Mr. Shower Door plans to rejuvenate Ketcham name with acquisition

During much of the 20th century, bath-enclosure products from G.M. Ketcham Co. stood out as the Rolls-Royce of the market. However, the last several decades proved difficult for the Glen Cove, N.Y., company, as it went through ownership changes and lost much of its renown as a high-end manufacturer, says Tom Whitaker, president of Mr. Shower Door Inc. of Norwalk, Conn.

That downturn is something Whitaker has been working to reverse since Mr. Shower Door acquired Ketcham April 11.

“My plan is to try to dust off the name and raise Ketcham to that glory it used to be,” Whitaker says of the company Gary Ketcham started in 1924.

Whitaker says his company’s marketing drive took off in the past few weeks as he gets word out to architects that Ketcham is back.

“I’ve met with a few architects, and we just did a 9,000-piece mailing,” he says. “We’re saying we’re turning this thing around. Ketcham was the crème de la crème with the architectural community, so this is going to be a real premium.”

Whitaker says his company bought the rights to the Ketcham name and the customer lists, in addition to the engineering and dies. The dies “have significant value, because that is the Ketcham product.”

Mr. Shower Door will incorporate the Ketcham products into the company's existing Luxus bath-enclosure line.

Ketcham was previously owned by a venture capital firm. Whitaker says officials with the firm approached him with the possibility of a deal. Financial transactions were not disclosed.

Ketcham supplies hardware and glass for framed and frameless shower enclosures. The office relocated to Connecticut, with a handful of Ketcham's 20 employees moving with the company.