Kohler Co. was founded by Austrian immigrant John Michael Kohler in 1873 in Kohler, Wisconsin. While it is best known for plumbing products, it also manufactures furniture, tiles, generators, and engines.
Kohler’s breakthrough occurred in 1883 when John Michael manipulated a horse trough by applying enamel to its surface, thus creating the company’s first bathtub. Since this development, the company’s presence grew as a plumbing business and fixture provider.
Employee strikes have occurred repeatedly in Kohler’s history. In 1934, 1954, 1983 and again in 2015, workers unionised to protest demeaning wages, unfair benefits programs and discriminatory hiring regulations. Both the 1934 and 1954 strikes lasted multiple years and saw violent rioting.
The company has also been accused of inappropriate hiring practices for women. In 1999, the US Department of Labor sought a court case against Kohler regarding an arbitrary height requirement for women employees to be a minimum of 5’ 4” tall. Kohler also saw controversy in 2005 with criticism of its factory conditions for workers in Foshan, China.
In 2020, Kohler paid $20 million to the US Department of Justice for violations of the Clean Air Act and California law for failure to adhere to the EPA’s factory pollutant guidelines.
Kohler remains one of North America’s most profitable privately-owned companies. It employs more than 30,000 people.
- Family name: Kohler family
- Sector: Diversified Industrial Product
- Founded: 1873
- Founder: John Michael Kohler
- Country: United States
- Company headquarters: Kohler, Wisconsin, USA
- President and CEO: David Kohler
- Revenue: US$6 billion
- Family ownership: 96%
- Employees: 30,000
- Website: https://www.kohler.com
