Singer History

Isaac Merrit Singer quintessential entrepreneur has perfected a sewing machine that gave the New York attorney Edward S. Clark. In 1850, eleven days needed to improve the machine solved a problem, the needle was moved vertically, avoiding entanglement of the thread.

In 1851, a year later begins the story of Singer Corporation, founded as IM Singer Isaac Merrit Singer & Co. and its new partner Edward S. Clark. Who will provide the machine, I.M. Singer & Co. was renamed Singer Manufacturing Company in 1865 and then The Singer Company in 1963. Originally, all production is done at facilities in the city of New York. Currently based in LaVergne, Tennessee.

Another important milestone is attributed to Singer is to be the first franchise in the world, as marketing system today is very popular, the manufacturer to the lack of resources to directly distribute its products became its vendors assigning franchisees exclusive areas.

The company diversified in 1960, buying the Friden calculator company in 1965, Packard Bell Electronics in 1966 and General Precision Equipment Corporation in 1968. The latter included Librascope and The Kearfott Company, Inc.

In 1987 Kearfott was split, with the Kearfott Guidance & Navigation Corporation sold to the Astronautics Corporation of America in 1988. Electronic Systems Division was acquired by GEC-Marconi in 1990 and renamed GEC-Marconi Electronic Systems, while the sewing machine division was sold in 1989 to Semi-Tech Microelectronics, a company in Toronto.

Singer Corporation currently manufactures various types of consumer products, including electronic sewing machines. It is now part of SVP Worldwide, owner also of the Pfaff and Husqvarna Viking brands, which in turn is owned by Kohlberg & Company.