From a small Evansville tin shop in 1873 to a global enterprise with more than a billion dollars in revenue, Koch’s story is one of resilience, family leadership, and innovation. Explore our journey decade by decade.
1873 – George Koch opens George Koch Tin Shop, producing household items from tin and copper.
1904 – Mary Koch becomes president after George’s passing, officially incorporating George Koch Sons with her three sons.
1909 - Revenue reaches $10,000.
1914 – Louis Koch’s Christmas tin horns for his children become the company’s first mass-produced product.
1920 – Louis Koch solves a key production issue for Mead Johnson’s best-selling infant formula, Dextro-Maltose.
1930 – Koch launches its Industrial Division: paint curing ovens, spray booths, conveyors.
1936 – Establishes Koch Airconditioning, the first franchised distributor for Carrier Air Conditioning.
1942 – Builds new plant for metal furniture, quickly shifts to equipment for World War II.
1943 – Launches wrought iron furniture in Metalcraft Division.
1946 – Louis Koch opens Santa Claus Land — now Holiday World & Splashin’ Safari.
1952 – Wins $50M contract with the Atomic Energy Commission — the largest sheet metal project awarded to a single firm at the time.
1953 – Pioneers automotive coating systems (precursors to modern electrocoating and powder coating).
1960 – Creates Ashdee Division for research & equipment development.
1962 – Revenue exceeds $10M.
1969 – Acquires Gibbs Die Casting for $1M (sold in 2025).
1975 – Revenue reaches $75M milestone.
1985 – Acquires Uniseal, adhesives & sealants company (sold in 2018).
1986 – Acquires Brake Supply, heavy vehicle parts & remanufacturing (sold in 2024).
1990 – Forms joint venture Page-Koch Europe (now Koch Europe).
1994–1996 – Expands Koch Air with acquisitions in Indianapolis, Louisville, and St. Louis.
1996 – Launches Audubon Metals, processing & smelting non-ferrous scrap.
1999 – Forms Koch Enterprises as the holding company.
2000 – Revenue surpasses $600M.
2006 – Acquires South Western Communications (SWC), specializing in security, communications, and control systems.
2009 – SWC expands into Georgia with acquisition of Richardson TSI.
2010 – Koch Air opens Lexington, KY branch.
2018 – Launches Koch Applied Solutions to bring specialty HVAC products and controls to market.
2021 – Major growth year:
2022 – Revenue surpasses $1.4 billion.
2023 – Amprod acquires Watson Metal Masters (custom tanks, vessels, silos).
2025 – Amprod acquires Simmtech, expanding automation & integration in North America.
2025 – Koch Air acquires Standard Air & Lite (multi-state HVAC distributor in the Mid-Atlantic).
From tin shop to technology leader — Koch has spent more than 150 years building strong businesses, strong communities, and strong futures.
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