Aluminum Home Products (Louisville, Kentucky) Sales Books

Collection — Multiple Containers

Identifier: 1998_125-UA

How to Cite

John Ward worked as a salesman for the Aluminum Home Products Corporation, manufacturer of aluminum windows, doors, awnings and aluminum siding under the trade name Alhom, from 1958 to 1960. This one linear foot collection contains his sales records, price lists and sample books and provides a portrait of the early history of the aluminum home products business. Also included are forms used for home improvement loans from several banks in the Louisville area.

Dates

1958-1960

Creator

Aluminum Home Products (Louisville, Ky.) (Creator, Corporate Entity)

Conditions Governing Use

Extent

1.0 linear foot

Additional Description

Organizational history

Toward the end of World War II, managers at the Reynolds Metals Company, then headquartered in Louisville, Kentucky, developed a post-war strategy to expand into a new market area of home improvement with the manufacture of windows, screen doors, storm doors, awnings, gutters, and siding. William E. Edwards Jr., then a clerk at Reynolds Metals, was one of several young entrepreneurs who determined to go into the "aluminum" business. He formed a distributorship, ALSCO, in 1946-1947 working at 1817 South Third Street. That company specialized in aluminum doors and windows. By 1949, ALSCO had moved to 339 E. Bloom and had added T. R. Federle as sales manager who was replaced by Chris B. Gruber two years later.

In 1952 Edwards added Roy Bruner as vice president and a second ALSCO Windows of Kentucky opened on Mellwood Avenue, with Nick Zentler as manager. The next year William E. Edwards, Roy Bruner, Chris B. Gruber and LeRoy W. Schultz formed the management team for a new manufacturing plant, the Aluminum Home Products Corp., located at 339 E. Bloom. Also listed as a vice president was Harold H. "Pee Wee" Reese, the famous Brooklyn Dodger baseball player. The first products marketed as Alhom were Triple Track Aluminum Combination Windows, Screens, and Aluminum Doors. Over the next few years, the product line expanded to include awnings, porch enclosures, and aluminum siding. In 1955 the manufacturing plant moved into an expanded facility at 5230 Preston Highway. The aluminum home improvement business grew by leaps and bounds. From a single listing in the 1946-1947 Caron's Directory of Louisville, the 1955 Caron's Directory of Louisville recognized ten companies specializing in aluminum windows and doors.