50 Years at Helm : S. Coleman; Led Outdoor Goods Firm

Sheldon Coleman, son of the founder of the Coleman outdoor products company, is dead. He was credited with leading the company’s massive diversification during his nearly 50 years as board chairman.

Coleman was 86 when he died in Wichita on Wednesday of the complications of lupus, a skin disease.

From 1940 until his death, Coleman transformed the Coleman Co. into the world’s largest manufacturer of outdoor products. Coleman’s father, William, started the company at the turn of the century when he sold cumbersome, gas-powered lighting devices to Oklahoma farmers.

Looked to Future

Sheldon Coleman, after earning a mechanical engineering degree at Cornell University, joined the firm in 1925. He saw rural electrification coming and recommended developing oil space heaters and gas floor furnaces. Today Coleman produces heating and air-conditioning equipment, including units for mobile homes and recreational vehicles.

Coleman became chief executive officer and executive vice president in 1940 and was elected chairman in 1957.

In World War II, the company developed a camp stove that servicemen carried into combat. In the 1960s, Coleman led another diversification into outdoor recreation products.

During his tenure, the company acquired 14 small businesses, among them Hobie Cat, a leading manufacturer of catamarans.

Other sporting items the firm manufactures include water skis, sail boards, diving equipment, archery bows, air guns, knives and hot tubs.

It has been estimated that there are more than 100 million Coleman products in use across the United States. The firm had record sales of nearly $600 million and more than 5,000 employees in 1987.