The Kalamazoo Stove Company (1902–1952) of
Kalamazoo, Michigan
Kalamazoo ( ) is a city in the southwest region of the U.S. state of Michigan. It is the county seat of Kalamazoo County. At the 2010 census, Kalamazoo had a population of 74,262. Kalamazoo is the major city of the Kalamazoo-Portage Metropolit ...
operated with the slogan "A Kalamazoo ~ Direct to You." This was one of the first manufacturing plants to deal directly with the customer instead of employing the use of
retail stores The retail format (also known as the retail formula) influences the consumer's store choice and addresses the consumer's expectations. At its most basic level, a retail format is a simple marketplace, that is; a location where goods and services are ...
.
Kalamazoo Stove produced several million
stoves
A stove or range is a device that burns fuel or uses electricity to generate heat inside or on top of the apparatus, to be used for general warming or cooking. It has evolved highly over time, with cast-iron and induction versions being develope ...
and
furnaces
A furnace is a structure in which heat is produced with the help of combustion.
Furnace may also refer to:
Appliances Buildings
* Furnace (central heating): a furnace , or a heater or boiler , used to generate heat for buildings
* Boiler, used t ...
over its fifty-year existence, 100,000 of these in its peak production year, 1937. That year, the name was changed to ''Kalamazoo Stove and Furnace Company.''
Among the innovations in stove design that came out of this company were the oven door window, which allowed the user to see what was being cooked without opening the door, and a thermometer mounted on the oven door.
The fact that most of their models were powered by wood or coal resulted in the company's demise in 1952, with their customer base shifting to gas and electric models offered by other companies.
External links
Article from Museography MagazineArticle on Kalamazoo Public Library website
Manufacturing companies based in Michigan
Stoves
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