About Us

Established in 1895 as Kahlenberg Brothers Company,  Kahlenberg Industries, Inc. has been family owned and managed since its inception over 114 years ago. Currently directed by the great-grandsons of founder William R. Kahlenberg, the company is continuing a proud family tradition of quality craftsmanship and service to marine and industrial customers.

The original three Kahlenberg brothers, Otto, William, and John, (in photo at right) began by constructing small steam engines for marine and stationary work. From this early beginning the company expanded, eventually marketing and selling gasoline and diesel engines across the globe. During World War II, Kahlenberg was the recipient of the Army-Navy "E" (Excellence) Award as the company worked around the clock producing marine engines, propellers, and air horns for the war effort.

From the beginning marine propellers were supplied with Kahlenberg engines.  Over the last several decades, Kahlenberg propellers have been used for a variety of industrial and marine applications.  Most notably, Kahlenberg Propellers have developed a strong reputation for extreme durability on inland river workboat installations. 

In 1930, in an effort to expand the product line during the Great Depression, William Kahlenberg’s son Roger developed the first Kahlenberg Air Horn. Kahlenberg now manufactures a complete line of horns and sound signaling equipment that covers nearly any Marine, Industrial, Mass Notification or Wide Area Warning application.  The U.S. Navy uses Kahlenberg Triton Piston Horns on aircraft carriers.  We have built musical air horns for megayachts that play the owner’s favorite songs at 140 decibels, at the touch of a button.  Oil refineries in the Middle East use our horns for evacuation alarms.  For those of you in the U.S., the chances are good that your favorite hockey team celebrates each goal with a blast from a Kahlenberg horn at the top of the arena.

In 2007, Kahlenberg purchased the marine and industrial divisions of Airchime Ltd., formerly of Langley, British Columbia, Canada.  Products previously manufactured by Airchime in Canada are now produced in our facility in the United States.

In terms of production, most of the company’s knowledge and capability is in the areas of machining, assembly, and metal fabrication.  For this reason specific capacity and machines are dedicated to the manufacturing of machined components for original equipment manufacturers located mostly in the Midwest, managed as a separate division.

Kahlenberg Industries, Inc. is ISO 9001-2008 Certified for the design and manufacture of sound signaling equipment, propellers, marine equipment, and manufacture of other custom metal products.  Marine sound signaling equipment is certified by ABS, British MCA, Canadian DOT, and numerous other national authorities and classification societies.

Most importantly, Kahlenberg Industries employs a skilled, dedicated workforce, with the average employee being with the company for over 11 years.  The production facility currently occupies over 45,000 square feet of production space.

Distributed worldwide, all Kahlenberg products are proudly manufactured in Two Rivers, Wisconsin, U.S.A.

Kahlenberg Circa 1910

Kahlenberg Offices Today

Kahlenberg Machine Shop Today