Samuel and Benjamin Frankford, two ambitious young men from Austria, started Frankford Umbrellas as door-to-door rain umbrella repairmen when they came to the United States.  

The brothers bought out their umbrella parts supplier and officially opened a showroom and workshop to manufacture their own umbrellas.
 

The brothers split up after an argument, with Benjamin leaving the company.

Samuel’s sons, Martin and Isadore Frankford, joined Samuel in the business and renamed the company “Frankford Umbrellas.”

Frankford manufactured and repaired all types of umbrellas—even for famous “Mummers” parades in Philadelphia. 

Rain umbrellas started to become only a small part of the business, with increased growth of patio and beach umbrellas. 

Martin Frankford served at the Battle of the Bulge as a military medic. After World War II, the brothers began manufacturing larger umbrellas for private swim clubs, country clubs, and resorts.

Isadore and Martin purchased Baker Umbrella company.

Frankford moved to supplying beach clubs and apartment complexes. Isadore and Martin offered free delivery in exchange for allowing their kids to swim at the clubs all day.

Frankford continued to be the premier supplier of classic beach umbrellas.

Marc Kaufer, nephew of Isadore Frankford, began working at Frankford Umbrellas. Isadore was instrumental in teaching Marc about manufacturing and the repair of all types of umbrellas, and instilling the importance of  putting the customer first.

Marc completed his purchase of Frankford Umbrellas. Shortly before “Uncle Izzy” retired after making umbrellas for 75 years, he gave Marc a special copper coin to commemorate this important event in Frankford’s history. This coin was given to Mr. Baker by William Drown of W.A. Drown & Co. for being the best worker at his company which was the largest umbrella factory in the entire country in the 19th century. And in turn, Mr. Baker passed the coin along to Isadore. This coin is proudly displayed at the Frankford headquarters.

Frankford moved to New Jersey for larger warehouse space and proximity to major highways — necessary to support the abundant growth in sales after successfully navigating a recession in 2008.

Frankford continued to focus marketing efforts to greatly expand awareness beyond their existing loyal base of customers. 

After experiencing more than a 400% increase in growth between 2010 and 2020, a second warehouse was opened to increase capacity, fulfillment, and logistics and meet the surge in demand for high-quality umbrellas.

After many years in Chicago, Frankford opened its first permanent showroom in AmericasMart — one of the largest wholesale trade centers in the world, located in Downtown Atlanta, Georgia.

Keep an eye out for new products and exciting announcements from Frankford in the year to come!