings at Tenth and Ash having burned down in 1979) with the exception of the Original Test Building which was located across the street from the main complex. This building, which was built in 1926 as a laboratory test garage, is currently in use by an automotive repair shop, and it still contains the original test installations of the Automotive Lift Division.

Acquired by Dura Corporation (formerly Detroit Harvester) in 1959 ( Dura itself was acquired by Walter Kidde Co in the 1960's but was later divested by Kidde in the 1980's),  the Weaver Operations were later moved to Ford Mills Road in Paris, Kentucky in 1973.  In 1977, the current  Weaver Jack Corporation was established  in Adrian, Michigan, where it operates to this day.  In 1989, the Weaver Lift Division was acquired by Rotary Lift of  Madison, Indiana.  Rotary Lift then transferred ownership of the Weaver Safety Test  Lane Division to the Weaver Jack Corporation of Adrian, Michigan.  The Weaver Brake Tester, which is the worlds' most widely accepted and used Brake Tester, along with the Weaver Alignment Tester is still manufactured in Adrian, Michigan today.

Weaver Lift Division, which had been one of the major forces in automotive lift equipment since circa 1910, was then discontinued by it's new owner, Rotary Lift.  To this date, there are still thousands of operating Weaver Lifts.  Parts for these lifts are still available from aftermarket vendors.

Weaver also had other  manufacturing facilities - some were located at
Weaver Manufacturing
, Chatham, Ontario, Canada
Weaver Manufacturing and Engineering Co Ltd
, Bedford, England and London, England

Weaver Jack Division continues to the present day producing it's line of American Made Hydraulic Service Jacks and Stands in Adrian, Michigan.

Weaver Safety Test  Lane Division continues to the present day Manufacturing  it's line of American Made Brake Testers and Alignment Testers in Adrian, Michigan.

 

    

 

 WEAVER FACTORY TODAY
Weaver Jack Factory Location

Weaver Jack Corporation Products are currently manufactured within this 400,000 square foot facility located in Adrian Michigan.  Continuously manufactured in the USA since 1910, the current production was established here in 1977 and continues to the present day.

 

 

  

VINTAGE WEAVER  ADVERTISEMENTS

 

 WEAVER BROCHURE  FROM 1919
Weaver Factory AD from 1919

This excerpt from a 1919 Weaver Brochure shows the Original Weaver Factory in Springfield , Illinois.  This building complex was destroyed by by fire in 1979.  Only the Model Garage building survives today.

 

 

 


WEAVER AD FROM 1926
Weaver Model Garage and Laboratory - 1926 Automotive Trade Journal AD
The Automotive Trade Journal from 1926 featured the new Weaver  Model Garage.  This building which served as a Test Laboratory is the only remaining original Weaver Building left standing from  the original Weaver complex  in Springfield Illinois.

    

   

  

 WEAVER BROCHURE  FROM 1927
Weaver Manufacturing Company in 1927

The 1927 Garage Equipment Brochure details how Weaver grew from a one product  (The Auto Twin Jack) factory of  only 1680 square footage to a 130,000 square foot factory producing over 50 products - The largest Plant  of it's kind in the world devoted exclusively to Automotive Garage and Shop  Equipment  Products.

 

 

 

 WEAVER BROCHURE  FROM 1927
Weaver Garage Laboratory in 1927

The Weaver  Laboratory Garage is highlighted in this 1927 brochure.  Located across the street from the Weaver Plant -- Here test engineers developed and improved the Weaver Line. 

 

         

  

  

 WEAVER ENGINEERING DESIGN TEMPLATE
Weaver Design Template for Gargae Equipment Layout

Weaver Engineers used this Design Template  (from the 1960's)  t o layout a customers garage for  the most efficient use of space and equipment.

    

  

  

WEAVER BRAKE TESTER  PERFORMANCE CALCULATOR
Weaver Braking Calculator
Here is a Braking Effort Calculator from the Weaver Safety Lane Division in the Late 1960's.  Used with the Weaver Brake Tester, it allowed you to compute stopping distance, percent of front to rear braking effort and other calculations.

   

 

  

Weaver Garage Laboratory Building
This is a photo of the Weaver Model Garage Laboratory in Springfield IL.   This building, which was built in 1926 as a laboratory test garage, is currently in use by an automotive repair shop, and it still contains the original test installations of the Automotive Lift Division.

    

 

  

What Color Was It?
Many  people ask what was the original paint color of their Weaver item.   It appears that the very early models were probably BLACK.   By 1920, All Weaver Equipment was painted GREEN except for certain items, such as the High Speed Press - which was always BLACK,  and continued so until portions of the 1940's and early 1950's when the equipment was painted RED.  The products returned to the Familiar Weaver GREEN in the 1950's.

 

 

   

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