AGA Rangemaster is a British manufacturer of range cookers, kitchen appliances, and interior furnishings owned by Middleby Corporation in September 2015 after it received a takeover approach from Whirlpool. It employs just over 2,500 people worldwide. AGA stands for Aktiebolaget Gas Accumulator. 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. 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.

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 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.

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 World War II 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. 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. 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. In 2003 Rangemaster was added, and subsequently the firm was renamed Aga Rangemaster in 2008. Middleby Corporation acquired the group in 2015 for £129 million, closing the Coalbrookdale manufacturing plant in 2017.

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.