Coleman (brand)
Coleman Company, Inc., is a brand of outdoor recreation products, especially camping gear, owned by Newell Brands. Coleman Company's headquarters are in Chicago, and it has facilities in Wichita, Kansas and in Texas. There are approximately 4,000 employees.[1]
Subsidiary | |
Industry | Sports equipment and Outdoor equipment |
Founded | 1900 |
Headquarters | Chicago, IL , |
Key people | Jim Pisani (CEO) |
Number of employees | 4,000 (est.)[1] |
Parent | Newell Brands |
Website | www |
History
The company was founded by William Coffin Coleman, who began selling gasoline pressure lamps in 1900 in Kingfisher, Oklahoma. In 1905, the company provided a demonstration for the 1905 Cooper vs. Fairmount football game (now called Sterling College and Wichita State University). Coleman gas lamps were provided to play the first night football game west of the Mississippi River.[2] In 1996, the company acquired the French Campingaz. Through a series of acquisitions via Sunbeam Products and Jarden, Coleman is now a subsidiary of Newell Brands.
In March of 2020, Michael Robert Coleman, a distant relative of William Coffin Coleman and member of the New York branch of the Coleman Family, launched an exploratory committee with a group of New York based businessmen on bringing the brand back into the family.
Products
Throughout its history, Coleman has produced a wide variety of equipment primarily aimed at the camping and recreational markets. Perhaps their most famous product is the Coleman Lantern, a series of pressure lamps that were originally made to burn gasoline. Current models use Coleman fuel (white gas) or propane and use one or two gas mantles to produce an intense white light.
In the past, the company also produced a range of cooking stoves and domestic irons. Today, Coleman also manufactures camp stoves (Coleman produced the original "G.I. Pocket Stove"), sleeping bags, coolers, hot tubs, generators, watches, sandals, tents, dog toys, and backpacks among other things. They also make a line of small boats, including canoes, pontoon boats, johnboats and the unique scanoe. In the past they also sold pop-up travel trailers, Skiroule snowmobiles and the Hobie Cat brand of sailboats. The company has recently started producing a backyard barbecue grill, which is sold at Canadian Tire.
A separate company, Coleman Heating and Air Conditioning, sells home heating and air conditioning units. Coleman Heating and Air Conditioning is owned by Johnson Controls, and uses the Coleman name and logo under license.[3]
Coleman also produces ATVs and mini bikes under the Coleman Powersports brand. Coleman ATVs are Chinese made. They are manufactured/assembled in China by a company called Hisun [4]
See also
References
- "FIRST LIGHT (1900–1929)". Coleman Company. Archived from the original on March 18, 2013. Retrieved November 24, 2012.
- "About Coleman". Archived from the original on 2010-11-21. Retrieved 2011-01-11.
- Coleman mini bike
External links
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Coleman Company. |
- Official website
- Coleman Company History—Fundinguniverse.com
- W. C. Coleman Biography—Kansas Historical Society