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A local congregation in Northwest Ohio hires carpenter and craftsman Erie Sauder to rebuild all the wood- work in their recently burned church -- including the pews and chancel. Working alone, the job takes Sauder eight months. The church is pleased and Sauder adds church furniture to his growing business.
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To make use of the high-quality wood scraps left over from the production of pews, Sauder Woodworking Co. had also been making end tables. In 1940, a traveling salesman sees the tables and takes a few to a Chicago furniture show. The next day, Sauder receives a long-distance telephone call—and an order for 25,000 tables! The order is filled, and Sauder Woodworking Company—a local business—goes national.
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Recognizing the potential conflicts in managing a single plant to
produce both make-to-stock (tables) and make-to-order (church
furniture) product lines, six employees scrape together $5,000
each to start a new, separate corporation in partnership with Erie.
Several have to mortgage their homes and more to come up with
the money, but Sauder Manufacturing Company is officially born
as a church furniture manufacturer.
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Sauder Manufacturing receives one of its first long-distance
orders from a church in Oregon. Because the order is too big
for the company’s only truck, the company has to buy a used
milk truck to help make the delivery, which company employees
(including Maynard Sauder, current chairman of the board and
son of founder Erie) do themselves.
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In the wake of Vatican II,
Catholic churches set a new
trend by creating adaptable
worship spaces. Other
denominations catch on to
the idea, ordering modular
seating rather than pews.
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To stay at the forefront of changing church trends, Sauder Manufacturing
buys an English chair company that makes plybent chairs and moves the
entire factory to Stryker, Ohio. Pioneering the use of chairs in worship
spaces, the new venture makes 670 “Mod-Lok” chairs in its first year
(Today, Sauder makes more chairs than that every day).
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Sauder Manufacturing introduces its OakLok line of chairs to
further address the growing demand for flexible worship seating.
With classic styling and a full compliment of accessories for the
worship environment, including a first-of-its-kind interlocking bookrack,
OakLok remains to this day one of Sauder’s top sellers
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Sauder’s Vantage line of chairs is launched. A plybent
design, Vantage picks up on the trail successfully blazed
by Sauder’s early Mod-Lok chairs. Vantage’s combination
of comfort and simple elegance make it an instant hit.
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The early 1990’s mark the beginning of a trend towards more large-scale churches. Recognizing the trend, and
following founder Erie Sauder’s admonition to “never think old”, Sauder Manufacturing increasingly applies the
organization’s tradition of values, craftsmanship, and know-how to leverage tools such as computer numerically
controlled (CNC) equipment,CAD, computerized Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP), and an innovative “Shared
Expectations” program to ensure its ability to not only produce, but to effectively manage large and small projects
alike in coordination with church committees and construction professionals. By staying true to its founder’s
principles and increasing its total value for its customers, Sauder sets itself on a course to becoming the supplier
of choice for congregations of every size.
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Under tight security, Sauder Manufacturing installs
custom pews and furnishings in the presidential chapel
at Camp David for President George H.W. Bush.
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Continuing to earn its reputation as a pioneer and innovator in worship seating,
Sauder Manufacturing introduces its patented DEFINITY® Seating. Sauder creates
the ground-breaking approach to providing individualized seats within a traditional
pew format in recognition of the need for congregations to predictably maximize their
seating capacity.
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Understanding the desire of some congregations to have the
versatility of chairs while maintaining the appearance of pews
in their worship space, Sauder introduces UNITY™ Seating.
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In its largest single installation to-date, Sauder installs over 14,400 lineal
feet of pews in The Potter’s House in Dallas,Texas. By selecting Sauder’s
patented DEFINITY® Seating, the congregation can be confident that their
facility has room to seat over 8,200.
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Responding to the growing
interest in theater/auditorium seating,
Sauder adds
CLARITY™ to its comprehensive line of pews,
upholstered wood chairs, and chancel furniture
for the worship market. Developed
in conjunction
with Camatic Pty Ltd., Melbourne, Australia, one
of the world’s leading producers of innovative
auditorium-style seating, CLARITY™ is designed
specifically for the worship environment…
with
Sauder expertise.
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Today, Sauder Manufacturing
is well positioned for the future. Sauder has
assembled a strong management team which
continues to to apply
its unique
combination of skilled
craftsmen, modern technology, and an
understanding
of the worship environment to provide customers with unmatched creativity,
quality, and value. In
staying true
to the past, while planning for the future,
Sauder strives to “preserve the core
while stimulating progress”.
At Sauder Manufacturing, how we do our work —
new technology,
new products, new ideas — changes constantly.
But our values —
how we treat our customers, suppliers, and each
other — never change.
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