Kenwood Limited
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| Kenwood Logor | |
| Product type | Small appliance |
|---|---|
| Owner | De'Longhi |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Introduced | 1947 |
| Markets | International |
| Tagline | Create More |
| Website | Official website |
Kenwood is a leading kitchen appliances manufacturer, operating in 44 countries. It has British roots, and is owned by the De’Longhi Group. Kenwood designs, produces and sells kitchen appliances including stand mixers, blenders, food processors, kettles and toasters.
The company was founded by Kenneth Maynard Wood in 1947 in the town of Woking, originally beginning manufacturing in his garage. His ethos was to help liberate women in the kitchen by designing labour saving devices. In 1962 the company outgrew its original factory space and moved to Havant where they still maintain operations.
History
1940s
The first Kenwood product was a pioneering toaster invented by Kenneth Wood, which was brought to market in 1947, known as the A100. It was the first of its kind in Europe to allow for bread to be toasted on both sides without being touched.
1950s-1960s
Three years later in 1950, the first version of the Kenwood Chef Kitchen machine was launched at the Ideal Home Exhibition. The machine was developed to deal with the most difficult kitchen tasks, and had 3 outlets with different power speeds to allow consumers to prepare numerous recipes. Within a week of release, department store Harrods had sold out. By the 1960s the Kenwood Chef saw success all over the world.
1970s-1980s
Kenwood was also the first manufacturer to introduce electric speed control on its products, a function adopted in 1973. The company’s first food processor was launched in 1979. By 1989, the business had invested in its first factory in China to keep up with growing demand.
1990s-the present
In 1997, at the age of 81, Kenneth Wood died following a short illness. By then, the company had more than 80 international distributors.
In 2001, Italian rival small appliance maker De'Longhi bought the Kenwood company - and its factory in China - for £45.9 million (about $66.7 million). Analysts thought the deal with De'Longhi, which had been looking to beef up its presence in the UK, was 'a good geographic fit'.[1]
In 2009, Kenwood launched the Cooking Chef, the first kitchen machine with a built-in induction heating element to mix and cook simultaneously.
The Kenwood Chef's original designer, Kenneth Grange, was knighted in 2013 for his services to design.[2]
In 2015 Kenwood's Chef mixers replaced its US rival appliance maker KitchenAid's machines that had spent five seasons on contestants' benches in BBC Two's The Great British Bake Off baking competition.[3]
Products
Kenwood’s products include the following categories:
• Kitchen machines
• Food and drink preparation (Food processors, blenders, juicers)
• Breakfast (Kettles, toasters, coffee makers)
The alcoholic Irish cream drink Baileys was first developed using a Kenwood mixer. [4]
Design & Engineering
The company is now synonymous with high-quality products, lasting throughout family generations. According to the BBC, Chef machines are still being used 40 years later.[5]
References
- ↑ Kenwood cooks up a £45.9m deal with Italy's De'Longhi, Dominic White, Daily Telegraph, London, 17 February 2001.Retrieved 25 January 2016.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Great British Bake Off: mystery of the missing KitchenAid mixers, Anita Singh, Daily Telegraph, London, 22 August 2015.Retrieved 25 January 2016.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
External links
- No URL found. Please specify a URL here or add one to Wikidata.
- Kenwood Cooking Chef
- Ken Wood in Making the Modern World **Broken link**
- Company profile
- Kenwood UK Website
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