The founder’s youngest son finds himself in service, then creates a legacy in bold partnerships. Find out how Herbert V. Kohler Sr. grew to become the CEO of Kohler Co. and leave a lasting mark on our heritage.
Herbert Vollrath Kohler Sr. was only nine years old when his father, the founder of Kohler Co., died. As other family members followed John Michael at the helm of the company, it became evident that the traits of bold independence, steadfast vision and love of community were passed down through the generations.
Herbert no doubt observed those characteristics on his way to becoming the next CEO of Kohler Co. Yet, even with an extraordinary older sibling and mentor in Walter J. Kohler Sr., some of Herbert’s earliest accomplishments seemed to result from his independence, thousands of miles away from the Village of Kohler.
At Yale University, he studied philosophy while balancing the demands of participating on the wrestling and track teams. His summers back home in Kohler consisted of heavy labor at the foundry and hours with the Kohler Volunteer Fire Department.
Herbert’s impressive physical stature and drive to serve led him to volunteer for the Army National Guard, climbing the ranks to captain after he graduated from college. When the U.S. entered World War I in 1917, he spent the next two years with the 32nd Red Arrow Division on active duty in France and returned home a better leader than ever.
Among his fellow soldiers, Herbert gained a deep understanding and high regard for the potential of a strong team. Like his brothers and father, his personal accomplishments were impressive. But, as CEO of Kohler Co., it was Herbert’s ability to inspire others that truly set him apart. Under his leadership from 1940 to 1968, his executive team (many of whom retired with 40 or more years of service) helped him take Kohler Co. in bold new directions.
During World War II, the company halted brass plumbing manufacturing to focus on artillery production. With a need to maintain its market share, Kohler began producing “Win-the-War” cast-iron bathroom fittings while earning honors from the U.S. Army-Navy for exceptional wartime support.
During the 1950s, the executive team, with Herbert’s guidance, scouted and built Kohler Co.’s first manufacturing plant outside of Wisconsin. They also navigated the 1954-1960 labor strike, known today as the longest labor stoppage in American industrial history.
Perhaps most famously, he and his advertising executives pioneered the concept of bold new accent colors for bathroom products in the late 1960s. The tag line rolled out then is still with the company today: The Bold Look of Kohler.
Beyond his business acumen and keen ability to spot and develop other innovators, Herbert had a creative side and true talent as a painter. At the age of 45, he met, fell in love with and married a woman who fostered his artistic expression and lifelong love for the arts: Ruth DeYoung.
An exceptional individual herself, the 30-year-old Ruth was already an accomplished journalist and woman’s editor at the Chicago Tribune. After moving to Kohler, she continued to write, published books and was an active leader in the community’s historical societies, arts organizations and woman’s groups.
Together, the couple established the Kohler Foundation and the John Michael Kohler Arts Center, two organizations that support arts, education and cultural programs to this day throughout Wisconsin and beyond. But their legacy didn’t stop there. All three of their children — Herbert Jr., Ruth II and Frederic — have made a significant mark on Kohler Co., the Village of Kohler and the world, embodying the spirit that has run through the family for more than a century.