Lifetime Cookware has been made in the USA since Reynolds Metal began manufacturing the line in 1909. Up through 1919 Sears purchased between 40 and 50 percent of the company's production. Free shipping on many items | Browse your favorite brands | affordable prices. The other two, Carl and Bob Wentorf, were skilled tool-and-die makers who had been working for an aluminum cookware company but had been threatened with dismissal because a third brother had left the firm to join another Wisconsin aluminum cookware company. Due to safety and privacy concerns, WestBend prohibits the operation or use on or above the WestBend property of unmanned aerial systems, or drones, by the general public— including model aircraft by recreational users and hobbyists—without the prior written authorization from WestBend management. Over a hundred years ago, a fire roared through West Bend. The theater was closed and listed for sale in January 2012, with a purchase occurring in May 2012. A factory was added in Barrie, Ontario, in 1957 for Canadian distribution. Early History The roots of Gehl Company go back to 1859, when Louis Lucas opened an iron foundry in central Wisconsin. In 1982 West Bend dropped its original product line, retail cookware, although it continued to manufacture cookware for distributors and door-to-door sales. They immediately began work on the tools and dies needed by West Bend. The company also introduced various sizes of portable coffee urns to its coffeemaking line. In the late 1960s, the West Bend Company was a primary manufacturer of cookware and small electric appliances. "We're number one in woks," Kieckhafer (a West Bend long-time employee who became president of the company in 1989) told the HFD interviewer, "we're number one in the corn popper category when you combine hot air and oil units, we're number two in slow cookers, and number one in party percolators and coffee urns." The West Bend Company was a West Bend, Wisconsin, company from 1911 to 2001. The Old Courthouse Museum is located in the heart of West Bend. Industry sources estimated the company's annual sales at about $175 million in 1993 and its share of the electric small-appliance market at about 12 percent. With The City of West Bend has many opportunities for new and existing businesses in our community. The company expanded its scope the following year, however, by acquiring the rights to the Total Gym exercise system of home-fitness products, constructed of chrome-plated heavy-gauge steel tubing. Based in West Bend WI Lithia is committed to brewing quality … It was also being sold to consumers in 31 countries by independent distributors through dinner parties and other direct-sales methods. Incorporation of The West Bend Company, to be acquired by Regal Ware in 2002. John Searle 1984 In 1996, the company adopted a new corporate name, AR Accessories Group, Inc. Hundreds of Americans lost their jobs, and all appliance manufacturing was outsourced to China. Rexall later changed its name to Dart Industries and, after a 1980 merger with Kraft, Inc., to Dart & Kraft Inc. During the 1970s West Bend introduced a new line called "specialty electrics," which included such appliances as an electric pizza baker and grill, an electric yogurt maker, an automatic egg cooker, and the "Fryette" electric deep fryer. The company expanded its West Bend facility and added a new plant in Sheridan, Arkansas. Its appliances include breadmakers, electric skillets, slows cookers, woks, corn poppers, beverage makers, and electronic timers, primarily under the West Bend … The West Bend Aluminum Company was incorporated in 1911 and the Kewaskum Aluminum Company, eventually purchased by Regal Ware founder, J.O. After the war West Bend introduced its line in department stores, but the market was dominated by two bigger companies. Most of the rest was sold to different jobbers under their brand names. It also discontinued its humidifier line. The Waterless Cooker was advertised as a utensil in which a complete meal could be prepared in one pot. Inside were objects from a world long gone: magazines, a yearbook, a map of West Bend, original class schedules and class descriptions, and even a classic ‘70s peace necklace. Also in that year, the company moved across the river to a new 14,000-square-foot plant on filled land. The items show how the school, town, and life in general has changed over the years. Westbend Winery and Brewery has events, special partys and musicians playing every weekend in our state of the art tasting room, a Texas BBQ food truck, and wine/beer making facility. By the end of the war it had earned six Navy "E" awards for outstanding achievement. The founders rented an old button factory on the west bank of the Milwaukee River for $8.50 a month and three weeks later had a lathe, shaper, and drill press in place. Whether you're making fresh, homemade bread, blending smoothies, roasting a chicken, or baking a pizza, We strive to make your kitchen activities easier. Company History: West Bend Co. is a major manufacturer of small electric appliances, water-purification systems, and high-quality stainless-steel cookware. West Bend Water Systems was created in 1989 to meet increased demand for quality water-treatment devices. Its small appliances were being sold primarily in the United States and Canada, directly to mass merchandisers, department stores, hardware stores, warehouse clubs, and catalog showrooms. In the 1920s, the company really took off. The Legacy Companies.”. 1919: Founding of the Kewaskum Aluminum Company, later to be named Regal Ware, Inc. Built in 1900, this magnificent 16,000 square foot building formerly housed West Bend’s city administrators, library, common council, fire and police departments. Our summary of West View's history would not have been possible without the help of several external sources for research and images. What It Means To Be A Mutual Insurance Company As a mutual insurer, our company is owned by our policyholders. The company's big success story of the early 1980s was the introduction of its cordless iron, which proved to be its top product in sales dollars and units during 1984. West Bend Transit & Service Co WI | Regional Truckload Dedicated Transportation Services LTL - WI/MN/IA/NE/MO/IL/IN Expedited and same day delivery Warehousing. Bernhardt C. Ziegler founded the West Bend Aluminum Company (later West Bend Company) in 1911, which remained in town until 2003. West Bend also bought the Borg-Erickson Corp.'s Borg Scale bathroom-scale business in 1985 for less than $15 million. The company's main manufacturing facility was its 1.5-million-square-foot plant in West Bend. Growth continued in the following years, and in 1918 a large three-story addition to the plant was completed. Produced by the West Bend Aluminum Company, the Penguin Hot and Cold Server was an essential cocktail party piece in the late 1940s and 1950s. Because of that fire, our company was formed. Meanwhile, West Bend continued to be active in the small-appliance market. He immediately put into effect a perpetual inventory and cost system. Within three years, the company expanded to a new facility, and Sears, Roebuck and Company became its most important customer, accounting for between 40 and 50 percent of West Bend’s sales through 1919. Everything you cook will be crispy, healthy, done quickly and easy from start to finish. The West Bend Company manufactured aluminum cookware and electrical appliances , but also made two-stroke cycle engines , including outboard boat motors . Two years later the company began to sell the Flavo-Seal line through retail stores as well as commissioned salesmen. The primary information source was the history page of the South Bend web site or the Wayback Machine. In 1932 it introduced a "Flavo-Seal" line of heavy-gauge cookware made of up roasters, saucepans, and skillets and designed, like the Waterless Cooker, to cook foods without adding water. West Bend 77222 Quick Serve Wide Slot Toaster Bagel and Gluten-Free Settings with Cool Touch Exterior Includes Removable Serving Tray, 2-Slice, Silver 3.6 out of 5 stars 63 $70.62 $ 70 . South Bend Lathe History Before the Web, before satellites, before fiber optics, hypertext, and modems, telegraphs linked the world. The John Paulding Historical Society is proud to present A Taste of History with an encore performance of ‘No Compromise’, the story of the Reservoir War, mosquitoes and mayhem. The drip coffee makers were endorsed and promoted by the Pat Boone family and were manufactured for JC Penney, Sears, and Montgomery Ward, as well as under the West Bend name. Introduced in 1993, West Bend Automatic was the first breadmaker manufactured in the United States, according to the company. Chrysler Corp. bought West Bend's outboard-motor and industrial-engine division in 1965 for an undisclosed sum. West Bend de Mexico, a Premark subsidiary, operated a factory in Renosa, Mexico. The company had moved quickly to enter this hot new niche, completing the Automatic project in only 35 weeks, from concept to shipping. Regal Ware, Inc. is proud to continue that … In 1914 Ziegler became general manager, and the company moved from an old knitting mill and button factory into a new 14,000-square-foot plant. Company History Located in West Bend, Wisconsin, Alliance Services is a woman-owned, minority-owned, nurse-owned, veteran-owned healthcare staffing agency. West Bend The West Bend Company originally manufactured aluminum cookware and electrical appliances, but also made two-stroke cycle engines including outboard boat motors. Sales of breadmakers were particularly strong. The business is located in West Bend, Wisconsin, United States. We don't answer to Wall Street. We see them around but we don't know what goes on behind the scenes. Called the Waterless Cooker, this large pot with inset pans was stamped out of heavyweight aluminum and sold with a cast-iron base for cooking on a wood or coal stove. The Old Courthouse Museum is located in the heart of West Bend. When the time came to name their product, Lynn Wineland, a commercial artist and fellow racer, came up with the name Go Kart. West Bend's net sales, which had passed $3 million in 1928, dropped below $1 million in 1932 (for the first time since 1921). West Bend's stainless-steel cookware was being marketed under 23 separate product lines and several brand names, including Lifetime, Inkor, Kitchen Craft, Lustre Craft, Royal Queen, and European Lady. West Bend expanded both its product lines and plant capacity during the 1960s. The West Bend Company was acquired by Rexall Drug and Chemical Company in 1968, at which point the company employed approximately 2,000 people, about one-sixth of the community’s population. All of our stores carry new and Pre-owned music and movies along with the recent addition … West Bend Company Factory Outlet Store is a business providing services in the field of Factory Outlet Stores. As part of our continuing look at the objects that tell Wisconsin’s story, Ann Glasscock tells us about … The lid of the cooker was fitted with clamps that prevented the escape of steam during cooking, making the addition of water unnecessary. Photo courtesy Terry Becker Nov. 6, 2017 – West Bend, WI – As word circulates through West Bend about the dim future for the West Bend Brewery, we’ll give you a bit of history about the beer industry in the community., we’ll give you a bit of history about the beer industry in the community. During World War I, West Bend won a contract to produce army mess kits, but just as production began, the war ended. The main entrance to The History Museum and the Studebaker National Museum is located on Thomas Street, which is one block south of Washington Street. As consumers, we often take for granted all the hard work that goes into building a great company. Another successful product was a copper stein West Bend introduced for a Milwaukee brewery in 1932.