Vancouver Living – September-October 2019

SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2019 23

LIVINGMAG.CA

FIRST AND FOREMOST

A NEW ERA OF

DESIGN INNOVATION

T

he romAn empire chAmpioned the rituAl of bAthing,

but it was John Michael Kohler who, 1,400 years later, invented the world’s first bathtub.

In Sheboygan, Wisconsin in 1883, Kohler took a cast-iron hog trough, covered it in

enamel finish and put legs on it, marking the first plumbing product manufactured by Kohler.

“John Michael created Kohler’s first bathtub to improve hygiene for his farm equipment

customers and their families. He listened to customer demand and made a strategic business

move that shaped our entire company and history,” says descendant David Kohler, Kohler’s

charismatic current president and CEO.

Taking the reins from his father, Herbert V. Kohler in 2015, Kohler is taking the $7 billion

dollar company, one of the oldest and largest privately held companies in the US, into a new

era of design, technology and sustainability. The company has four main business groups:

kitchen and bath, power, interiors, and hospitality, including golf courses, spas and luxury

resorts, like the prestigious Old Course Hotel in St. Andrews, Scotland.

FROM FARMING WISCONSIN FIELDS TO BREAKING

TECHNOLOGICAL GROUND: THE KOHLER FAMILY LEGACY LIVES ON

STORY | BIANCA SOLTERBECK

KOHLER’S MODERN DESIGNS ARE MUCH EVOLVED

FROM THE BRAND’S RURAL ORIGINS, BUT STILL

BLEND SEAMLESSLY WITH NATURE SCENES

PRESIDENT AND CEO

DAVID KOHLER

IMAGES BY KOHLER (^) >
Accepted in all
stores
LIVING IN MOTION
Feel the stress of your day melt away as you sink into our
ergonomically engineered recliner Sofa & Loveseat.
COQUITLAM
1400 United Blvd
604.524.3444
LANGLEY
20429 Langley By-Pass
604.530.8248
RICHMOND
12551 Bridgeport Rd
604.273.2971
NANAIMO
1711 Bowen Rd
250.753.6361
VICTORIA
661 McCallum Rd
250.475.2233
KELOWNA
1912 Spall Rd
250.860.7603
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