The Colson Corporation

In 1998, Jack Steinberg completed an internal history of The Marmon Group — the conglomerate built by Jay and Bob Pritzker. Steinberg was Director of Communications for The Marmon Group from 1976 to 1990. It was never published commercially. This article draws from that document to tell the story of The Colson Corporation.

Together, he [Bob Pritzker] and Jay, initially with no capital of their own, would acquire The Colson Corporation and other imperiled companies. With Jay's imaginative financial maneuvering and Bob's tenacity and operational skills they would surmount repeated threats of failure and persevere to build one of America's largest and most consistently successful private enterprises–the multibillion dollar complex of companies known today as The Marmon Group. – Jack Steinberg

On a spring afternoon in 1953, a telephone rang in a small Chicago factory for Robert Pritzker. Bob, 26 years old, was running a paint roller business with a partner and handful of employees. His older brother Jay was on the line.

"Bob, I think I've finally found one for you."

The "one" was The Colson Corporation – a struggling Ohio manufacturer of bicycles, casters, wheelchairs, and Navy rockets.