Kaywoodie: Difference between revisions

In 1957, S. M. Frank formed Medico Pipes (Canada) Ltd, to distribute Medico products in Canada. Offices were located in Toronto. In December of 1971, the subsidiary was renamed KYM Pipes (Canada) Ltd. and continued distributing all three lines there until it was sold to Brigham Pipes, Ltd. in 1985. Sometime in the early 1960's, another subsidiary was set up in Livorno, Italy called KYM (Europe) Srl. This location still operates today and acts as a warehouse and distribution facility of Medico products in Europe, Africa, and the Mid-East.

From the time of S. M. Frank's purchase in 1955 until 1972, Kaywoodie and Yello-Bole were run as a separate companies, as divisions of the parent. The Kaywoodie Company was re-named Kaywoodie Pipes, Inc. Through this period, Kaywoodie and Yello-Bole had its own officers, sales force and maintained the production facilities in West New York. In the early 1960's the corporate offices were re-located to S. M. Frank's office at 18 East 54th Street, New York, NY. Medico and DeMuth pipes continued to be made at the Richmond Hill plant. Through the 1960's, demand for S. M. Frank pipes exceeded the available supply. One of the reasons for this was the first two Surgeon General's reports on cigarette smoking and the health dangers. This report also said that if you wanted to smoke, smoke a pipe instead. By the late 1960's, S. M. Frank was looking for larger facilities to house the manufacturing and office space. In 1968, Kaywoodie's sales office moved again, to 745 5th Avenue. This office was only open a few years until the search for a new building was completed.

In May of 1960, S. M. Frank started a subsidiary company called Heritage Pipes. The Heritage pipes were an upscale line of push bit pipes meant to compliment the Kaywoodie line. Although not hugely successful, Heritage produced some fine pipes that are still in the collections of many pipe smokers. This company was dissolved on December 31, 1971.