If you follow along with us on social media, you know we like a good furniture history deep dive! Jeff likes to learn about the processes of the manufacturers of the mid century modern furniture that we sell and I like to know about the people, the places and where the companies are now.
So let's get into our first deep dive post:
Kroehler Manufacturing Co. - "World's Largest Furniture Maker"
Today, we listed a Kroehler Galaxy sofa in the shop. The label makes the boast "Kroehler world's largest furniture maker". This claim appears on most of the Kroehler labels that I have seen. Was Kroehler really the world's largest furniture maker, and if so during what time period? Where is Kroehler now?
Kroehler Chair - Currently Available!
As with all great deep dives for information, my search started with Google. I found sites that looked like they were created in the 90s, as I often do when I try to research furniture history, but also some resources from newspapers, pinterest and encyclopedias.
Company Background
Kroehler Manufacturing Co. was founded by Peter E. Kroehler in Naperville, IL. Peter E. Kroehler was an important figure in Naperville history, as his company was the largest employer in the town. After working his way up to becoming a partner in Naperville Lounge Co., he later purchased it in 1902. Naperville Lounge Co. made wooden lounge chairs and upholstered furniture. Eventually, in 1915, the company merged to combine four factories, which became "Kroehler Manufacturing Company".
Peter Kroehler - Photo Credit American Furniture History Hall of Fame
By the 1940s, through expansion and acquisition of other companies, the company had over $20 million in annual sales and was the second largest furniture maker in the U.S. The hey-day of the company seemed to be in the 60s (which is when our sofa was made) when annual revenues reached $200 million and the company had 14 factories which employed thousands of workers in the U.S. and Canada. This is the period of time when it was the world's largest furniture maker.
According to an article about the company in the Daily Star, during the company's peak, "Kroehler was delivering 128 truckloads of furniture a day to stores primarily in the Midwestern and Northeastern states". This explains why Kroehler furniture can be found in homes in the Midwest, to this day.
Decline to Present Day
Apparently, the company operated at a loss due to smaller profit margins in the 1970s and gradually began to suffer. The Kroehler family sold the business and rights to the Kroehler name in 1981. The company was mostly defunct by 2001.
Of particular interest to me in this story is all of the people that were employed by the factories for this company. Imagine how important Kroehler was to Naperville, IL - a western suburb of Chicago, and the thousands of people employed throughout the country and even in Canada! I read an excerpt of the 1951 company newsletter and it contained a listing of their Long Service Awards with employees that had worked for the company up to 40 years at that time!
Update
Over a year later we have sourced more Kroehler pieces! Including pieces from a time capsule home where the pieces were in immaculate condition! Check out this original ad from 1959 - we are listing a dining set from this same Smartset line that looks as if it was never used or exposed to sunlight!
Dining set coming Thursday, 6/22 at 10 am central
If you happen to read this post and know of someone who worked for the company or have further information to share, we would love to hear about it in the comments section!
Hello, I’m Charles Heusel, Jr. of Louisville,KY and my father worked at the Kroehler Furniture Manufacturing Plant at 4th Street and Colorado Ave. from 1950 to July 1969. The Plant moved operations to a new facility in Conover, North Carolina as the Company was acquired by the ANTR Group of Bolingbrook, IL. an investment firm of investors and stockholders as the new owners to the Kroehler Furniture MFG. Co. name and Plants. There are also two other Plants in Stratford Ontario Canada and in Missasauga Ontario Canada. They still manufacture Kroehler Furniture labeled furniture to this day mainly of upholstered sofas and chairs. They make high quality and durable sofas that really last and are of superior designs and in a variety of fabrics and colors. They are reasonably priced too. Peter E. Kroehler always told his employees," Build it like you would want to buy it and display it in your own homes". High quality and Custom crafted". He immersed himself totally in his Furniture business and took great pride in hand picking the raw materials from the wood, springs, and fabrics to manufacture his upholstered sofas and chairs. They later made Maple wood bedroom suites, living room suites, dining room suites and kitchen tables and wooden chairs. Kroehler had 22 furniture manufacturing facilities in 9 U.S. States plus 3 facilities in Ontario, Canada. He really was the World’s Largest Manufacturer of Upholstered Furnitue back in thd 1960’s and 1970’s. The slogan was on the furniture shipping containers and cardboard boxes that encased all of his Company’s manufactured furniture and on the sides of his Company’s Tractor Trailer Delivery Trucks. Kroehler even owned his own fabric textile plant in Meridian, Mississippi to keep costs down and he owned wood/ lumber plants in Canada as well. Kroehler also had his plants built near major railroad lines so he could get his furniture and raw materials to his manufacturing plants and to the stores and customers as easily and fast as possible. He was an ingenious master of controlling manufacturing costs and eliminating middlemen. Thus, he became a very wealthy entrepreneur and leader in the Manufacturing of high quality furniture. A real early Pioneer of bookkeeping all the way up to a highly successful Businessman. He worked tirelessly and was a big enthusiast of physical fitness, boxing, swimming and bicycling. He encouraged his employees to take part in joining their local YMCA’s as well and had a swimming pool built in Naperville I’ll at the local YMCA. He also had a softball/ baseball diamond built there as well. Peter Kroehler was a real American Businessman who worked his way up the hard way after he left farm life in his native Minnesota. A true success story who employed a lot of people with good jobs and a lifetime career if they wanted it. His legacy still remains to this day. Make great furniture that lasts. The American Way and help people along the way of life. Peter E. Kroehler an American Iconic Furniture Manufacturer who is famous still today. He had great vision into the future. Sincerely, Charles E. Heusel, Jr. A son of one of his former employees, a Shipping Dept. Clerk and a master Forklift Operator in the old Kroehler Louisville Plant Warehouse and Distribution Center of Louisville, KY.
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Thank you for all the comments about working for Kroehler!
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Naperville’s museum- Naper Settlement- will be opening a Kroehler exhibition in April 2025- well worth the trip for Kroehler (pronounced cray-lor) fans!
I worked at the Bradley, IL and Naperville Corporate office sites in 1970s, just 19 years old. They employed many people from the local small towns. My Uncle and cousins worked the in the 60s and 70s..Seems like everyone from Bradley worked there some time in their life. I had a Kroehler sofa and two chairs that I purchased in 1976, sold them in great condition in 2012, amazing that I had those pieces so long.