West Bend Housewares
West Bend Housewares, LLC, based in West Bend, Wisconsin, produces household appliances such as breadmakers, mixers, coffee urns, slow cookers and woks. The West Bend Company, founded in 1911, was owned by Regal Ware Inc. but was sold to Vernon Hills, Illinois based Focus Products Group which took the name West Bend Housewares.
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West Bend
West Bend is the name of a few places in the United States, and a company:
See also
West Bend, Wisconsin
West Bend is a city in and the county seat of Washington County, Wisconsin, United States, in southeastern Wisconsin. As of the 2010 census, the population was 31,078.
History
Before the arrival of European settlers in southeastern Wisconsin, the Potawatomi and Menominee Indians inhabited the land now occupied by the city of West Bend.
In 1845, the Wisconsin Territorial Legislature authorized the building of a road to connect Fond du Lac and Milwaukee. Byron Kilbourn, one of the highway commissioners, and Jasper Vliet, a surveyor, were put in charge of determining the route the road would take and of identifying a good halfway point for travelers. The path they chose is now U.S. Route 45 and the rest stop is present-day West Bend. Because many people used the resting place, it evolved into a popular area. The Milwaukee River running through the town eventually played a major role in the city's history. It was because of the western bend in the river that West Bend got its name. The river also produced enough energy to power saw mills and gristmills. Early buildings included Holy Angels Catholic Church, built in 1852 at the corner of Hickory and 7th. In 1866 this building was converted into a school, and a new church was built at Elm and 7th under the direction of Reverend Johann Baptist Reindl (1827–1891). The railroad arrived in 1873, bringing with it more settlers and industrialization. At this time, West Bend saw a growth spurt, and in 1885 the city officially became an incorporated Wisconsin community.
West Bend Company
The West Bend Company was a West Bend, Wisconsin company from 1911 to 2001. The West Bend Company manufactured aluminum cookware and electrical appliances, but also made two-stroke cycle engines including outboard boat motors. Art Ingels used a surplus West Bend engine to power the first kart. The engine division of West Bend was sold to Chrysler, then to Brunswick, and finally to USMotor.
In 2001, Regal Ware, Inc. of Kewaskum, Wisconsin acquired certain assets of the West Bend Company. In 2003, Regal Ware sold the Small Kitchen Appliance Division of the West Bend Company to Focus Products Group LLC. The Small Kitchen Appliance Division is now known as West Bend Housewares.
Regal Ware retained the West Bend Cookware Division and product lines of the West Bend Company; and continues to manufacture the cookware products in West Bend and Kewaskum, Wisconsin under the brand names Lifetime and Royal Queen. This represents more than 100 years of continuous manufacture of West Bend Cookware product lines in West Bend, Wisconsin.
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