Eaz-Lift Spring Corp.
M.H. Mathisen started Eaz-Lift Spring Corporation in 1952 in a two car garage in North Hollywood, California.
Mr. Mathisen retired from Universal Studios in 1946 and began
trailering around America. The hitch he was using at the time was
bothersome and hampered his enjoyment of the experience. An inventor
and an experienced blacksmith, he solved his hitch troubles by
inventing the Eaz-Lift Weight Distribution Hitch and patents were
issued in May, 1952.
In 1953, Mathisen’s son, Ray, joined him in the small garage where
their first run of 56 hitches was completed. They sold out immediately.
Their next run of 350 units required a move to a larger facility on
Chandler Boulevard where Eaz Lift remained until 1956. The demand for
Eaz-Lift hitches continued to outpace the inventory, so late in 1955,
5500 square feet of heavy manufacturing space was purchased with enough
land available to expand to 55,000 square feet in Sun Valley,
California.
With the proliferation of RVing in the US, the need for a well-built,
strongly engineered trailer hitch became the driving force for
Eaz-Lift. Production increased and the company continued to grow
rapidly. The introduction in 1960 of self-contained trailers, dual
axles and larger units sparked the invention of the Eaz-Lift Sway
Control to reduce fishtailing and trailer sway. After one and a half
years of development, the Eaz-Lift Sway Control was introduced and
became the company’s second success story.
By 1966, the Sun Valley, California plant had run out of space, so a
second facility was opened in Elkhart, Indiana. The London, Ontario
operation became part of the Eaz-Lift family in 1969 where the
manufacture of the original Eaz-Lift weight distributing hitch
continues to this day. Continual process and engineering improvements
are a hallmark of the company, and Eaz-Lift hitches and sway controls
enjoy a huge following among those who appreciate unfailing quality and
ease of use.
Today Eaz-Lift has become one of the largest weight distributing hitch
manufacturers in the world. In early 2007, Camco Manufacturing
purchased Eaz-Lift’s operations and consolidated manufacturing to the
London, Ontario plant. Founded in 1968, Camco ships Eaz-Lift hitches
from London, Ontario, Greensboro, North Carolina, Portland, Oregon and
Elkhart, Indiana.
If you asked Eaz-Lift founder M.H. Mathisen what the key to his success
was, he'd say, ‘My wife, my son, and my products…all of which I have
personally grown with, nurtured and loved.' That same dedication to
quality and pursuit of engineering excellence continues today with both
Eaz-Lift and Camco, just as it has for decades.
