In 1925 William Franklin Wells founded the Wells Manufacturing Corp. to make meat-cutting bandsaws. In 1928 the company introduced a horizontal metal cutting bandsaw, which would later be claimed to be the world's first such saw.

At some point Mr. Wells sold his interest in the business. The new owners emphasized the Wellsaw brand, which had already been in use; the official company name remained the same. In 1948 Mr. Wells formed another company called W. F. Wells & Sons, which also made metal cutting bandsaws.

In 1985 Wells Manufacturing Corp. got into financial trouble and changed hands. In 1991 the new owners of Wells Manufacturing Corp. purchased the assets of W. F. Wells & Sons, and merged the two companies, with the merged company being named W.F. Wells, Inc. The company is still in business today manufacturing horizontal metal cutting band saws.

Information Sources:

• The W.F. Wells Inc. website has a History section, where most of the information for this entry was obtained.
• 2000 book Michigan, Birthplace of the Modern Horizontal Band Saw: The Saga of W. F. Wells, by Dale K. Wells. We have not seen this 48-page book. Here is an extract from Google Books:

  William Franklin Wells was born in 1897 in Marysville, Missouri. His parents were Charles Wells and Adaline Johnson. He invented bandsaws and founded W.F. Wells & Sons.

  On the east side of Three Rivers, Michigan between the high school and Riverside Cemetery stands the old Wellsaw factories. Now sectioned and rented by the present owners, there is no identification or marking to recognize the former presence of the inventor of the modern horizontal bandsawing machines. Down the side road past the factories, an open field has been identified for years as Wells Field, the site of many ball games, entertainment, and festival events over the years. Ironically, the Wells family plot lies just to the south of Riverside Cemetery, and this is the final resting place of Bill Wells and his wife, Mable. Bill's mother, sister, and daughter share this quiet corner where the Portage River flows by to join the St. Joseph River and the Rocky River in the town of Three Rivers, and then moves on into Lake Michigan. Further to the center of the old cemetery lies Bill's brother Clarence and his wife Madeline, who both worked only a short time at the saw factory in the early 1930's. Although there are no Wells family members involved with the current Wells products, various family members reside within the tri-county surrounding area.

  Three miles north of Three Rivers, Michigan on highway US 131 stands the factory where the W. F.Wells brand of horizontal bandsaws are currently being manufactured. From the beginning in 1949 until 1962, the Wells family manufactured those machines in the old renovated barn factory located behind the family home on Wilbur Road to the west, which was highway US 131 at the time the business was established. In 1962 a new factory was built at the present site when the new four lane highway US 131 was built. The original construction there was 100x100 feet in size, to which an 80x100 feet addition was added in 1977. Continued growth required an additional 30x180 feet to be added in 1979, and it is satisfying to note that since the sale by the Wells family, another large addition has been needed.

  In April 1991 after 66 years in the saw business, the Wells family sold W. F. Wells & Sons, Inc., to the same industrialist who had six years previously purchased the bankrupt Wellsaw assets. The circle was now complete—a sort of satisfactory conclusion as the Wells family members retired, and the products all became part of another family business.

  Bill Wells—the inventor and entrepreneur—had dreamed his dreams, provided for his family, and created a whole line of industrial machinery. Out of that product line, four small family Michigan businesses prospered, producing bandsaws and creating hundreds of jobs for other Michigan workers. Many other factories around the world developed bandsaws based upon the basic concepts put forth by Bill Wells. He truly epitomized the American dream of a small business entrepreneur. One of the most fitting tributes to his achievements was the presence of one of his competitors, Mr. Wilbur "Bill" Johnson, in attendance at his 1961 funeral. It is sort of unfortunate that in business one rarely gets to know their competitors—only what they do to each other. However, Vic Beckle used to tell us, "We don't have any competitors—just friends trying to make a living the same way we do...