AGA Rangemaster Group

Last updated

AGA Rangemaster Limited
Company typePrivate
Founded1939
Headquarters
Leamington Spa, Warwickshire, England
,
UK
Number of employees
2,500
Parent Middleby Corporation

AGA Rangemaster Group Limited is a British manufacturer of range cookers, kitchen appliances, and interior furnishings, which was acquired by the American Company, Middleby Corporation [1] in September 2015 after it received a takeover approach from Whirlpool. The Group employs just over 2,500 people worldwide. [2] [3] "AGA" stands for Aktiebolaget Gas Accumulator.

Contents

Aga GC3 Aga gc3.jpg
Aga GC3

Aga Rangemaster (formerly Aga Foodservice Group, LSE :  AGA) is the manufacturer of the eponymous cast iron cooker and oven (the AGA Cooker) headquartered in Leamington Spa, Warwickshire, England. [4] The North American subsidiary of AGA Rangemaster is AGA Marvel which distributes AGA Rangemaster cooking products under the AGA brand name as well as being the manufacturer of Marvel full sized refrigeration and undercounter refrigeration products such as wine cellars, beverage centers, refrigerated drawers, etc.

In September 2015, Aga Rangemaster was acquired by the American company Middleby Corporation for £129 million. [5]

Products and brands

AGA Rangemaster Group Limited, owns a number of brands including La Cornue, Rangemaster, Divertimenti, Fired Earth, AGA, and Marvel. It manufactures Rayburn [6] and Rangemaster stoves, and various other kitchen equipment, cookware and kitchen furnishings.

The Rayburn range was originally a separate product that was produced in the same factory as the Aga cooker. [7] [8]

History

Glynwed, later Glynwed International, was formed in 1939 through the merger of "Glynn Brothers, Builders and Plumbers Merchants of Birmingham" (engineering and plumbing materials) with sister company "The Wednesbury Tube Company" (solid drawn copper tubes). During WW2 it made a range of war equipment including brass bars for shell rings and ammunition driving bands. In the aftermath of the war, the company reverted to copper tubes and benefited from the post-WW2 housing boom. [9]

Having traded as a public company since 1941, Glynwed expanded rapidly adding additional companies to the group, including in 1969 Allied Ironfounders, the manufacturers of AGA cookers, an integrated oil burning oven system. [10] However, Glynwed was acquired by Mueller Industries Inc. (USA) in 1997, and subsequently underwent major reorganisation in 2001, with the pipes business being sold to Etex Group for £786 million, and the remainder being renamed AGA Foodservice. [11] In 2003 Rangemaster was added, and subsequently the firm was renamed Aga Rangemaster in 2008. [12] Middleby Corporation acquired the group in 2015 for £129 million, closing the Coalbrookdale manufacturing plant in 2017. [13] [14] [15]

Timeline

AGA and Rangemaster lead the portfolio of consumer brands which include Divertimenti, Falcon, Mercury, Fired Earth, Grange, Heartland, La Cornue, Leisure Sinks, Redfyre, Marvel, Rayburn and Stanley. [2] [3]

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References

  1. ↑ Walker, H. (1996). Cooks & Other People: Proceedings of the Oxford Symposium on Food and Cookery, 1995. Oxford symposium on food and cookery. Prospect Books. p. 189. ISBN   978-0-907325-72-7 . Retrieved 5 July 2022.
  2. 1 2 "AGA Rangemaster Group plc". Agarangemaster.com. Retrieved 15 July 2015.
  3. 1 2 "AGA Rangemaster Group PLC, AGA:LSE profile". Financial Times . 28 August 2014. Retrieved 15 July 2015.
  4. ↑ "AGA.L Profile | AGA RANGEMASTER Stock". Yahoo! UK & Ireland Finance. 31 December 2014. Retrieved 15 July 2015.
  5. 1 2 Farell, Sean (15 July 2015). "Aga Rangemaster sold to US company Middleby in £129m deal". The Guardian. Retrieved 15 July 2015.
  6. ↑ deLongchamps, Kya (25 June 2021). "Vintage View: Why our love for stoves burns on". Irish Examiner. Retrieved 5 July 2022.
  7. ↑ Crawford, M. (2015). Table in the Orchard, A. Random House Australia. p. 30. ISBN   978-0-85798-362-6 . Retrieved 5 July 2022.
  8. ↑ Brassley, P.; Burchardt, J.; Sayer, K. (2016). Transforming the Countryside: The Electrification of Rural Britain. Rural Worlds. Taylor & Francis. p. 126. ISBN   978-1-317-00751-7 . Retrieved 5 July 2022.
  9. ↑ Dictionary of Business Biography, Vol 5, edited by David J Jeremy
  10. ↑ "AGA Cookers - Graces Guide".
  11. ↑ "AGA Foodservice - Graces Guide".
  12. ↑ "Wednesbury Copper Tubes - UK Copper Tube Manufacturers".
  13. ↑ "New US owners insist Aga is here to stay after £129 million deal".
  14. ↑ "Coalbrookdale Co - Graces Guide".
  15. ↑ "Glynwed - Graces Guide".
  16. ↑ "Aga's range extends to China". Telegraph. Retrieved 15 July 2015.
  17. ↑ "Aga foundry to shut by end of month". BBC News. 21 November 2017. Retrieved 28 November 2017.

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