Bronson Reel Company
Bronson, Michigan
The Bronson Reel Company was organized in June 1922 by E. J.
McMahon, who formerly had been the sales manager of the Shakespeare Company.
When the factory started there were 15 people working in a small store building
on North Matheson Street in Bronson, Michigan. By 1950 they were employing 300
people during peak times, and had a payroll in excess of $750,000.
In 1928 they built a new 15,000 square foot factory on North
Douglas Street (shown to left). By 1948 the building had been added on to until it was three
times the original size. Just prior to World War II they had 135 different reels
in their line, with a price range from 25 cents to $750 for the largest J.A.
Coxe Salt Water reel. In 1931 Bronson purchased the famous Meisselbach-Catucci
line of reels, and continued to produce many of the Symploreel models until WW
II. They also purchased the previously mentioned J. A. Coxe Reel Company in
1934 (date not confirmed). The Coxe reels were some of the most famous big game reels ever produced,
and Bronson/Coxe also developed a line of high quality level wind casting reels.
In the 1940s and 50s Bronson claimed to be the largest
manufacturer of fishing reels in the world. They had produced up to 9,000 reels
in a single day, and throughout the early 1950s they were building in excess of
1,000,000 reels per year. They held over 62 patents for reels.
The Company was sold in the 1970s, and closed down a short time
later. During their heyday they produced reels for every taste and pocketbook,
but in later years specialized in lower priced serviceable reels, and generic
reels that were sold by some of our major mail order companies such as Sears
Roebuck and Wards.
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