Our Company

Our company’s founder, John Michael Kohler, was an Austrian immigrant, a businessman and a visionary. In 1873 he purchased a foundry in rural Wisconsin that produced a variety of cast-iron and steel products. Ten years later, Kohler took a product in his line, heated it to 1700°F and sprinkled it with enamel powder. Placing a picture of it in the center of his one-page catalog, he called it “a horse trough/hog scalder . . . when furnished with four legs will serve as a bathtub.” Kohler was in the plumbing business. From those humble beginnings, our company has grown into a multifaceted global family of brands that lead the way to enhance our customers’ sense of gracious living. Today, with more than 50 manufacturing locations on 6 continents, more than 30,000 Kohler associates are able to present the concept of gracious living in every corner of the world.