A history of aluminum manufacturing in Manitowoc

Mixing Bowl 60th Anniversary: 1895-1955

The Mirro Aluminum Company of Manitowoc, Wisconsin, was once the world's largest manufacturer of aluminum cooking utensils. Although aluminum is one of the Earth's most abundant elements, it was not until the 1880s that a viable and economical commercial production process for aluminum was developed. Joseph Koenig started the Aluminum Manufacturing Company after visiting the 1893 Columbian Exposition in Chicago where aluminum novelties from Germany were on display. A few years later, Koenig merged his company with the Manitowoc Aluminum Novelty Company (founded in 1898), the Standard Aluminum Company of Two Rivers, and the New Jersey Aluminum Company of Newark. Manufacture of cookware began in 1913 and the name "Mirro" was adopted in 1917. The company's internal magazine, Mixing Bowl, celebrates the company's first 60 years with a company history and photographs of its development. Also included are a short history of the company through 1967 and product sheets and a price list from 1978.

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