S. M. Frank & Co.: Difference between revisions

The history of S. M. Frank & Co. spans nearly a century and half of pipe making, supporting its claim as the "oldest pipe house in America." S. M. Frank, as it exists today, is a combination of some of the biggest names in pipe making from the early part of the 20th. century. The pipe names [[Kaywoodie]], [[Yello-Bole]], [[Reiss-Premier Co.|Reiss-Premier]], [[William Demuth Company]], [[Medico]], Heritage ([[Heritage Pipes Inc.]]), and Frank are familiar to generations of pipe smokers.

Kaywoodie was the name a pipe offered by Kaufman Brothers & Bondy Company (KBB), first appearing in February of 1919. The Dinwoodie pipe, also by KBB, appeared in November of 1919. Sometime before 1924, the Dinwoodie had been discontinued and the Kaywoodie name was beginning to be used on an extensive line of pipes that ultimately would be the name of the company. The origin of the name Kaywoodie is a combination of the K from Kaufman and wood, as in briar. Not much is known of the original KBB company other than it was started in 1851 by the German born Kaufman brothers when they opened a small pipe shop in the Bowery section of New York City. In the back room of this shop, they made their first pipes. From this meager beginning, the Kaywoodie name and organization was to emerge.

[[File:Hesson-Guard-1943.jpg|thumb|1943 Hessen Guard Ad, courtesy Doug Valitchka]]In the year 1900 Sam Frank Sr. started his own business, selling pipes and other tobacco items. His original office was located at 20 W. 17th Street, NYC. He was also closely associated with the sales staff of Wm. DeMuth & Co., selling their line of pipes. It was at this time that Mr. Frank first met Ferdinand Feuerbach and formed what would be a lifelong friendship. Mr. Feuerbach started working for the DeMuth company in 1897 and by 1903 had become the production manager. In 1919, when Mr. Frank needed an experienced pipe man to run his pipe factory, located at 168 Southern Blvd., in the Bronx, he persuaded his old friend Ferdinand to join him. Mr. Feuerbach is credited with developing DeMuth's popular Royal DeMuth and Hesson Guard Milano pipelines. In 1922, when S. M. Frank purchased the Manhattan Briar Pipe Co. the company incorporated. In 1933, the paper Medico filter was introduced along with the Medico brand line of pipes. The Medico filter is the "original" and most absorbent paper filter on the market that is recognized by pipe smokers world-wide. Filtered pipe smoking, a debatable issue among pipe smokers, reduces tars and nicotine in the smoke stream to make a "safer" smoke.

In October 1943, Sam Frank Sr.'s passing marked a change of leadership of the company. Herbert Schloss, longtime friend and fellow salesman was named President, Ferdinand Feuerbach was Vice President and Treasurer, Charles Dietsch (Sam Frank's nephew) was Vice President of Sales. William Feuerbach Sr., who joined the company in 1937, was named Assistant Treasurer. Sam Frank Jr. joined the company in 1948, after serving in the U.S. Marine Corps during the war. He worked in factory operations until 1950 when he was transferred to sales, covering various territories.

In March of 1955, S. M. Frank & Co., Inc., headquarter at 133 Fifth Avenue, New York, with manufacturing facilities located in the Richmond Hill section of Queens in New York City, completed the purchase of The Kaywoodie Company, Kaufman Brothers & Bondy, [[Reiss-Premier Co.|Reiss-Premier Corp.]] and The New England Briar Pipe Co. There are a few years prior to this that things are a little fuzzy. It is thought that aforementioned companies were purchased by another company in 1952. The name of this company is not known by us. This interim owner was not a pipemaker and after only 3 years was looking for a buyer. When this unknown company bought Kaywoodie in 1952, the Rockefeller Center corporate office was closed and moved to the West New York plant. Sam Frank Jr. was put in charge of Manufacturing and Purchasing of the newly acquired West New York facility. (Later in 1964, he would be elected President and Chief Executive of S. M. Frank. In 1968 he assumed and was later elected Chairman of the Board, replacing Herbert Schloss, who passed away in January of '68 after 60 years of employment with S. M. Frank.)

The thought was that skilled pipe craftsmen would be trained at Yapank and the finishing operations would gradually be shifted there. Through the 70's the demand for pipes started to fall and as a result, the Yapank plant was closed in 1977 with S. M. Frank temporarily moving all operations back to the Richmond Hill plant.

In 1980, S. M. Frank & Co. moved to its present location in Peekskill, NY, a small city 50 miles north of New York City on the east shore of the Hudson River. With the closure of the Richmond Hill plant in the early 80's, pipes were produced by several Italian pipe makers. The quality of these pipes were not up to our standards and soon this arrangement ceased in favor of a domestic pipemaker, an ex-employee who had started his own pipe business. In 1992, S. M. Frank purchased their domestic supplier to maintain better control of quality and production. All briar Kaywoodie, Yello-Bole, and Medico pipes, as well as private label pipes, are produced at our manufacturing facility in Tampa, Florida. All of S. M. Frank's Brylon pipes are manufactured in Peekskill.