Casket maker buys MasterBrand property
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RICHMOND, IN -- Wood casket manufacturer Richard "Jeff" Jeffers has purchased land that once contained the Kemper Cabinet plant, most recently owned by MasterBrand Cabinets.

Jeffers is owner of J.M. Hutton Company, a manufacturer of cabinets and metal stamping, told pal-item.com that he has no immediate plans for the 13.7-acre property he acquired from SMA Investments LLC of Oak Brook Terrace, IL. MasterBrands closed the Kemper plant in 2008 and
the 285,000-square-foot factory was subsequently torn down after the property was purchased by SMA for $600,000 in April 2010, according to pal-item.

Kemper Cabinetry History
According to KemperCabinets.com, Kemper Distinctive Cabinetry was founded in 1926 as Kemper Brothers Inc. The company initially manufactured wardrobes, chifforobes and dresserobes.

In 1928 the first free-standing kitchen cabinets (known today as “Hoosier cabinets” because of their Indiana origins) were put into production followed quickly by dish cabinets and broom cabinets. After World War II the single-family home building boom started; portable kitchen cabinets lost their popularity and in January of 1956 Kemper Bros. was one of the first companies to act on the desire for built-in wood cabinets.

In January of 1965, Kemper Bros. merged with Tappan Company as a wholly-owned and operated subsidiary. In 1979 A.B. Electrolux of Sweden purchased all segments of The Tappan Company and with the acquisition of White Consolidated Industries in 1986 became W.C.I., which included a cabinet group. In 1998 the cabinet group was purchased by MasterBrand Cabinets, a subsidiary of Fortune Brands and the second-largest cabinet manufacturer in the United States.

Also read: MasterBrand cabinetry spin-off nears 

Posted by Rich Christianson

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