Kozy Heat

How Did Kozy Heat Start?

In the early 1970s, Dudley Hussong was production manager at a large Minnesota sewing plant that made bed comforters and fabric liners for tractor trailers. When the company asked him to move to Minneapolis, he quit rather than leave Lakefield, where he and his wife, Betty, were raising their only child, Jim.^[4][3] He went to work in his father James's millwork shop in town.^[3]

Then oil prices spiked. To heat the shop, Dudley first built a 55-gallon barrel stove that burned wood chips, then a wood-burning fireplace. The company dates that first Kozy Heat fireplace to December 1976.^[3][1] A Lakefield mason, Roland Koster, saw it and asked Dudley to build one with him for a farmer's new house.^[3] Dudley paid for the start with a $1,500 loan on his 1975 Chevy Blazer.^[4] In Jim's words, “He'd have to sell one fireplace to be able to buy the materials for the next one.”^[3]

Within two years, Kozy Heat was selling fireplaces across Minnesota through distributors,^[7] and Hussong Manufacturing Co., Inc. was incorporated on December 19, 1978.^[5] The Kozy Heat name itself was in use by June 1977, according to its federal trademark registration.^[6]

From Wood to Gas: What Did Kozy Heat Build?

Kozy Heat's first fireplaces burned wood, and the company kept building wood fireplaces for decades, including combination units that burned wood or gas.^[10] In 1988, Dudley saw the hearth market changing and turned the company toward gas. Hearth & Home magazine reported that some in the company thought he was crazy, but he kept at it and engineered his own gas fireplaces.^[4]

That engineering shows up in Dudley's patents. He was granted patents for a ventless patio fireplace,^[17] for molding fireplace logs from mineral fiber,^[18] for a gas burner plate that burns off soot before it reaches the logs,^[19] and, with David Reimers, for a modular gas fireplace insert.^[20] Kozy Heat described its logs as vacuum-formed ceramic, painted by hand, and its “serpentine” burner plate as the reason its logs stay clean.^[14] The company also says it was first to introduce a direct-vent fireplace insert and the bay-window fireplace, claims we could not confirm independently.^[11]

By 2019, vented gas fireplaces and inserts made up 90 percent of sales.^[4] The Osseo electric fireplaces came next. Today's lineup is direct-vent gas fireplaces, inserts, and stoves, with traditional, linear, and see-through designs, plus electric.

Why Are Kozy Heat Fireplaces Named After Minnesota Towns?

Look at a map of Minnesota and you'll find most of the Kozy Heat lineup. The first model with a town's name was the Lakefield gas stove, introduced in 2000.^[13] Its model number was 56150, Lakefield's zip code.^[15] Chaska, Bayport, Callaway, Springfield, Osseo, Bellingham, and Alpha are all Minnesota towns, and Alpha is in Jackson County, like Lakefield.^[28][29] The Nordik is the exception that still points home: Kozy Heat says the name honors the Scandinavian heritage Minnesota celebrates.^[16]

Who Owns Kozy Heat? Three Generations of Hussongs

The Hussong family does. Kozy Heat is privately held and family owned, as it has been since the start.^[12][2]

Dudley Hussong ran the company as president until 2006, then became chairman of the board.^[8][9] He retired in 2011, keeping a small share and his seat on the board.^[4] He also served at least two terms as mayor of Lakefield.^[3]

Jim Hussong grew up in the plant, pushing a broom and cutting parts, and joined full time in 1984.^[1] He became president in 2007^[9] and is the company's CEO.^[5] Jim and his wife, Tresa, are the majority owners.^[4]

The third generation is Jim's daughters. Hannah joined in 2013, writing technical manuals, and Heather Hussong Reasoner joined in 2014 as marketing manager.^[1] Heather became vice president in 2024,^[25] and Sarah Severson is the company's CFO.^[2]

Where Are Kozy Heat Fireplaces Made?

In Lakefield, a town of about 1,700 in Jackson County, in southwest Minnesota.^[27] The plant on Industrial Park Drive is the town's largest employer.^[23] Kozy Heat builds everything there.^[21]

The plant has grown steadily. It had about 100 full-time employees in 2010^[22] and 153 in 2019, when the factory was 175,000 square feet.^[4] It added 17,000 square feet in 2016,^[21] and in 2020 Minnesota's Department of Employment and Economic Development backed a $3 million expansion expected to add 40 jobs.^[24] In 2016, Kozy Heat sold through 580 dealers in the United States and Canada.^[3]

Can I Still Get Parts for an Older Kozy Heat?

Usually, yes. Kozy Heat is still building fireplaces in the same town, and its dealers order parts by model and serial number. Find the rating label on your fireplace or insert before you call; your manual shows where it is. For older models, our past models page links the manuals and brochures we found.