Marmon Group facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
Marmon Holdings, Inc.

Type	Subsidiary
Industry	Transportation equipment, Electrical and other industrial components, Food, Beverage & Water, and Retail services
Founded	1953; 72 years ago (1953) in United States (as Colson Corporation)
Headquarters	181 West Madison Street, Chicago, Illinois , United States
Key people	Angelo Pantaleo (CEO)
Owner	Berkshire Hathaway

Marmon Holdings, Inc., often called Marmon Group, is a big American company. It's based in Chicago, Illinois. It's a "holding company," which means it owns many different businesses.

Marmon Group was started by Jay Pritzker and Robert Pritzker in 1953. Back then, it was called Colson Corporation. Since 2013, it has been owned by Berkshire Hathaway. Berkshire Hathaway is a very large company led by Warren Buffett.

Marmon Group mainly focuses on industrial businesses. This includes companies that make things like transportation equipment and electrical parts. They also own companies that offer services for construction and retail stores. For example, they are a major maker of tank cars. These are special train cars used to carry liquids or gases. They sell these through companies like Union Tank Car Company in the United States and Procor in Canada.

How Marmon Group Started

From Small Beginnings to a Big Company

In 1953, the Pritzker brothers, Jay and Robert, bought a company called Colson Corporation. This company was having a tough time. It made things like wheels for carts, bicycles, and wheelchairs. At that time, its sales were about $3 million.

The Pritzker brothers worked hard to grow the company. In 1964, they changed its name to Marmon Group. This happened after they bought another company called Marmon-Herrington. Over the years, Marmon Group bought many other businesses. Some big ones included Cerro Corporation in 1976 and TransUnion in 1981.

Becoming Part of Berkshire Hathaway

In 2008, the Pritzker family sold a large part of Marmon Group to Berkshire Hathaway. They sold about 63.6% of the company for $4.8 billion. The plan was for Berkshire Hathaway to buy the rest of the company over the next few years. By 2013, Berkshire Hathaway owned 100% of Marmon Group. This made Marmon Group a full part of the Berkshire Hathaway family of companies.

What Companies Marmon Group Owns

Marmon Group owns a wide variety of businesses. These businesses make many different products and offer many services. They are grouped into different sectors like transportation, electrical, and retail. Here is a list of some of the companies that are part of the Marmon Group: