Coleman Company

Coleman gas camp stove

Coleman Company, Inc., is an American company that specializes in outdoor recreation products. Historically, Coleman is known for camping gear.

It was founded by William Coffin Coleman, who began selling kerosene lanterns in 1900 in Kingfisher, Oklahoma. He moved to Wichita, Kansas, in 1902.

Coleman is currently owned by Jarden Corporation. In January 2005, Jarden acquired American Household, Inc, for approximately $845 million. The corporation owned the Coleman Company, and Sunbeam Products, Inc. Brands acquired as part of this acquisition included Coleman, First Alert, Sunbeam, Mr. Coffee, and Oster. For background, in March 1998, Sunbeam Corporation acquired the The Coleman Company, Inc. and Coleman Powermate. In December 2002, Sunbeam Corporation filed Chapter 11 bankruptcy and canceled its common stock. When it emerged from bankruptcy, Sunbeam changed its name to American Household, Inc., a privately held company.(www.jarden.com).

The Coleman Company's headquarters are in Wichita, and it also has facilities in Texas. There are approximately 3,600 employees but most are not manufacturing jobs.^[1] The majority of their goods are now manufactured in China.

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 Perhaps their most famous product is the Coleman Lantern, a series of lamps that were originally made to burn kerosene or gasoline. Current models use Coleman fuel (white gas) or propane and use one or two mantles to produce an intense white light.

Company historians claim that 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 the past, the company also produced a range of cooking stoves and domestic irons. Today, Coleman also manufactures camp stoves (including 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]

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Coleman Company.

• Official website
• Coleman Company History
• W. C. Coleman Biography from Kansas Historical Society