The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1891-06-21
KANSAS SPRING WAGON co.
LOCATED ON WEST DOUGLAS
AVENUE
Large Orders Are Received by Its Repre-
sentatives in Several States--A Good
Business--The Capacity of the
Plant and Some Inter-
esting Points.

The Kansas Spring Wagon Company is
| located on the West Side. 1t occupies a
large two story brick block and includes 5l9
52l, 523, 525 and 527, West Douglas avenue.
| It is one of the numerous successful enter
prises of which Wichita might boast. The
| company steadily increasing in patronage
and in its volume of business, which now
extends from all parts in Kansas to Okla
homa, Indian territory and Colorado. The
| company Is in a position which enables
them to compete with eastern houses. At
present their chief competitors are the
Portland Spring Wagon company, of New
! York, the Racine wagon companies and
wagon firm at Chicago, but by careful
work and in the manufacture of good
| article the business of this firm has already
extended SO far that they have in sense
encroached upon the territory which be-
| longs to eastern firms.
The Kansas Spring Wagon company is
not an old institution in this city, but was
established on January l, 1891, by this
company. The factory employs twenty
| five men regularly, which force is aug
mented from time to time as the work in
creases or the occasion requires.
Travelling men are continuously out on
the road placing the Wichita product
upon the market.
The company has orders in ahead now
which will require the plant to run at its
fullest capacity for months to satisfy
the demand Mr.. II. Z. fuller, the presi-
dent of the company, stated TO an EAGLE
representative yesterday that if the orders
| continued to come in as they have been
for the past month, they would be COM
| PEELED to enlarge the concern in all its de-
| partments.
This company is somewhat different
| from any which has been established in
Wichita, as only spring wagons are manu-
featured. No repairing of any kind is
done. The factory is at present turning
| out four styles of spring wagons. They
| also manufacture carriage tops which are
placed on some of their wagons. The en-
tire business is under the immediate SUI
pervision of the president of the company,
Mr.. FL. K. fuller. Mr.. fuller was formerly
of the fuller Wagon Co., of Cincinnati,
Ohio, and is thoroughly versed in all the
phases of the business and manufacture of
wagons. He came to Wichita four years
ago and was in the real estate business
during the boom. He has prospered in
Wichita and is very much pleased
with his present business, and says
that the volume of business already
sanguine expectations.
In the store room of this factory are
found number ofsamples of the products
of the mandatory. A complete assert
ment of odds and ends used in the making
of wagons are found placed upon long
rows of shelves.
The smithing department of the
institution is next to the store room. All
the iron work which is found in wagons is
made here The room contains FORCES,
stocks of iron and wheels. Here all iron
parts of the gearing are made, also the
poles, shafts, ironing of wheels and of the
bodies and putting them together, the
same as is done in the large factories of
the east The iron and steel which is used
is procured from st. Louis, Cleveland and
Columbus, and is received in the crude
state. A large door in one side of the
wall of this department leads into the
wood department. In this department are
hundreds of different pieces of small and
large sizes piled up in heaps in diff
ferent parts of the room. The
wood is shipped here in the rough
and is sawed and planed by mills in this
city. The main parts which constitute "a
wagon are classified by the manufacturer
into five parts. They are the wheels igear
ing, pole, body and seats. Each man has
a certain part to work upon. This re-
quires very careful work as when the
various parts are put together, every joint
must be exact. This work is done by the
most skillful of workmen. The bodies of
the wagon have heretofore been shipped
here, but this company now manufacture
their own bodies or boxes, as they do all
parts of their wagons, excepting, of
course, the wheels.
The painting department is the last
place the wagon is sent. Eleven wagons
were standing in the drying room yester-
day. which the foreman of the department
informed the EAGLE man constituted a
days work. 1t takes about a week for the
paint to dry thoroughly. From here the
wagon is taken into the trimming depart
ment where it is cushioned a, the dash
boards are added and the wagon is gener-
ally completed.
BE SURE YOUR SIN WILL FIND YOU
OUT"
This was the text of Evangelist Vernon
Of the Union tabernacle m SOu+h En-