Sewer Cleaner Manufacturer Celebrates 101 Years of Business

This year Vactor Mfg. celebrates 101 years of providing customers with a range of material handling equipment. Originally founded in Chicago in 1911 as the Myers-Sherman Co., a manufacturer of pneumatic farm equipment, Vactor now provides sewer and catch basin cleaners, industrial vacuum loaders, and vacuum excavators featuring innovative technology and custom configurable designs.

Vactor Mfg. is a subsidiary of Federal Signal Corp. and part of its Environmental Solutions Group. The company has more than 50 North American distributors in 100 locations to serve the municipal market, and six factory direct locations for industrial customers.

“Our history began with the design and manufacture of products such as milking machines, feed blenders and mixers, and grain storage and conveying systems,” said Mark Weber, president of Federal Signal Corp.’s Environmental Solutions Group. “The pneumatic conveying systems in these original products provided the impetus for our success as a global leader in the sewer cleaning industry.”

In the mid-1930s, Myers-Sherman moved its operations from Chicago to the community of Streator, Ill. Years later the company began to design and manufacture a line of sewer and catch basin cleaners for the municipal market to clear clogged sewer lines and catch basins. In 1979, Myers-Sherman was purchased by Peabody Intl., which was then purchased by the Pullman Co. in 1985. In 1989, the company introduced the Vactor 2100 Series combination sewer cleaner, which has become the industry standard for the municipal market. To date, the company has sold more than 13,000 sewer cleaners.

“Everyone at Vactor Mfg. is proud of their contribution to this longstanding, successful company,” Weber said. “Even as we celebrate 101 years in business, our employees are building upon our heritage of expertise and innovation.”

Source: Vactor Mfg.