Staab Battery Mfg. Co., Inc was started in 1928 on a part time basis by Paul J Staab Sr. Mr. Staab was born in Chillicothe Illinois in 1898 and grew up on a farm. He also was employed as an outside salesman for a Peoria IL based auto parts wholesaler, Burl Sales. He lived in Taylorville IL and traveled throughout Southern IL.
The early batteries were either 2 volts or 6 volts and were assembled out of rebuilt cells. Two volt batteries were used to power radios in rural areas before electricity was commonly available outside of cities. The six volt batteries were used to start automobiles.
In late 1929, after the stock market crashed and the Great Depression had begun, Burl Sales closed. With the help of his father-in-law Arthur "Artie" Smith he started Staab Battery Mfg. Co. in 1930 to manufacture a complete line of new lead acid batteries.
As the business grew so did the electrical needs of the company for forming and charging of batteries. In 1934 he moved the plant from Taylorville IL to a location on East Jefferson Street in Springfield IL. At that time the City of Springfield was building a new lake with a power plant and he needed economical, reliable power to continue to grow the business.
In 1939 the factory was relocated to its current location on South 11th St in Springfield IL. After World War II his son Paul J Staab Jr. joined the business, it was formally incorporated in 1947 and several additions were made to the plant. The business continued to grow with the final addition in 1965 making 22,000 square feet available for operations.
1972 brought about a major refocusing of the company. The manufacturing of batteries was discontinued and the entire efforts of the company were centered on distribution.
Paul J Staab III, Paul Jr.'s son and Paul Sr.'s grandson joined the company in 1976. To service our customers better, warehouses have been opened in both the Chicago and St Louis metro areas to compliment our main facility in Springfield and our product lines have expanded to cover all forms of lead acid batteries. We currently offer complete lines of flooded lead acid, AGM and Gel technology. In addition we offer recycling of all forms of lead products.
With 80 years of history and background both in manufacturing and distribution behind us, we look forward to new challenges and continued growth. We continue to focus on customer service, one on one attention, and the knowledge to help you solve all of your battery needs. Our product line continues to grow as the battery continues to evolve from a simple two volt radio battery to whatever future technology may be.
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 Battery plant in Taylorville IL in the 1930's. First from Left, Paul J Staab Sr., Second from Left, Arthur "Artie" Smith.
 Drums of Lead Oxide were shipped to Springfield IL in railcars and unloaded into trucks for delivery to the plant circa 1940's.
 Route truck for delivering batteries from the 50's.
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