A BRIEF HISTORY...
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In 1933, Hyman Rosenzweig started a company called Kraft Hat Manufacturers. At the time he was making straw hats and leather helmets. He had a small flat in lower Manhattan. After three years in our first location we needed more space, so Hyman moved Kraft Hat Manufacturers into a slightly larger flat, with live steam. This second home of Kraft remained our home for forty years, through three wars, eight presidents and countless other events that shaped the history of our great nation. There were tough times during those years but Hyman knew that if he made a quality hat, the public would want it.
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In 1937, Hyman's oldest son Izzy came to work for Kraft. The line of hats was more diverse; we were manufacturing straw hats, toyos, bangoras, wool hats and cowboy hats. And more important we had built a solid reputation. Our name meant QUALITY! And today our name still means QUALITY!
In 1965 another generation entered the family business. Larry, Hy's middle son followed family tradition. Four years later Steve, Hy's youngest son came to Kraft.
As our name and reputation became more and more well known our business grew, and in 1976 we outgrew our space. We moved once more, this time led by Hy's three sons, Izzy, Larry and Steve, to 740 Broadway, a space 5 times as large as our original location. From our humble roots we continued to grow and prosper through hard work, innovative design, and quality made hats.
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Today we are in our manufacturing facility which we moved into in 1985, employing 150 people with a capacity to 225. Our re-engineered plant boasts the latest equipment with state of the art sewing, fusing, blocking and embroidery machines. Computers are used in all phases of the manufacturing process from design to billing. We still remain in New York, the garment capital of the world, because this is where we find the hottest new fabrics and trends and it enables us to stay one step ahead in design.
