Aluminum Goods leaves many stories
“The founding fathers of Manitowoc had dreams, big dreams,” wrote Leonora Kadow as she began the Manitowoc County Historical Society’s Occupational Monograph Number 18 on the “History of Aluminum.”
Mirro Aluminum Company’s roots began in 1893 when Two Rivers’ Joseph Koenig traveled to the Columbian Exposition in Chicago where products were displayed made of aluminum. Henry Vits, from Manitowoc, set up a shop to manufacture aluminum products at the same time. In 1909 Koenig’s Aluminum Manufacturing Company and Vit’s Manitowoc Novelty Company merged with the New Jersey Aluminum Company of Newark to create the Aluminum Goods Manufacturing Company, which was locally known as the “Goods”.
“Manufacturing of cooking utensils by mass production methods began in 1913 when the company produced a double boiler for the Quaker Oats Company, which ultimately sold over the billion mark,” wrote Kadow. “Up to this time, the business has been mainly novelties, with aluminum combs the principal product.”
A brandline of pots and pans was created using the founders’ names: ‘VI’ from Vits and ‘KO’ from Koenig forned the “VIKO” brand. By 1915 the company received its first contract for automobile hub caps.
With the outbreak of World War I, manufacturing turned to canteens, cooking utensils, and mess kits. It is estimated that over 1 million canteens were made by the “Goods”. “Mirro, the finest aluminum” was launched in 1917 to answer the call for the company’s first nationally advertised, high-quality, brand line. The launch included full-page advertisements in the Saturday Evening Post, Ladies Home Journal, McCall’s, Good Housekeeping, and Better Homes and Gardens.
Kadow wrote, “George Vits, who was president at this time, had an intense personal interest in his employees.” Each year the business would hold a Company Picnic, beginning with a parade, followed by games for kids and entertainment.
When the Great Depression hit in 1929, there was about 3,400 employees at Aluminum Goods. But with sales down by more than 65 percent by 1931, the number of employees dropped to 2,500. With the worst of the Depression over by 1933, employment immediately rose to 2,700.
By 1940 the company was directly and indirectly involved with national defense work. Product included a wide range of items for the armed forces, from coffee filters and meat platters to airplane fuel tanks and cartridge cases.
On April 10, 1957, Aluminum Goods stockholders officially decided to change the company’s name to Mirro Aluminum Company.
On July 15, 1983, after over 88 years in operation, Mirro was officially acquired by the Newell Company, headquartered in Freeport, Illinois. Continued acquisitions took place over the coming years including Manitowoc’s Aluminum Specialty Company/Foley in 1984. WearEver Company was acquired in 1989.
Cutbacks and layoffs soon took a toll on the company. In May, 2001 corporate offices were moved to Ohio and in the coming years production in our community ceased, resulting in the loss of 882 Mirro jobs.
The ingenuity and entrepreneurial spirit of Koenig and Vits reaches far beyond the brick and mortar buildings of the Mirro Manufacturing Company. As we watch the closing chapter of the company’s Plant 2 on Washington Street come to an end, we can remind ourselves of the dedicated employees, the over 10,000 teakettles a day work ethic, and the stories that will remain.