The History of the Kohler Company

The Kohler Company is an American corporation that is known for manufacturing a wide array of products for consumers all over the globe. While most people know them best for their plumbing products for residential and commercial buildings, they also manufacture furniture, cabinets, tile, engines, as well as gas and diesel generators. The company is headquartered in Kohler, Wisconsin though it has offices around the globe. If you would like to learn more about this amazing company, read on to learn the history of the Kohler Company. The story of the company starts with its founder, John Michael Kohler, an Austrian immigrant, purchasing the Sheboygan Union Iron and Steel Foundry. This company produced many products for industry and consumers ranging from farm tools to furniture equipment and even iron pieces that adorned fences. Mr. Kohler bought the company in 1873 and was on his way to success when he developed a way to produce a bathtub from a horse trough. The trick he developed was to cover the trough in enamel which protected it from water damage while giving it a pleasant look as well. This was in 1878, and it started the company down the road of manufacturing plumbing products. They still produce cast iron tubs to this very day, a rare thing to come by. The company even developed the concept of a drinking fountain in 1888, which they called the Bubbler. Following its successes with plumbing products, Kohler began to move into other areas of manufacture, greatly expanding their product portfolio. They were the first to produce backup generators to the public in the early 1900s. While the company had been making generators for a while already, more recently, they made a move that would let them manufacture power generators at a higher level.. In 2005, they purchased from French Meunier Holding three companies. These included Sdmo Industries, SOREEL, and BES. These companies are a generator manufacturer, and electrical engineering firm, and a generator maintenance company respectively. This placed them firmly in the generator manufacturing business. They also purchased and italian company, Lombardini, which bought them the capability to manufacture diesel generating engines as well. Kohler is now well known for their generators, and manufacture them from those that produce 9,000 megawatts to those that produce almost 3 megawatts and everything in between. While they traditionally manufactured their generators in the US, like many companies these days, they have begun to ship their manufacturing overseas, sending it to China. Their new operation in China will produce small gasoline engines and ship them to the West for sale to consumers. It is interesting to note that Kohler is a privately held company. So the next time you are shopping for plumbing equipment for your home or are in the need of a generator for any of a vast array of uses, remember the history of this company and the long road they have taken to get where they are today. It may just make you look at their products in a new light. You can look at Kohler Generator and Kohler Generator Set online.