MLC Plant Tour: An Up-Close Look at Kohler’s OT/IT Integration
In 1873, John Michael Kohler and Charles Silberzahn acquired the Sheboygan Union Iron and Steel Foundry in Wisconsin for $5,000. The company made farm implements and ornamental iron pieces, but 10 years later, John Michael Kohler came up with a new idea.
By applying enamel to a cast-iron horse trough/hog scalder, Kohler was able to create the company’s first bathtub. The innovation launched the company into the plumbing business.
Today, Kohler Co. is a privately held, global company with more than $5 billion in annual revenue, best known for its leadership in kitchen and bath products and design-driven innovation. The business is organized across three primary areas: Kitchen and Bath, Luxury and Wellness, and Hospitality. Its portfolio includes a family of over 25 brands such as KOHLER, which offers faucets, showers, sinks, toilets and tubs; Sterling, which offers accessible bath and shower solutions; KALLISTA, known for luxury kitchen and bath fixtures; ANN SACKS, specializing in tile and stone; and Robern, focused on cabinetry, mirrors and lighting. The company also includes Kast, which produces concrete basins and design-forward products. Beyond products, Kohler operates a global hospitality business featuring destination resorts, championship golf, spas and wellness experiences in locations such as Wisconsin and Scotland.
Kohler is now in its fourth generation of Kohler family ownership and leadership. That leadership continuity is underpinned by Kohler’s mission statement – “Help people live gracious, healthy and sustainable lives.”
The company’s manufacturing footprint consists of 45 facilities globally. In April, nearly 100 members of the Manufacturing Leadership Council had the opportunity to tour one of Kohler’s newest plants in the U.S., a one-million square foot “smart factory” in Casa Grande, Arizona, that makes products in the Sterling line. The Casa Grande plant opened in 2024.
MLC members heard presentations and engaged in question-and-answer sessions involving multiple areas of manufacturing and warehousing. These included Casa Grande’s supply chain operations; its sheet molding compounding process; the molding operation, which involves large press machines that mold bathtubs, and how automated guided vehicles move materials and products around the facility.
The factory has wall-to-wall wireless networking coverage, supporting automated guided vehicles, tablets and laser printers.
MLC’s next plant tour will take place August 11-12 at Eli Lilly and Analog Devices in Limerick, Ireland. The tour’s focus is Software-Defined Automation: From Collaborative Co-Creation to Strategic Deployment. Click here to learn more and register.