Bronson Reel Company.

The Bronson Reel Company was organized in June 1922 by E. J. McMahon, who formerly had been the sales manager of the Shakespeare Company. When the factory started there were 15 people working in a small store building on North Matheson Street in Bronson, Michigan. By 1950 they were employing 300 people during peak times, and had a payroll in excess of $750,000.

In 1928 they built a new 15,000 square foot factory on North Douglas Street. By 1948 the building had been added on to until it was three times the original size. Just prior to World War II they had 135 different reels in their line, with a price range from 25 cents to $750 for the largest J.A. Coxe Salt Water reel. In 1931 Bronson purchased the famous Meisselbach-Catucci line of reels, and continued to produce many of the Symploreel models until WW II. They also purchased the previously mentioned J. A. Coxe Reel Company in 1934. The Coxe reels were some of the most famous big game reels ever produced, and they also developed a line of level wind casting reels.

In the 1940s and 50s Bronson claimed to be the largest manufacturer of fishing reels in the world. They had produced up to 9,000 reels in a single day, and throughout the early 1950s they were building in excess of 1,000,000 reels per year. They held over 62 patents for reels.

The Company was sold in the 1970s, and closed down a short time later. During their heyday they produced reels for every taste and pocketbook, but in later years specialized in lower priced serviceable reels, and generic reels that were sold by some of our major mail order companies such as Sears Roebuck and Wards.