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1
HOUSE RESOLUTION

 
2    WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois House of
3Representatives wish to congratulate the Knapheide
4Manufacturing Company, a family-owned and operated business
5located in Quincy, on the occasion of its 175th anniversary;
6and
 
7    WHEREAS, In 1848, German immigrant Herman Heinrich
8Knapheide moved to Quincy and opened a wagon-making shop; he
9spent 42 years at the helm of the business, perfecting his wood
10and iron-constructed wagons and selling them to farmers,
11miners, and pioneers; and
 
12    WHEREAS, In 1890, his son, Henry E. Knapheide, assumed
13responsibility for the business as president, incorporating
14the company in 1893 and taking the company to new heights; he
15invested in steam-powered saws, drill presses, and a planning
16machine; he also erected a three-story factory that optimized
17the production process, allowed greater control in-house,
18standardized the wagons, and enabled workers to mass-produce
19parts; by the 1900s, the company's product lineup expanded to
20include freight wagons, merchandise "trucks", dump carts, log
21wagons, and a widened variety of farm wagons and "trucks"; and
 
22    WHEREAS, Under third generation owner Harold W. Knapheide,

 

 

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1the company evolved with the times as gasoline-powered
2automobiles gained popularity and the need for wagons began to
3decline steeply; the business installed its first wooden wagon
4body on a Ford Model T chassis in 1910 and would continue to do
5so through the 1920s; the company was further impacted by the
61929 Stock Market Crash and the Great Depression, causing
7sales to dip to $14,083.65 in 1932; to keep afloat, the
8business accepted more repair work and sold equipment,
9including straw spreaders, dump bodies, washing machines, and
10parts; the company was renamed the Knapheide Manufacturing
11Company in 1937; and
 
12    WHEREAS, Harold W. "Bud" Knapheide Jr. joined his father
13in the business in 1938; as a self-taught engineer, he
14expanded and modernized manufacturing operations; by the
15mid-1940s, he had developed and produced all steel-frame truck
16bodies, and his innovative product line was targeted to the
17agricultural market through an expanded distribution network;
18in 1954, he opened a facility in West Quincy, Missouri to
19increase Knapheide's manufacturing and production capacity; by
201960, nearly every farmer in the Midwest knew the Knapheide
21name and the farming boom in the 1970s saw an even bigger
22increase in demand for truck bodies; during this time, the
23company was the largest producer of farm truck bodies in the
24country; and
 

 

 

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1    WHEREAS, Harold W. "Knap" Knapheide, the fifth generation
2owner, was tested early in his career; despite success through
3the company's all-steel agricultural product line, including
4grain bodies and livestock racks, the West Quincy facility was
5flooded by the nearby Mississippi River in 1973, proving quite
6costly; the business persisted through temporary facilities in
7Quincy, until total production was restored some 90 days later
8at the original location; Knap was made president in 1978, and
9he was noted for pioneering both targeted and creative
10marketing initiatives that led the company to great success;
11he was further tested when the agriculture market crashed in
12the 1980s, and then again when the West Quincy facility
13flooded a second time in 1993; despite these setbacks, Knap
14made a decision that had a profound impact on the company's
15future, constructing a new 480,000 square feet, state of the
16art truck manufacturing facility; since moving to the new
17facility, the business has continued to improve their customer
18service, manufacturing processes, design technology, team
19building, distribution networks, and product lines; and
 
20    WHEREAS, Harold W. "Bo" Knapheide IV, the sixth generation
21owner, took over Knapheide in 2018 with a focus on continued
22growth, expansion, and new markets; that same year, the
23company opened an additional manufacturing facility, dedicated
24to aluminum body production, just south of the company's
25headquarters; during his tenure, he has been instrumental in

 

 

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1diversifying product offerings, including the Industrial
2Products line, while also encouraging the importance of
3customization; and
 
4    WHEREAS, Since 1848, Knapheide has provided customers with
5high quality, work-ready transportation solutions through
6determination, innovation, and family values, setting them
7apart as the industry leader; today, the company is North
8America's most popular manufacturer of work truck bodies and
9truck beds, with more work trucks on the road today with
10"Knapheide" stamped on them than any other manufacturer;
11therefore, be it
 
12    RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE ONE
13HUNDRED THIRD GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that
14we congratulate the Knapheide Manufacturing Company on the
15occasion of its 175th anniversary, and we wish the company
16continued success in the years to come; and be it further
 
17    RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be
18presented to the President and CEO Harold W. "Bo" Knapheide IV
19of Knapheide Manufacturing Company as an expression of our
20esteem and respect.