Weber-Stephen Products

Weber-Stephen Products LLC
Private
Industry Manufacturing
Founded May 8, 1893
Founder George A. Stephen
Headquarters Palatine, Illinois
Products Outdoor grills
Website www.weber.com

The Weber-Stephen Products LLC is a privately held American manufacturer of charcoal, gas and electric outdoor grills with related accessories. In 2004, Weber-Stephen acquired some assets of competitor Ducane at a bankruptcy sale.[1] It also owns restaurants and publishes cookbooks. The company was family owned until it sold a majority stake to BDT Capital Partners in 2010.[2]

History

Replica of the original 1951 Weber kettle grill

Weber-Stephen was originally incorporated on May 8, 1893 as Weber Bros. Metal Works.[3]

In 1951, the original round charcoal kettle grill[4] was built by George Stephen Sr., a then part-owner of the sheet metal shop in Chicago [5] who sought to improve on the brazier he had been using to cook with at home.[6] The grill was produced using two sheet metal half-spheres normally used as parts of buoys built in his shop. Shortly thereafter he began selling the invention, which he called 'George's Barbecue Kettle', for which there was considerable demand.[7]

Because the grill became so successful after he began selling it in 1952, Stephen formed the barbecue division of the Weber Brothers factory. In the late 1950s, Stephen bought out the Weber Brothers factory and became the sole owner, devoting all his professional time to manufacturing and selling the Weber kettle. Soon thereafter, Stephen changed the company’s name to Weber-Stephen Products Co.[8]

The Weber-Stephen company manufactures and sells outdoor electric grills, charcoal grills,gas grills, and charcoal smokers.

Weber Grill Restaurants

Weber Grill Restaurant in Chicago, Illinois
Weber Grill Restaurant in Schaumburg, Illinois

In 1989, the company opened the first Weber Grill Restaurant in Wheeling, Illinois, but in spite of a remodeling in 2000, this location closed in 2010.[9] Yet, four more locations were built in Lombard, Illinois (1999), downtown Chicago (2002), Schaumburg, Illinois (2005), and Indianapolis (2007).[10]

While a majority share of Weber-Stephen Products LLC was sold to BDT Capital Partners in 2010, the acquisition did not include restaurant operations. While both the restaurants and outdoor cooking equipment maintain the Weber branding, two separate companies now exist. The restaurants remain solely owned by the Stephen family.

Grill Academy

The Grill Academy is a day-long cooking school where attendees learn various barbecue cooking techniques. In the early 2000s, Weber-Stephen started testing the Grill Academy concept in European Markets, and expects to expand the scheme to the United States in 2016.

Ducane Products Co.

The Ducane Products Company started out as the Ducane Brothers Metal Fabricating in 1946. It moved three years later to Little Ferry, New Jersey, where they manufactured warm air furnaces. In 1968, the name was changed to The Ducane Company and moved the base of operations to Barnwell, SC. And in 1975, they started making Ducane Gas Grills.[11] However, Ducane filed for bankruptcy in 2003 and was partially acquired by Weber-Stephens at a bankruptcy sale in 2004 for $13.6 million.

Under Weber's leadership, Ducane marketed propane and natural gas grills through big box home improvement and specialty outdoor product stores. In an effort to revamp the Ducane brand, Weber introduced the "Ducane Stainless" (2006) exclusively through Home Depot, the "Ducane Affinity" (2007)and the "Ducane Meridian" (2007) through multiple channels.[12]

Publications

References

  1. ↑ "Weber-Stephen Products Co. Acquires Ducane(R) Gas Grills". Thefreelibrary.com. Retrieved 2016-07-29.
  2. ↑ "Acquisition (March 2004)". PrivCo.com. Retrieved 2016-07-29.
  3. ↑
  4. ↑ ""Original Kettle" Weber's most well-known product". Retrieved 2012-08-21.
  5. ↑ "Proč gril Weber". Supergrily.cz. Retrieved 2016-07-29.
  6. ↑ "Keepers of the Flame". Saveur (117): 68. 2009.
  7. ↑ "Weber Newsroom - Company History". Archived from the original on 2007-06-08. Retrieved 2007-07-02.
  8. ↑ "George Stephen, Company Founder and Inventor of the Weber Kettle Grill". Archived from the original on 2007-06-23. Retrieved 2007-07-02.
  9. ↑ Phyllis Benson (2000-06-08). "Weber Grill Restaurant, 920 Milwaukee Ave., Wheeling, has...". Articles.chicagotribune.com. Retrieved 2016-07-29.
  10. ↑ "Weber-Stephen Product Co. Corporate Fact Sheet". Archived from the original on 2007-11-07. Retrieved 2008-03-31.
  11. ↑ "Ducane Gas Barbeque Grill Parts and BBQ Manufacturing History". Retrieved June 15, 2013.
  12. ↑ "Weber-Stephen Products Co. Introduces Its New 2007 Ducane Gas Grill Line Up". Prnewswire.com. Retrieved 2016-07-29.
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