Weber-Stephen Products
| 220px | |
| Private | |
| Industry | Manufacturing |
| Founded | May 8, 1893 |
| Founder | George A. Stephen |
| Headquarters | Palatine, Illinois |
| Products | Outdoor grills |
| Website | http://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]
Weber-Stephen has an international presence in:
- The Americas: Canada, United States, Mexico, Costa Rica, Uruguay, Brazil and Argentina;
- Europe: Iceland, Ireland, United Kingdom, Norway, Sweden, Finland, Germany, Denmark, Belgium, Luxembourg, France, Portugal, Spain, Italy, Malta, Slovenia, Croatia, Greece, Cyprus, Turkey, Ukraine, Romania, Hungary, Slovakia, Czech Republic, Switzerland, Austria, Poland and Russia;
- Middle-East and Africa: Lebanon, Israel, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Oman, Bahrain, UAE and South Africa;
- Asia: China and India;
- Oceania: Australia and New Zealand.
Contents
History
Weber-Stephen was originally incorporated on May 8, 1893 as Weber Bros. Metal Works.[3]
In 1951, the original round charcoal kettle grill was built by George Stephen Sr., a then part-owner of the sheet metal shop in Chicago [4] who sought to improve on the brazier he had been using to cook with at home.[5] 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.[6]
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.[7]
The Weber-Stephen company manufactures and sells outdoor electric grills such as the Weber Q1400 and the Weber Q2400, [8] charcoal grills such as the Master Touch and the Performer Deluxe,[9][10] gas grills such as the Spirit E310,[11] the Genesis EP330 and the Summit S470,[12] and charcoal smokers.[13]
Weber Grill Restaurants
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.[14] Yet, four more locations were built in Lombard, Illinois (1999), downtown Chicago (2002), Schaumburg, Illinois (2005), and Indianapolis (2007).[15]
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.[16] 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.[17]
Publications
- Weber's Art of the Grill: Recipes for Outdoor Living, Jamie Purviance and Tim Turner, ISBN 978-0-8118-2419-4, 1999.
- Weber's Big Book of Grilling, Jamie Purviance, Sandra S. McRae, and Tim Turner, ISBN 978-0-8118-3197-0, 2001.
- Weber's Art of the Grill Deck: Recipes for Outdoor Living (cards), Jamie Purviance and Tim Turner, ISBN 978-0-8118-3336-3, 2002
- Weber's Real Grilling, Jamie Purviance, Mike Kempster, and Tim Turner, ISBN 978-0-376-02046-8, 2005.
- Weber's Charcoal Grilling: The Art of Cooking With Live Fire, Jamie Purviance and Tim Turner, ISBN 978-0-376-02047-5, 2007.
- Weber's Way to Grill: The Step-by-Step Guide to Expert Grilling, Jamie Purviance, ISBN 978-0-376-02059-8, 2009.
- Weber's Complete Barbecue Book: Step-by-step Advice and Over 150 Delicious Barbecue Recipes, Jamie Purviance, ISBN 978-0600621119, 2010.
- Weber's On the Grill: Chicken & Sides: Over 100 Fresh, Great Tasting Recipes, Jamie Purviance, ISBN 978-0376020352, 2010.
- Weber's On the Grill: Steak & Sides: Over 100 Fresh, Great Tasting Recipes, Jamie Purviance, ISBN 978-0376020338, 2010.
- Weber's Time to Grill: Get In. Get Out. Get Grilling., Jamie Purviance, ISBN 978-0376020604, 2011.
- Weber's Smoke: A Guide to Smoke Cooking for Everyone and Any Grill, Jamie Purviance, ISBN 978-0376020673, 2012.
- Weber's Barbecue Anytime: Over 190 Inspirational Recipes to Help You Get the Most Out of Your Barbecue, Jamie Purviance, ISBN 978-0600624134, 2012.
- Weber's New Real Grilling: The ultimate cookbook for every backyard griller, Jamie Purviance, ISBN 978-0376027986, 2013.
References
- ↑ Weber-Stephen Products Co. Acquires Ducane(R) Gas Grills. Accessed June 15, 2013
- ↑ Weber-Stephen Products LLC Acquires Ducane Gas Grills, Inc. Accessed June 15, 2013
- ↑ Corporate Fact Sheet Accessed June 15, 2013
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
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- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
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- ↑ http://www.weber.com/grills/series/weber-q-electric
- ↑ http://www.weber.com/grills/series/master-touch/master-touch-22
- ↑ http://www.weber.com/grills/series/performer
- ↑ http://www.weber.com/grills/series/spirit
- ↑ http://www.weber.com/grills/series/summit
- ↑ http://www.weber.com/grills/series/smokers
- ↑ http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2000-06-08/news/0006080300_1_grills-smokey-joe-lunch
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Weber-Stephen Products Co. Introduces Its New 2007 Ducane Gas Grill Line Up March 12, 2007. Accessed June 15, 2013
