Dishmaster factory in Mitchell, Indiana - Mom & I take a road trip
Mid Mod Pam on Dec 05 2008 at 8:00 am | Filed under: Inspiration
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| From Dishmaster factory, Mitchell, Indiana |
As part of my trip to Louisville last week, I visited the home of the Dishmaster – a fun road trip to Mitchell, Indiana.
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| From Dishmaster factory, Mitchell, Indiana |
Roger Swayer, owner of the company that makes this wonderful authentic retro kitchen faucet, gave my mom Fran and me a tour, told us how he ended up the caretaker of this amazing brand, and then took us for wonderful lunch at the nearby Spring Mill Inn, where we also met his wife Millie.
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| From Dishmaster factory, Mitchell, Indiana |
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| From Dishmaster factory, Mitchell, Indiana |
The factory is a small operation – with lots of personal attention to the production of each Dishmaster faucet. There are six employees in this subsidiary of the business - including Sharon, above.
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| From Dishmaster factory, Mitchell, Indiana |
Nearby, Sam was fabricating Dishmaster brushes – on a machine that has been in continuous use since 1948! Roger and Sam explain that it can be finicky, especially after the lunch break – but it gets the job done just as good as ever once it gets going.
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| From Dishmaster factory, Mitchell, Indiana |
The steps to make the Dishmaster are mapped out on the wall. Every single unit is quality-tested by an employee.
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| From Dishmaster factory, Mitchell, Indiana |
How did Roger and SilverStream LLC end up with the Dishmaster? Roger explained that the Dishmaster got its start in Pontiac, Michigan. The inventor/owner also had a place in Southern California. So the faucet was successfully marketed in those locations, in particular. Then, as Dishmaster owners – who are exceedingly loyal – retired to Florida, Arizona and Nevada, they took the faucets with them, literally and figuratively. The early models, Roger points out, look like Studebakers, and you can still see the Michigan/automotive influence in the M76 “Sidesaddle Sue” and “Sidecar Sam” models today.
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| From Dishmaster factory, Mitchell, Indiana |
Roger’s company SilverStream LLC acquired the original Dishmaster company in 2004, after seeing it advertised for sale in a trade publication. SilverStream had previously manufactured and sold bathroom fixtures – under the brand name Indiana Brass Co. – but they eventually had to exit the business as the mainstream fixture market moved to Asia. They had been looking for something unique to fill the gap – and are seeking to give the Dishmaster brand a whole new lease on life.
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| From Dishmaster factory, Mitchell, Indiana |
At the end of the tour, Roger even showed me all these mint-in-box, new-old-stock Dishmaster faceplates from history, bought up with the factory and tooling four years ago. Guess what I came home with.
- Want to buy American?
- Want authentic retro?
- Want to save water, detergent and energy?
- Want to make after-dinner clean up fun?
- You know where to get a Dishmaster of your very own!
Thanks so much to Roger, Millie – and Ronda, my key contact at SilverStream LLC – for their exceedingly kind southern hospitality!!!
This is fantastic! I’m going to get one soon for our kitchen! Plan on remodeling in the near future.
This is very cool stuff Pam. I love factory tours. It’s really remarkable to me that this dishwasher, this piece of Americana, is still being made. Thanks for doing this.
Pam, you truly do live a MOST interesting life!
Christopher, you have hit a nail on the head. Sometimes I can’t believe myself, the things I get into!
Very interesting! We bought a Dishmaster 2000 for our kitchen (sorry, Pam–it was only weeks before you were selling them) and although it had a slight leak, the Dishmaster Customer Service was EXCEPTIONAL. We received thoughtful follow-up phone and they replaced the faulty part within a week.
Bronwyn - I actually learned about Dishmasters from you! So you get a prize in all of this!