Kennel Aire

Kennel Aire Profile

Kennel-Aire was originally founded in 1957 in St. Paul, Minnesota by avid sportsman, Wallace Johnson. When his concept of a collapsible live fish box constructed of wire mesh didn't prove to be successful, Mr. Johnson transitioned the concept to dog crates and the long successful history of Kennel-Aire in the pet industry was initiated.

The superior quality of the company's products under the Commander trademark and its unique 1" square mesh design soon made them the preferred choice of dog professionals in the field trial and confirmation area. To handle the rapidly growing volume, the original welding shop was soon replaced by a company owned manufacturing plant in the small, rural southern Minnesota town of Mountain Lake which was chosen for the work force quality of the local Mennonite community. Although this facility has been dramatically expanded and state-of-the art computer controlled manufacturing equipment added over the years, this facility and the relationship between Kennel-Aire and the community of Mountain Lake continues today as the core manufacturing facility for the company's continually refined wire products designed to meet the needs of today's consumer for superior quality pet management products.

The company was sold by Wallace Johnson to Trygve Pederson in 1981 which initiated this second phase of the continued successful development of the company leading to the eventual sale of Kennel-Aire to a pet industry management group in 1995. Over these years until today, Kennel-Aire expanded its product line far beyond its professional segment roots into the broader consumer market by adding an extensive line of high quality wire crates, wire pet accessories, plastic pet crates/carriers and various plastic pet accessories. During this phase, Kennel-Aire led the pet industry in developing products which utilized both wire and plastic in meeting consumer needs for the various uses of crates in containment, training, housing and transport of family pets.

As an indication of the company's commitment to creative product development, a Kennel-Aire patented dog crate design was recognized with an award as one of the top new consumer products in the world in the 1998 international competition sponsored by Business Week magazine and the Industrial Design Society of America (IDSA).

Today Kennel-Aire continues to expand through its facilities in Mountain Lake, Minnesota and Ottawa, Kansas as a significant factor in the international market for pet supplies with distribution throughout the United States, Canada and a growing market presence in Europe and South America.