Mirro
 |
|
| Industry | Consumer goods |
|---|---|
| Successor |
|
| Founded | 1909 |
| Founders | Joseph Koenig and Henry Vits |
| Defunct | 2003 |
| Headquarters | 900 South 16th Street Manitowoc, Wisconsin United States |
| Products | Variety of Consumer goods |
The Mirro Aluminum Company was an aluminum cookware company that existed in Manitowoc, Wisconsin, from 1909 to 2003. It was colloquially referred to as simply Mirro.
The roots of the company can be traced to the founding of three companies: the Aluminum Manufacturing Company founded by Joseph Koenig in Two Rivers, Wisconsin, in 1895; the Manitowoc Aluminum Novelty Company, founded in neighboring Manitowoc, Wisconsin, by Henry Vits in 1898; and the New Jersey Aluminum Company founded in 1890 in Newark, New Jersey. In 1909, the three companies merged, and the resulting company was renamed the Aluminum Goods Manufacturing Company. It was headquartered in Manitowoc and headed by Vits as president and Koenig as vice president. In 1910, in a $200,000 deal between George Vits and the eastern capitalists, all offices and manufacturing were moved to Manitowoc.
The company received its first government contract in 1911, winning an $80,000 contract to build aluminum canteens developed by Joseph Koenig for the army. Koening filed for a patent in April 1911 and was granted patent US1062716 in May 1913.
By 1914, the company reported that its employment was over 400 and building space had grown to almost 90,000 sq ft. In 1915 the company acquired the facilities of the Standard Aluminum Company, another manufacturer in Two Rivers. For the next two years the company concentrated on the production of cooking utensils. The Mirro brand was introduced in 1917.
The company continued to grow and by 1920 had increased its capital to $12,000,000.
During World War II Mirro retooled its factories to make aluminum products for the military. When the war ended in 1945, the company expanded into aluminum toys, making the popular Sno-Coaster saucer shaped sled. In 1957 shareholders approved a name change to the Mirro Aluminum Company.
In 1958, Mirro began manufacturing a line of 16 ft aluminum boats under the Mirro-Craft name. The boats, introduced at the Chicago National Boat Show in February of that year, were designed by naval architect David Beach. Shipment of production boats did not start until January 1959.
In late 1971, Mirro purchased Cruisers, Inc., of Oconto, Wisconsin, a manufacturer of Fiberglass boats ranging in length from 16 ft to 25 ft.
At its peak, Mirro was the world's largest manufacturer of aluminum cooking utensils, and over time it had as many as eight plants in three states, with products ranging from pots and pans to small boats and aluminum siding.
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