Kohler Company
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The Kohler Company is a manufacturing company in Kohler, Wisconsin best known for its plumbing products. Kohler is a worldwide leader in plumbing products, but also manufactures furniture, cabinetry, tile, engines, and generators.
History
Kohler was founded in 1873 by Austrian immigrant John Michael Kohler with the purchase of the Sheboygan Union Iron and Steel Foundry. Early products included cast iron and steel farm implements, castings for furniture factories, and ornamental iron pieces including cemetery crosses and settees. A breakthrough came for the company when, in 1883, John Michael applied enamel to a cast iron horse trough to create the company's first bathtub. From this point on, the company has been primarily in the plumbing business, and became well known for high-quality plumbing fixtures. In 1888 the then Kohler Water Works developed the original trademarked Bubbler. The idea took off and other companies developed similar products under the generic term "drinking fountain." The colloquial word Bubbler is still used in several regions of the United States.
Former Wisconsin Governor Walter J. Kohler, Sr. was President of Kohler Company as was his son former Wisconsin Governor Walter J. Kohler, Jr.. Today, the president of Kohler is Herbert V. Kohler, Jr., (b. February 20, 1939) grandson of the founder.
Products
Kohler's sinks, toilets, and bathtubs are available in most American hardware and home improvement stores, where they are recognized by customers as high-quality products in the middle price range. Their brass faucets are premium products, and have become very popular. To this day, Kohler still makes traditional cast iron bathtubs, and are one of very few United States manufacturers to do so. Besides residential products, Kohler manufactures a commercial line of bathroom fixtures. In addition, the company does a fair amount of artistic custom work, such as hand-painted sinks and toilets.
More recently, the company has been expanding in the areas of furniture, cabinetry, and tile in the consumer market, and engines and generators for industry. These other consumer products have not yet achieved the market presence of the plumbing products. However, the industrial products have become well recognized in eastern Wisconsin.
Kohler also has a Hospitality and Real Estate Group, which owns a golf resort in Kohler, WI, The American Club. The Whistling Straits golf course complex associated with the resort hosted the PGA Championship in 2004, and will host that event in 2010 and 2015. Whistling Straits will also be the site of the 2020 Ryder Cup.
The Kohler Company is affiliated with the not-for-profit John Michael Kohler Arts Center in Sheboygan, Wisconsin. Staff and visiting artists at Kohler decorate the public restrooms at the center; many visitors find these restrooms to be impressive works of art in their own right.
External links
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