Private company

Matthews Aurora Funeral Solutions

Logo: Aurora Casket Company, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons3

American manufacturer of funeral caskets and urns based in Washington Township, founded in 18901

Matthews Aurora Funeral Solutions (formerly the Aurora Casket Company) is one of the largest manufacturers of caskets and funerary urns in the United States, selling over 38% of the country's caskets as of 2005. The Aurora, Indiana–based company is a subsidiary of Pittsburgh-based Matthews International. The company makes both wooden and metal caskets and urns for holding cremated remains.2 Wikipedia text CC BY-SA 4.0

Last updated Oct 20, 2026.

Overview

1890Founded1

See how the biggest companies compare on our leaderboards

Matthews Aurora Funeral Solutions (formerly the Aurora Casket Company) is one of the largest manufacturers of caskets and funerary urns in the United States, selling over 38% of the country's caskets as of 2005. The Aurora, Indiana–based company is a subsidiary of Pittsburgh-based Matthews International. The company makes both wooden and metal caskets and urns for holding cremated remains. It also provides supplies and consulting services for funeral homes.2

Corporate structure

Matthews Aurora Funeral Solutions is part of a group headed by Matthews International. 3 entities, 2 countries on record. Switch between the flow chart and the network, and select any entity to see its details.

  • Matthews International Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States
    • Matthews Aurora Funeral Solutions Washington Township
    • Matthews Marking Systems Sweden AB Subsidiary · Mölndal, Sweden

Built from parent and subsidiary links from GLEIF, the Global Legal Entity Identifier Foundation (CC0); subsidiaries, stakes and holdings from Wikidata (CC0). Each entity in the chart links to its source.

The story

The company traces its roots back to 1890, when John Backman began making wooden caskets by hand. At the time, the Aurora Casket Company employed 20 people. In the 1920s, John's son William Backman and his son-in-law William Barrott joined the company. For decades, the company was controlled by the Backman and Barrott families.

In 2012, the Aurora Casket Company was acquired by private equity firm Kohlberg & Co. By 2014, the company had about 850 employees and was one of the Cincinnati metropolitan area's largest private companies. In June 2015, it was acquired by Matthews International and renamed Matthews Aurora Funeral Solutions.

From Wikipedia’s article on Matthews Aurora Funeral Solutions, shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.4

Products and brands

  • coffin
  • funerary urn

Listed on Wikidata.1

Subsidiaries and ownership

Parent company

Former owners and parents

From Wikidata.1

Timeline

  1. Jun 9, 2015Acquired Acquired by Matthews International1
  2. 2012Acquired Acquired by Kohlberg & Company1
  3. 1890Founded Founded1

Sources

The numbers on this page point here. Each one links to the record it came from.

  1. 1
  2. 2
  3. 3
  4. 4