The Krug Story

Hartman Krug, a cabinetmaker of German heritage, founded Krug Inc. in 1880. He started his own small factory in Berlin, Ontario (renamed Kitchener in 1919) and by the turn of the century was producing several product lines, which included upholstered office chairs and hand carved residential furniture, out of a massive four story plant on Ahrens Street.

Krug's attention to detail and quality was the force behind its popularity within Canada. Steam-bent and hand-carved pieces were the trademarks of a company whose goal was to create an elegant and lasting product. In the 1930's, Krug was producing office and contract chairs and tables exclusively, and in the war years of 1939 to 1945, virtually all the company's production was for the Canadian government's war effort. In the post-war boom period, Krug's output grew rapidly to supply a market in which office furniture was in high demand.

The implementation of new equipment and procedures were required for Krug's entrance into the U.S market mid 1970's. As a result Krug entered into the desk market, and purchased Imperial Furniture of Stratford, Ontario in 1980. Krug immediately moved its large lumber and kiln-drying operations to Stratford and also began production of its new traditional desk line there, while continuing production at the Ahrens Street plant.

In 1984, Krug purchased a large building on Manitou Drive in Kitchener and immediately relocated its warehousing and distribution operations to the new facility. A large veneer operation was put in place, and over the next few years the Manitou plant became one of the premier manufacturing facilities of desks in North America.

Today Krug is one of the fastest growing companies in the office furniture industry. Fueled by product development and plant expansions Krug has enjoyed double-digit growth each of the past four years. Additionally, Krug's showrooms and outstanding team of sales representatives across the United States and Canada have achieved sales of almost 100 million dollars. "This is a very exciting time for Krug," Says Len Ruby, Krug President. "With a 125 years of rich heritage we continue to grow by leveraging today's technology, with Hartman Krug's vision for detailed craftsmanship."