The company also has a long history of innovation and support for the arts, culture, design, and civic responsibility, going back all the way to it’s founder, John Michael Kohler, an immigrant fromaustria who purchased a cast iron and steel foundry in Sheboygan, Wisconsin in 1873. he started by making farm implements and ornamental hitching posts, urns, and cemetery crosses, among other things, but in 1883, he developed an enamel powder, coated a large rectangular basin in the mixture and heated it to 1,700 degrees. The enamel tub became the centerpiece of his fi rst catalog, with a description below the picture that read, “horse Trough/hog Scalder – when furnished with four legs will serve as a bathtub.” John Michael was not only interested in being the king of cast-iron tubs. he was elected mayor of Sheboygan, and built the city’s first opera house. in 1899, he moved the company to Riverside, four miles outside of Sheboygan and away from the labor force and utilities. The local newspaper dubbed the move, “Kohler’s folly.” he died within days of the completion of the new building, and three months later the factory burned to the ground. his sons rebuilt and ran the factory, and in 1905,Walter Kohler was elected president. Walter, who ran the company for 35 years, added ceramic fixtures and brass faucets to the growing product line, and also developed a diesel engine coupled to an alternator, thereby eliminating the need for farmers to purchase expensive batteries. in 1912, the town of Riverside was incorporated as Kohler Village, and Walter eventually built The american club, a temporary home for Kohler co. workers who came from europe to work in the factory. in 1929, he was elected governor of Wisconsin, while continuing to serve as the company’s president.
cLocKWiSe FRoMToP LeFT: The ori ginal foundry, purchased in 1873. Founder John Michael Kohler. an illustration of one of the company’s original electric sinks.
14 KOHLER signature store by gPs
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