Building on
a Legacy of
Innovation and
Partnership

Next Starts Now

Building on
a Legacy of Innovation and Partnership

Foreword

If Richard and Donald Rheem, the brothers who founded Rheem Manufacturing in 1925, were able to see the Rheem of 2025, we think they would be proud of what the company has accomplished in 100 years of business. But we don’t think they would be surprised. The fundamental approach to our success hasn’t really changed. It was built on a solid foundation of entrepreneurship and a relentless pursuit of excellence. Around that foundation, Rheem has always, season after season, planted the seeds of innovation that would come to define how we compete in the marketplace and how we have grown to lead the industries we serve.

The Rheem brothers would likely recognize our business strategy, as

partnerships. Our employees have always been the heart of everything we do. Like all the leaders who have come before us, we consider ourselves guardians of a culture that welcomes people into the Rheem family and respects them for who they are and the contributions they make. Our success is truly the success of more than 14,000 dedicated Rheem employees serving 88 countries through the 50+ global brands. No amount of thanks could ever be enough for the passion of our people, who not only enabled a century of achievement but helped us build this very special culture.

Together, we are learning from our past and preparing with anticipation
for our future, a future that will balance emerging technologies with

well, because it is a clear echo of their own: they believed that the company could excel day to day and year to year while also planning for the future. Doing both would become a hallmark of the Rheem story. As one leader would pass the baton to another, so would pass the requisite understanding that looking well beyond the horizon would be key to the company’s success. That strategy has consistently proven itself to produce results that have grown our business and the businesses of our customers.

Our customers have been the center of everything we do since the Rheem brothers founded the company a century ago. All along our journey, our customers have made us thrive. We thank them for their trusted

sustainability and regulatory influence. It’s an exciting time for Rheem and our partners. We are informed by the traditions of true visionaries and our optimism never wavers. The stories in the following pages will show you why.

We want to close by thanking our parent company, Paloma, for the significant investments it has made in Rheem since taking ownership in 1988. Paloma has always shown much respect for Rheem’s legacy and, equally important, a deep faith in our company’s future.

Chris Peel, President & CEO 
J.R. Jones, Executive Chairman

< Previous: In 1925, the Rheem brothers — Donald, William Jr., and Richard (from left to right) — roll out the Pacific Galvanizing Company.

> The following year, the Rheem Manufacturing Co. is born and its first official home is built around the original shed in Emeryville, California.

t’s the Roaring Twenties. Everything seems possible in
America. Richard and Donald
Rheem are among those who
feel the energy of the times
and take a gamble by setting up a
company to galvanize steel drums
and other metal products on the West Coast. The spirited Twenties abruptly
end, however, with the 1929 stock
market crash and the collapse of the
international financial system, leading
to a worldwide Great Depression.
It seems a challenging time to build
a new business, but the brothers
approach the challenge with the
same strategies that will define Rheem
throughout its unfolding history: long-
term thinking, vital partnerships,a
deep understanding of customer
needs, and pioneering products to
meet those needs.

^ Construction of the pioneering Emeryville plant costs nearly $200,000 at the time.

< The brothers’ California

beginnings date back to 1901,

when their father, William S. Rheem (center), relocates the family

and his petroleum business from

Pennsylvania.

San Francisco
Bay beginnings

The Rheem brothers — Donald, Richard, and William Jr. — learned
the petroleum business from their father. William S. Rheem had started
as a chemist with the Standard Oil Company in Franklin, Pennsylvania,
but before he turned 40, company president and owner John D. Rockefeller sent him to California to
open a West Coast division.

The face of the Bay Area changed one day in October 1901 when the

elder Rheem stepped down from
a horse-drawn carriage and saw
the future.

For many, the 600 acres of rolling farmland before him might have
seemed an unlikely spot for a new oil refinery, but within a few years, he had made his dream real, and Standard
Oil was refining more than 23 million barrels a year on that land. The facility, in a slightly different capacity, still operates today.

When William S. died, Donald Rheem was only 18 and, left to support himself, knew college was no longer
an option. He joined Standard Oil for
a single year before he and his brother Richard (known as R.S.) decided
to move out on their own and into
manufacturing with financial help from their older brother, William Jr.

Our story begins in 1925, when Donald and R.S. take action. The
brothers create the Pacific Galvanizing

Company, which will galvanize steel drums and other metal products. They build a facility in Emeryville, a small Bay Area community, and it is considered by one newspaper at the time the “most modern and complete” plant of its type. The cost is nearly $200,000 — about $3.3 million in today’s dollars. (Note that all dollar figures in the book are U.S. currency.)

The choice to manufacture drums is no accident. Donald and R.S. grew up

hearing their father complain about having to transport oil containers
from the East Coast, since no drum plant existed closer to home. From
the very start, the goal for the Rheem brothers, and their new company, is
to understand customers’ needs and then push beyond the practices of the time to offer a one-stop shop where manufacturers can, for the first time in the area, fabricate sheet steel products and galvanize them in the same place.

From the very start

the goal for the Rheem brothers, and their

new company, is to understand customers’ needs and then push beyond the practices

of the time to offer a

one-stop shop where manufacturers can, for
the first time in the area, fabricate sheet steel products and galvanize them in the same place.

The Rheem brothers, as seen over the sepia-toned years, from boyhood days to their emergence in the steel industry. Top: A 1910 portrait of the patriarch, William Sr.; his sons, Richard (known as R.S.), Donald, and William Jr., standing left to right in 1905.

In pursuit of the
“next big thing”

Despite its early success, the company hits a difficult period when global
events lead to a price war on barrels. The troubles start with a rise in supply, with large new sources flooding the market from Venezuela, the Soviet
Union, and elsewhere in the United States, especially Oklahoma and
Texas. As prices become depressed, demand weakens and the global recession causes oil prices to drop.
The value of a steel tank plummets
from one dollar to less than six cents.

Production grinds to a halt and,
in reaction, regulatory bodies in both Texas and Oklahoma institute quotas at oilfields — enforced with guns, horses, and troops. It’s a standoff, but by 1933, the major international oil companies reach agreements to regulate prices

The true shift, though, is in looking for
the next big thing. With the increasing
use of natural gas in California for
household appliances, Rheem sees
new markets for this alternative energy source, and by 1936, the company has $2.2 million in its traditional container
sales … and almost $1 million in
appliance sales.

and production, and oil prices
rebound to their original levels.

It’s a period of self-reflection for Rheem. The company continues in
its current businesses: containers,
oil-burning and electric water heaters, and a variety of gas-fired space
heaters. But it also doubles down on its strategy, using the downtime to
forge advantageous contracts with large distributors to build volume
and reduce costs. The true shift,
though, is in looking for the next
big thing. With the increasing use of natural gas in California for household appliances, Rheem sees new markets for this alternative energy source, and by 1936, the company has $2.2 million in its traditional container sales … and almost $1 million in appliance sales.

< A view of the pump department manufacturing floor, 1931.
< Far left: Rheem steel barrels produced for the Dallas-based
Dr Pepper Company.

< Another view of the South Gate facility in California.

< Far left: A 1937 staff picture of Rheem Australia, marking Rheem’s first overseas branch.

Decentralization
and global expansion

The brothers could choose to consolidate their company in Northern California. But paying freight to ship containers to San Francisco is not economical — containers cost three times more than steel sheets.

So, Rheem decides to
decentralize. The process, which will
be a key strategy for years to come,

DELIVER ON COMMITMENTS

On March 27, 1937, the company lists 64,450 shares on the San Francisco Stock Exchange. Proceeds are to be used “to discharge indebtedness, for advances to a subsidiary, to reimburse the company for capital expenditures, and for additional working capital.”

gains momentum in 1937. Thanks to
the capital unlocked by its first public offering, the company grows beyond
the U.S. borders for the first time, expanding its manufacturing facilities
o Australia. Over the decades, that first pin in the world map will be joined by dozens more as the company grows into the truly global entity it is today.

Rheem’s first public offering
does more than just raise capital, though; it cements the company’s commitment to partnership. Rheem
is now beholden to a community of shareholders — success comes for
all or for none.

Rheem is seeing its highest revenues
ever. As R.S. decreed, the company
is not standing still.

The 1936 maiden flight of Pan American Airways’ Hawaii Clipper connects America and Australia.

> Socialite Alice Rheem, wife of Donald, makes a stir on the San Juan Islands while living in Moran Mansion.

INVEST TO GROW

In 1937, Rheem makes a massive
jump. Until now, it’s been an entirely
U.S.–based business. But the company now expands overseas, establishing a branch office in Australia, where it starts to manufacture drums. R.S. Rheem, still only 34 years old, makes the arduous journey to finalize the deal.

Australia is a world away from Los Angeles in 1937, though the distance
had become considerably shorter
with the introduction of commercial
air flight the previous year. In 1936,

Pan American Airways’ Hawaii Clipper made its inaugural flight, with seven passengers aboard, from California
to Manila, Philippines. Fittingly, passenger No. 1 was the aviation manager for the San Francisco office
of Standard Oil, Richard F. Bradley.
It was a five-day flight one way, and
the first leg from San Francisco to Honolulu was at that time the longest landless air route in the world.
Costs and travel time would lessen considerably as the 1930s advanced.

With the opening of Rheem Manufacturing Co. (Australia) Proprietary Ltd., the company begins its growth from a domestic barrel manufacturer into the global leader in water heating, heating, cooling, and refrigeration that it will become.

The legend of
Moran Mansion

When Donald Rheem and socialite
Alice Goodfellow marry in 1922, things don’t quite go according to plan. The ceremony, according to the society pages of the times, “had been planned as a brilliant affair to be held soon at
the beautiful Cliff Drive Home of the Goodfellows” in Northern California. Instead, the young couple — Donald was barely 21 at the time, Alice 20 — “avoided the trouble of that kind of
hing,” eloping to a nearby town.

The pair settle in the Bay Area,
but come 1938, Donald decides to

> The cut-up line for drums

at a Rheem plant in Waterloo, Australia, 1937.

> Far right: Production of deep-drawn water bottles for military use at the same facility, 1942.

Production plans
are set for a
post-war world

Early in the decade, Rheem is at the top of its game, and the brothers have no intention of slowing down. Instead, they focus on looking for growth opportunities around every corner. They’re operating in an era when
both gas and electric water heaters
are growing in popularity across the Midwest and the East, so in the early ’40s, Rheem opens plants in Chicago, Illinois (to replace the Cleveland operation), New Orleans, Louisiana, and Sparrows Point, Maryland.

Rheem continues to grow its businesses, but it is, of course, aware of the war brewing overseas. When the U.S. officially enters World War II on December 7, 1941, Rheem, like most other industrial companies nationwide,

turns its full expertise to producing
a variety of war products. Peacetime production is put aside, except for essential replacements.

A 1946 ad for the Stokermatic
water heater, which features the exclusive Silent Unit Drive and joins Rheem’s portfolio in 1944. Bold graphic ads with strong typography, like this one, help establish Rheem as a household name.

Snapshots from the christening of the SS William Coddington, the first Liberty freighter launched at Rheem’s emergency Providence shipyard, Rhode Island, November 28, 1942. 

DID YOU KNOW?

In 1942, the United States Navy bestows Rheem’s Richmond and Newark plants with the coveted Navy “E” Award for outstanding production of defense materials. The highest of all Navy honors, the E honors excellence and efficiency. At a ceremony at
the Richmond plant — the first plant in the San Francisco area
to receive the honor — Rheem employees are told that “this
plant has been singled out by
the secretary of the Navy for a special award of merit.”

< Far left: A ceremony at the Richmond plant to celebrate its prestigious Navy “E” Award win, 1942.

DID YOU KNOW?

Engineer Stuart Cramer coins the term air conditioning in 1906, and less than a decade later the first residential unit is installed. It is so big (7 feet high by 6 feet wide by 20 feet long) that it
needs a whole room just to house it.

Anticipating the
needs of modern homeowners

Housing construction continues to
collapse during the Great Depression
and into the early 1940s. As a result,
by 1945, the country is suffering from
a housing crisis in every American city, most acutely in Rheem’s own state of California.

With years of decreased housing production and millions of returning war veterans, there is a sudden rush to build or modernize homes and apartments.
This is an advantage for Rheem, as those empty and refurbished houses need to be heated and cooled — and fast. That also means the time is right for Rheem
to build its brand among consumers.
By the end of the decade, although
the company still manufactures water
heaters for four or five big brands and tanks for 25 others, it no longer supplies the big mail-order houses. Rheem’s
own appliances are on the rise.

To promote the company and its products, Rheem launches its first national advertising campaign in major magazines in 1946. It’s part of an effort
to get the customer to ask their
plumber for a Rheem by name.

One ad shows a drawing of a
young woman happily (and discreetly) washing herself, presumably in the
sea. She proclaims, “Now! Oceans
of Instant Hot Water for Any Home … with Any Fuel!” Another shows a good-natured plumber asking with disbelief, “You say you don’t know Rheem?”

The company spends $1.5 million
a year ($24 million in 2024 dollars) on advertising and promotions to boost
the sales of Rheem-branded furnaces and heating units, stokers, septic tanks, range boilers, and water heaters.

Unfortunately, it turns out that exciting average consumers about a

household appliance is hard when
they are more likely to be eyeing
the newest Ford Deluxe sedan
So, Rheem further commits to its ongoing partnerships with plumbers and distributors, offering them a commission on each sale. The company converts a barren plumbing shop into a showroom with space for educating plumbers, salespeople, architects, and builders on modern selling and merchandizing techniques. It also offers to direct-mail any company’s customer lists.

The strategy works. Rheem’s revenues increase substantially,
and the appliance business quickly overtakes shipping containers. In
1940, the containers accounted
for 77 percent of the company’s revenues, but by 1947 they
contribute only 37 percent.

< Far left: The exterior of Rheem Manufacturing Company in
Stockton, California. Inset:
A 1940s Rheem boiler badge.

DELIVER ON COMMITMENTS

R.E. Fraser was a native son of California who’d tried his
hand at a clothing and jewelry business, then was apprenticed
in the sheet metal trade throughout the Western states.

With the help of a loan from the Bank of Stockton, he and partner
F.P. Sexton started the Fraser Furnace Company in 1920 with only two employees and a small plant. By the time Rheem came calling in 1947,
Fraser had grown into one of the largest such plants west of Chicago — although most of the sales took place in the East.

A classic small businessman of the time, Fraser was an active member of the local Rotary Club and Elks Lodge. The Stockton Evening and Sunday Record proudly announced the sale of Fraser Furnaces to Rheem, noting that the area, mainly known for its rich agriculture, was becoming quite the successful business incubator as well, with Fraser joining other companies that “developed a successful operation here and then were expanded or absorbed on a national or international scale.”

For Rheem, according to the trade publication Gas Appliance Merchandising, the purchase nestled into a much larger strategy: “Acquisition of the Fraser business will continue the process of rounding out Rheem heating lines which now include space heaters, wall heaters, floor furnaces, stokers and stoker-fired furnaces.”

A hard water
problem is solved

In the 1940s, Rheem focuses on what
it calls Public Enemy No. 1: hard water. That’s water with a lot of dissolved minerals in it, especially magnesium
and calcium. Hard water can leave residue, making it more difficult to keep clothes, dishes, and oneself clean. It’s harder to lather and can corrode pipes.

But, with Rheem’s fully automatic soft water appliance, the enemy can
be beaten. As one advertising rhyme promises:

Soft water saves your lovely hair.

Soft water saves your skin so fair.

Soft water saves the flavor rare.

Soft water saves just everywhere.

^ A hydraulic press in operation at
a Rheem plant.

< Richard S. Rheem is featured on the cover of Business Week on July 31, 1948, generating significant media buzz.

Rheem in the
media spotlight

An illustration of Richard S. Rheem
against a background of stacked
steel drums, hair slicked back and
a slight smile on his face, graces
the cover of the magazine Business
Week on July 31, 1948. The major exposure given to R.S. by a popular magazine with a circulation of almost 200,000 subscribers demonstrates the company’s importance and impact a mere two decades after its founding.

The tone of the article is
celebratory, to say the least. “The
company started with a little job galvanizing plant on the shores of San Francisco Bay,” it notes. “Now it has branch factories in nine marketing
areas around the U.S., and in Australia, Singapore, Canada, and Brazil as well.”

And R.S. embodies the company’s adventuresome spirit. The feature,

entitled “Rheem is out to make a household name,” says the 44-year-old company leader “has a granite jaw, a habit of sticking it out and a talent for rolling with the punches.”

A look at Rheem’s bold and eye-catching ads from the 1940s and
1950s, featuring advanced water heaters, soft water appliances,
and space heating solutions that revolutionize comfort and convenience for every home.

DID YOU KNOW?

It’s spring 1945 and 10 charming women, representing Rheem plants in Southern California, are competing for the honor of being the

company’s first Drheem Girl. At a Saturday night gala at a Hollywood

hotel, Elaine Brinkley, 19, an inspector at the South Gate plant,

is crowned in front of more than 600 colleagues. The lucky Miss

Brinkley, a California native, is introduced to the cheering crowd by

the powerhouse movie star couple Captain Ronald Reagan and Jane Wyman, who present her with a trophy and a huge bouquet of roses.

The space becomes a physical manifestation of the close connection the staff feel with their employer, a connection showcased again and again in the
company newsletters of the time.

A garden builds
community In Alabama

Visitors to Rheem’s Birmingham, Alabama, plant in 1945 might be surprised when stepping into the facility’s backyard.

It all started with a local landscape artist and gardener who asked if she could create a garden in this unlikely spot. Seeing the beauty that she was developing in their outdoor space, Rheem’s own employees jump in.

The space becomes a physical manifestation of the close connection the staff feel with their employer, a connection showcased again and

again in the company newsletters
of the time. Some workers make a sunken concrete fishpond and stock it with lilies and goldfish. Another
builds a fountain from a 76-millimeter brass cartridge case. Still others
bring in plants. Soon the lawn sports permanent seats. A Rheem pipe fitter

foreman arranges piping for fountains and waterfalls. A welder creates a
pair of wrought iron gates for the
main entrance, and Rheem engineers design a weathervane, which is installed by a tool and die foreman.
The final touches are a pergola, bird baths, and a beautiful rose garden.

Rheem plants across the U.S. —

in Chicago, Los Angeles, and Richmond (from top to bottom).

Snippets from the 1946–1947
issues of Rheeminder, the company newsletter. Launched in 1941,
the publication features thought leadership, employee recognition,
and events coverage of Rheem’s
many picnics and pageants.
Circulation continues to this day.

Rheeminder issues through the decades. Rheem’s commitment to resource conservation is documented as far back as the early 1940s, when the internal newsletter highlighted the importance of reusing factory materials.

< Previous: Rheem brothers R.S. and Donald, and others, at a plant site in Bakersfield, California, 1952. > A 1950s ad for “packaged heating,” which combines space heating, water heating, cooking, and refrigeration. This approach marks the first step in Rheem’s journey toward integrated, all-in-one
home solutions.

Cooking (and cleaning) with gas

Wedgewood is Rheem’s first step into the gas stove market, quickly followed in 1956, when it buys the Standard Enameling Company, the Western Stove Company, and Western-Holly stoves. Rheem merges the companies into the Wedgewood-Holly Division of Rheem Manufacturing.

Gas stoves are only one part of Rheem’s appliance portfolio; in 1953
it launches a gas-fired clothes dryer, which is embraced for its unique temperature selector that offers “made-to-order drying weather for each type
of fabric.” One particularly innovative option is a special “clothes-saver”

In 1953, Rheem launches its first clothes dryer under its appliance portfolio. Following the 1951 acquisition of the James Graham Manufacturing Company, Rheem takes over their Wedgewood gas stove line and later introduces the Wedgewood clothes dryer.

A drive for efficiency
and longevity

In 1950, as residential communities expand and offices and business
parks sprout up across North America, Rheem expands its tank and boiler
line by buying the entire range of the Wheeling Steel Corporation’s boiler
and tank business, which includes the well-known Whitaker line of boilers.

But Rheem isn’t content simply to rest on Whitaker’s laurels; the company wants its tanks and water heaters to be both more efficient and longer lasting.

“Rheem starts ’54 with a roar!” boasts a company ad placed in several magazines, including House Beautiful and The Saturday Evening Post. It

proudly introduces the Coppermatic water heater, which features a
tank with a copper shell within a conventional steel tank. Copper is naturally resistant to corrosion, making it an ideal liner, and although the Coppermatic comes with a 10-year warranty, most units last far longer.

> Far right: In 1952, Rheem
introduces its pioneering Coppermatic water heater, featuring a durable copper shell within a conventional steel tank. Most units easily outlast their 10‑year warranty.

But Rheem isn’t content simply to
rest on Whitaker’s laurels; the company wants its tanks and water heaters to be both more efficient and longer lasting.

The next year, Rheem researchers

develop a process known as
Rheemglas, a glass lining that extends the life of a water heater tank. In a groundbreaking advancement in the field, using an ingredient known as frit, Rheemglas bonds a porcelain lining
to the inner surface of the tank. The multi-step application process includes

carefully blasting the inner tank with carbon steel chips to etch the liner before applying the glass, then baking it at extremely high temperatures to
cure the coating properly.

Rheemglas solves the ongoing problems of corrosion and rust damage to the internal liner of water heaters and is less expensive than

copper. In fact, Rheem boasts that Rheemglas tanks can easily survive
the fire and ice test: being thrust into boiling water and then plunged into
ice. And the lining remains … perfect.

The Rheemglas coating and
process are later used in the Rheem furnace lines; the glass lining system works so well that copper tanks
are eventually phased out. Over the years, Rheemglas is reformulated and improved more than 30 times. It is innovations such as Rheemglas — and the ongoing search for continuously improved products with a mind to customer satisfaction and feedback — that prove to be the foundation of
the company’s success over many decades.

In 1955, using a material called frit, Rheem releases the Rheemglas water heater tank liner, a breakthrough innovation that eliminates corrosion
and significantly extends the appliance’s lifespan. 

Rheem on the
rise Down Under

By the early 1950s, Rheem Australia,
with plants in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Fremantle, and Adelaide,
is the southern hemisphere’s largest manufacturer of hot water systems.
In 1953, Rheem Australia decides
to consolidate its five plants around Sydney into 25 acres in Rydalmere
in the west of the city, still today the
main headquarters and center of manufacturing of Rheem Australia.

By the 1960s, the Australian business is producing, among other things, gas room and space heaters, Coppermatic water heaters, stainless steel beer barrels, beverage cylinders, containers and drums, and outboard marine fuel tanks. But the company pitches in wherever needed, even if outside its usual course of business.
For example, Rheem builds what is the largest steel reservoir in Australia at this time for the growing city of Townsville, using more than 600 tons of steel plate.

Then there is the Melbourne racehorse trainer who asks Rheem
to install water heaters to provide showers for his horses to unwind
in after a chilly pre-dawn gallop.

In the 1950s and ’60s, Rheem’s marketing campaigns take off;

generations of Australians can hum the cheerful jingle “Install a Rheem! Install
a Rheem! It comes on steady, hot, and strong!” Over the decades, Rheem has essentially become synonymous with

water heating in Australia, and most households use at least one Rheem product every day.

In the 1950s and ’60s, Rheem Australia ranks among the country’s most diversified enterprises. Headquartered in Rydalmere, New South Wales, its plants span multiple states and manufacture a wide range of metal-based appliances and containers.

A colorful innovation
for fixtures

In 1956, to round out its line of plumbing products, Rheem acquires the Richmond Radiator Company. Richmond, in business since the
early part of the century, becomes
the Richmond Plumbing Fixtures Division of Rheem, supplying home, commercial, and industrial bathroom fixtures, as well as equipment for laundries and kitchens. (It’s an
especially satisfying homage that
the acquired company bears the Richmond name, since that’s the
town in California where Rheem
got its start.)

Enamel fixtures are made at a factory in Edison, New Jersey, close
to East Coast markets, raw materials, and readily available craftsmen.
Preparing glaze for the fixtures “is
almost as precise as a housewife’s recipe for a cake,” a journalist notes, requiring a mixture of as many as

the color to redecorate the private quarters of the White House.

Some of the newest and most prestigious office buildings in the country install Rheem-Richmond plumbing fixtures, including the Metropolitan Life Building in New York City and the Blue Cross-Blue Shield Building in Boston.

11 different ingredients blended in lots weighing 6.8 metric tons.

Rheem enters this market during a particularly creative time: homeowners are interested in a rainbow of colors
for their matching sinks, bathtubs, and toilets. Among the most popular is bubble-gum pink — inspired by First Lady Mamie Eisenhower, who uses

In 1963, Rheem offers the Fashionette line of six washbasins exquisitely decorated with painted flowers and designs, along with
matching Rheem faucet sets, toilet seats, toilet tank lids, and vanities. And for the homeowner who wants
to coordinate the bath down to the
last detail, Rheem authorizes leading suppliers to make matching towels, shower curtains, cabinet hardware, wallpaper, wall tile, and floor tile —and even matching ceramic towel bars, soap dishes, and glass holders.

< Following the acquisition of the Richmond Radiator Company in 1956, Rheem begins offering ornate enamel plumbing fixtures, such as this azure line featuring wrought-iron detailing.

< Far left: Rheem unveils “not just another bathroom” with its antique gold Mediterranean Collection.

Rheem then broadens its
product line to include fiber and steel-fiber drums, providing a cheaper means to ship powders and other dry products.

Containers reimagined for the shipping age

On April 26, 1956, the Ideal X, sets
sail from Newark to Houston carrying
58 aluminum containers. When the
ship arrives in Houston, a specially
built crane lifts the containers out and places them onto 58 trucks that take them to their final destination. In the years to come, shipping containers
will revolutionize trade, making the global transfer of products vastly more efficient and less expensive. And
Rheem is a big part of that revolution.

By 1950, the company is already a world leader in the manufacture of steel containers — a legacy of excellence that dates to the 1930s, when Rheem began making steel shipping drums and containers in Australia. Over the

Every time a customer uses gasoline, paint, or varnish — or adds salad oil
or syrup to a meal — there’s a good chance that, on part of its journey, it
was stored in a Rheem container.

Rheem also develops centrifugal spraying, a new technique for applying
a uniform lining for every drum. Since
it uses no air, this technique eliminates
the problems of blisters and pinholes — just one more example of Rheem innovation unleashing the potential
of a seemingly inert material (steel)
applied to an infinite set of challenges and opportunities.

course of the 1950s, Rheem engineers transform their containers to meet the widening needs of the shipping industry. One of their innovations, the Rheemlined drum, uses a lining that is impervious to most chemicals, solving the packaging problems of corrosion and spoilage. Rheem then broadens its product line
to include fiber and steel-fiber drums, providing a cheaper means to ship powders and other dry products.

And the company enters the food-packaging industry by creating a way
to vacuum-seal and sterilize 55-gallon drums for food storage and distribution.

INNOVATE TO LEAD

For customers, it’s an advertising dream. Rheem’s
major innovation, the Rheemcote lithography
process, allows a non-corrosive, sanitary coating
to be applied inside the drum — but also for blank
sheets of steel to be printed on just like paper.
And not only letters but multi-color messages
and designs.

The lithographed containers become movable billboards that can reach a potentially world-wide audience, and unlike TV or radio commercials, they can’t be turned off.

As Rheem highlights in its ads, 5-gallon
pails to 55-gallon steel drums are now “Traveling Billboards!” and “Rely on Rheem to Deliver your
Goods … and Goodwill!” Veteran steel container
men call Rheemcote the first major improvement
in the field in 25 years. As Time magazine notes,
“This development, and the new merchandising opportunities it created, marked a fitting climax to Rheem’s first quarter-century.”

This is one of thousands of examples of the
benefits Rheem reaps from listening to its customers;
by truly understanding their needs, Rheem is able to invest in meaningful R&D that enhances customers’ experience and, in turn, their loyalty.

< By enabling multicolor printing directly on steel, the pioneering Rheemcote lithography process transforms shipping containers into marketable “selling containers.”

Heating-and-cooling technology for
the masses

In the early 20th century, Americans
who wanted to cool down during the sticky days of summer found refuge
in movie theaters; refrigeration units were too large and expensive for most individual homes. Over the decades, researchers experimented to find smaller and less costly ways to air condition homes — and by 1953, homeowners
can buy a compact air conditioner
small enough to be placed on a ledge and safely cooled with the world’s first nonflammable refrigerating fluids.

Rheem boldly enters this
brand-new appliance field. But the company, staying true to its strategy,
is looking to the future and not
the past; it focuses on not just air conditioning but combined heating-and-cooling units. The challenge is
how to make these units affordable enough that the average homeowner can buy one while creating enough

demand that mass production will reduce costs.

In 1956, after three years of
research, the company introduces Rheemaire: a central air conditioning and heating system for homes. The system increases the efficiency of the cooling operation, partially through an innovative process that moves a thin film of moving water across Rheem’s Air-Film copper condenser to remove heat from the air.

The Rheemaire system is a big hit. It’s featured in a 1956 issue of Better Homes and Gardens, which shows
how it can be installed in existing heating systems and cuts cooling
costs in half by operating more efficiently than other similar systems.

The Rheemaire system is a big hit. It’s featured in
a 1956 issue of Better Homes and Gardens, which
shows how it can be installed in existing heating systems and cuts cooling costs in half by operating more efficiently than other similar systems.

> Rheem home appliances appear

in the August 1953 issue of House & Home magazine.

> Rheem enters the automobile market with the 1954 acquisition

of U.S. Spring and Bumper Co.; pictured is a 1956 technical print filed by the division.

The newly completed

manufacturing site of Rheem Automotive in Fullerton,

California, 1956.

Full speed ahead on
automotive parts

The 1950s are a pivotal period for the auto industry. Technological advances, growing suburbs, and the expanding interstate highway system, along with the baby boom, all contribute to the demand for cars, cars, and more cars. It is during this decade that automobile manufacturing becomes the largest industry in the U.S., accounting for 80 percent of global car production.

In 1954, Rheem seizes the moment by acquiring U.S. Spring and Bumper Co. of Los Angeles, a highly profitable manufacturer of automotive parts and

Rheem’s global footprint expands

In 1951, Rheem puts Angus Lightfoot Walker in charge of the company’s international interests, officially forming Rheem International. Born in England and raised in Australia, Walker joined Rheem as head of its Australian operations in 1927. He came to the United States in 1946 as executive assistant to the president. In the
1960s, he will become the company’s second president (after R.S.) and chairman of its board.

Rheem International manages operations in Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, Italy, Peru, Singapore, and the United States. By the end
of the 1950s, Rheem operates
42 plants in 19 countries and has subsidiaries and affiliated companies

in Western Europe, Canada, Central and South America, the Middle East, Australia, New Zealand, and Asia
(For a full list of Rheem leadership,
see Appendix A. For a list of Rheem’s global businesses, see Appendix B.)

> Dapper Rheem representatives showcase their water heaters
at a 1960s trade show held at the Sheraton-Connaught Hotel in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada.

Taking flight with
the Rheem Dream

The All-Woman Transcontinental Air Races, which started in 1947, are
the first annual air derby dedicated
to advancing women pilots. The competition, nicknamed the Powder Puff Derby, includes about a dozen
stops in major cities, and the pilot and co-pilot with the fastest combined
times win cash money — and
bragging rights.

Corporations, including Rheem,
sponsor the planes — and in 1955,
Alice Roberts of Phoenix, Arizona,
is joined by co-pilot Iris Critchell of
Palos Verdes, California, to fly the

Rheem Dream. Beginning in Long
Beach, California, and ending up in

Springfield, Massachusetts — a total of 2,787 miles — the pair steer the Rheem Dream to a second-place finish.

A town called Rheem

Back in the 1930s, company co-founder Donald Rheem bought land
in a wilderness area of Moraga, a Northern California town where he
and his wife Alice built an estate with horses, stables, and a racetrack.

Twenty years later, in 1953, Donald recommits to the area and begins

planning a shopping center in the middle of a cow pasture. He wants to name it Moraga Center — signs are made and installed. But residents protest, saying
the historical center of the town is two miles south of Rheem’s construction.

Donald decides to replace Moraga with Rheem on the signs (good thing

the words are about the same length), and the center opens in 1954 with a 20,000-square-foot Clark’s Market. Appropriately enough, given the legacy of the Rheem business, it becomes
the first completely air conditioned market in the entire county of
Contra Costa.

> Alice Roberts and Iris Critchell pilot the sponsored plane Rheem Dream to second place in the 1955 All-Woman Transcontinental Air Races.

> Far right: Donald Rheem’s Rheem Bowl, a shopping center set in the middle of a cow pasture in Moraga Valley, California, 1954.

Don’s pet project is a theater, which opens on June 12, 1957. The Rheem Theater enthusiastically
advertises “every seat a loge.” In this business, as in many others in which
the Rheems invest, innovation is a driving factor: the theater’s builders create stadium seating and sliding screens so the movie house can turn into a live stage.

The Rheem community is thriving by 1957, and the post office decides
it’s time to open a new substation

at the shopping center. The town of Rheem is officially established, with its own zip code. As a columnist in the Oakland Tribune puts it, Don Rheem built the center “for people to crowd around — and they do too. Rheems
of them.”

By 1974, the town of Rheem is incorporated into Moraga and named Rheem Valley. There still exist many streets named for Rheem family members and employees, including Donald Drive and Alice Lane.

^ Donald’s pet project, the

Rheem Theater, opens on

June 12, 1957.

> In 1957, the post office

opens a substation at the

center and the town of Rheem is officially established with its very own zip code.

R.S. and Donald, along with civil engineers from Wilson & Co., on a site visit during the construction of the Moraga Valley shopping center, 1953.

A site plan of the total Rheem
holdings in Moraga Valley, showing parks, playgrounds, a golf course, schools, shopping center areas, apartment complexes, and residential areas, as drafted by civil engineer Frank Draeger and others.

Ruud and the
commercial water
heater market

In the 1960s, the trend is all about comfort and convenience in the home, and
with that trend comes a wave of home appliances. More dishwashers. More washing machines. More bathrooms for larger houses. And economic prosperity, mass suburbanization, and lower production costs.

All these items make life easier and more luxurious. They also require more readily available hot water. Outside
the home, the same is true with the increasing use of commercial water heaters to meet demand for laundries, car washes, restaurant chains, and overall development.

Where does all this readily available hot water come from? Rheem, with its recent acquisition of Ruud, leads the

way in water heating, consistently looking for ways to further serve its customers. One of the advantages
of Ruud water heaters over the competition is that they cost less and require less maintenance. With Ruud
on board, Rheem vigorously enters
the commercial water heater market just as the use of natural gas is rising
in the East. Building on the strong relationships Ruud distributors have
with gas utilities, Rheem gains access to the many commercial markets in the United States and Canada.

With its acquisition of the Ruud Manufacturing Company, Rheem absorbs its largest competitor in the water heating business.

In 1959, Rheem acquires the Ruud Manufacturing Company, its largest competitor in the water heating business.

The pioneering company was launched at the turn of the 19th century by a Norwegian immigrant, Edwin
Ruud, who had journeyed to the U.S. in

In subsequent decades, Ruud expanded its product line to include heating and air conditioning; he filed numerous patents and received many awards for his inventions.

By bringing Ruud into the Rheem family of brands in the 1950s, the company has access to a broader line of commercial products and a more

started Ruud Manufacturing. He continued to modify and improve
the heaters, which were increasingly popular in residential, industrial,
and commercial settings. One such variation was the instantaneous automatic water heater; by 1915, about 100,000 instantaneous water heaters were installed throughout the U.S.

the late 1800s to work as a mechanical engineer. He landed at the Fuel Gas
and Manufacturing Co. in Pittsburgh.
It was there — working for George Westinghouse, who later founded the Westinghouse Electric Corporation — that Ruud developed the first

automatic water heater, using a cast iron shell that enclosed burners and
a thermostat that controlled the
gas valves. The year was 1898, and running hot water was unknown.

With the rights to his invention,
Ruud struck out on his own and

robust and competitive distribution network. To this day, the partnership continues, and Rheem proudly sells water heating and cooling products under the Ruud brand.

Consolidation boosts
the bottom line

Rheem can attribute its success to
many factors, but perhaps the most important one is the ability of its leaders o make tough decisions in the pursuit of excellence. In 1960, the company closes three water heater plants and consolidates its water heater operations in Chicago, as it did in Cleveland in the early 1940s. With this consolidation, a minimal profit once again becomes a substantial one.

By this point, Rheem operates
plants, subsidiaries, and affiliated
companies in 19 countries on 5
continents. Africa joins the family when company managers begin operations
in South Africa in 1967.

Although the overseas business focuses primarily on shipping containers, it also incorporates water heaters, heating and air conditioning equipment, and a variety of other consumer and commercial products. In Greece, that means home appliances including television sets. In Mexico, it’s automotive springs and nuts and bolts. And in Belgium, it’s steel radiators and beer barrels.

DELIVER ON COMMITMENTS

In 1962, Rheem introduces the
Demand-O-Matic water heater with a special thermostat that automatically increases the amount of fuel (BTU
input) needed as the demand for hot
water surges. And because the tank —
30 gallons for regular households, 50
for extra-large families — doesn’t heat unneeded water, it costs less to operate.

With no dials or knobs to worry
about, consumers can have it installed
and then forget about it. The “burner with
a brain” (as Rheem advertises it at the
time) is a precursor to the company’s
smart technology of today.

Building a better desert home with steel

Most building materials have a hard time lasting in the harsh climate of the desert; for many decades, builders have wondered if steel, which can withstand sun, heat, and wind, might
be the answer.

Rheem, always eager for new possibilities for metal fabrication, spent years researching the question before entering the steel building market in the 1950s, when its Rheemetal Building Division constructed 650 prefabricated steel classrooms as well as commercial buildings, primarily in Southern California.

Come the 1960s, Rheem turns
its attention to residential desert
construction by collaborating with
architects, engineers, and developers
in Palm Springs, California, on a

planned subdivision of prefabricated steel homes. Palm Springs is an area
ripe for the experiment: the physical climate is harsh, the aesthetic climate
is daring, and Rheem has previously
built a steel school in the area.

The homes’ exterior steel walls, roofs, fascia, and trim are delivered
from Rheem’s Huntington Beach, California, plant and then bolted into place on concrete slabs. United States Steel and Bethlehem Steel help fund the pilot project. The prefab two-bedroom, two-bath steel homes are cheaper to build than standard homes and can easily be expanded to meet
the needs of a growing family.

A journalist of the time speculates that these model homes may have “far-reaching effect on the construction of

future housing developments, not
only in the Southland but the entire United States.”

In 1965, Rheem goes deeper, buying the Dudley Steel Corporation
of Paramount, California, and combining it with Rheemetal to form
the Rheem-Dudley Building Division.
R.S. Rheem’s belief that a company either grows or falls behind seems to
be holding true here as well.

Unfortunately, only seven homes
are completed, partly because of
the rising cost of steel. Falling into disrepair, they are largely forgotten
until the 1990s, when they are
restored and the local historic site preservation board designates them Class 1 Historic Sites.

An original Rheem steel home in Palm Springs, California, 1962.

Rheem gets a
New York City owner

In 1967, Manhattan-based City
Investing Company goes on a buying spree in an ambitious program of diversification. The 63-year-old holding company is anxious for better sales performance and profit, and new leadership immediately starts eyeing successful companies like Rheem as acquisition targets.

But before it can complete the
deal it has to win a bidding war against Seeburg Corporation, a design and manufacturing company of automated musical equipment like jukeboxes. In
the end, Seeburg’s offer to buy Rheem shares at $50 ($450 in today’s prices)
is swept away by City Investing’s bid
of $60.

Back in 1908, City Investing Company built one of New York’s early skyscrapers, where its headquarters
are still located. The tower, which
has been variously known as the City Investing Building, the Broadway-Cortlandt Building, and the Benenson Building, looms prominently over Manhattan’s financial district.

> The Manhattan headquarters
of City Investing Company, which
enters a bidding war against Seaburg Corporation for Rheem shares in 1967.

INNOVATE TO LEAD

In the 1960s, many children first hear
the Rheem name when they listen
to the fairy tale “Cinderella” on their
Rheem-Califone record player, or later, when they learn a foreign language
using Rheem-Califone language
laboratories. These technologies
are used in hundreds of schools nationwide.

There are many versions of
Califone devices, which can include
tape recorders, slide projectors, and punch boards. They present subjects piecemeal, ask questions, and don’t let students move on until they get the right
answers. The goal is to give students a
more personalized learning experience
and allow teachers to more easily
address different learning styles.

Ultimately, the learning machines
never catch on due to a combination
of high cost, skepticism from teachers
and school administrations, and
structural inertia.

Following acquisitions,
Rheem forms the short-lived Califone-Roberts Division to produce tape recorders, slide projectors, and punch boards for educational use.

A smart investment
in educational technology

The Soviet Union surprised the U.S. when it launched the world’s first artificial satellite, Sputnik, on October 4, 
1957. This was at the height of the
Cold War, and politicians and parents alike wanted to ensure that the next generation of Americans was prepared to defeat the U.S.S.R. in every arena, including outer space. That meant a mass investment in education.

In the late 1950s, Congress allocated $4 billion for educational resources. At this point, Rheem became interested in the possibilities
of moving into the educational product business, as part of an effort to both address the shortage of well-trained instructors and to teach subjects
that were becoming more and more complex. The market seemed both important and large.

The company applied for, and received, a portion of the congressional funds and quickly used some of them to acquire the Califone Corporation, which manufactured and sold
teaching machines, tape recorders,
and language products for school, military, and industrial uses. Two years later, in 1961, Rheem buys a minority

interest in a related company, Roberts Electronics, which led the field in
tape recorders, record players, and

musical equipment. Soon afterwards, Rheem forms the Rheem-Califone-Roberts Division.

> Far right: Under the Rheem Musical Instruments banner,
the company appeals to a younger demographic in 1968 with a keyboard instrument
and an electronic organ, both equipped with bass fuzz sound.

INVEST TO GROW

By the mid-1960s, it’s clear that rock
and roll is more than a passing fad.
Many teenagers dream of starting a band, and the ever-enterprising Rheem decides to explore the market for guitars and amplifiers.

Doug Moore, a design engineer, is hired to design a new line of equipment and decides it only makes sense to make the products with the input of guitar
players. His factory does double duty as a music hall, with “pickers” coming in to test the amps.

For a brief period, Rheem considers entering the organ market as well,
and develops the Rheem Kee Bass,
a combination of an organ and bass synthesizer. Used by several well-known bands, it becomes a cult classic. To this day, aficionados eagerly snap up Rheem Kee Basses when they come up for sale.

Innovation for the
oil and gas sector

With Rheem’s 1965 acquisition of the Vulcan Steel Tank Corporation and Superior Tank and Construction, the company can now custom-engineer products and systems for the oil
and gas industry. Rheem Superior,
as this new division is called, makes everything from electrical panels to pressurized trucks and trailer tanks for moving oil and liquified gas.

It also manufactures diving
bells that oil crews use to dive to
the ocean bottom to find black
gold. Once brought back up on the ships, Rheem’s high-compression living quarters maintain the same atmospheric pressure as the diving bells. This allows the crews to work and rest without having to go through time-consuming decompression at every shift change. It’s an unexpected but natural offshoot of four decades
of expertise in the ever more complex fabrication of metal enclosures.

Rheem Superior, as this new division is called, makes everything from electrical panels to pressurized
trucks and trailer tanks for moving oil and liquified gas. It also manufactures diving bells that oil
crews use to dive to the ocean
bottom to find black gold.

Pictured here at a Bakersfield site in 1952, the Rheem brothers could hardly have known how diversified the company portfolio would become.

Success through
international
partnerships

The 1970s are responsible for the biggest sales increase for Rheem to
date. This strength comes despite
the U.S. economy’s weak growth and high inflation.

But Rheem, through its deep commitment to partnerships, figures
out how to ensure success by tapping new international markets.

The Rheem strategy at this time
when establishing business in an untapped country is to set up a joint venture with an established local firm. Rheem always reinvests local income
in the home country, to generate further economic expansion and new capital. Rheem leaders also ensure that
local leadership has a great deal

of autonomy and a local board of directors for oversight.

Both sides gain from Rheem’s overseas investments, as management, professional talent, and technical information are exchanged in both directions. In 1971, Rheem’s purchase of the National Bag Company of Australia (which made plastic and other packaging products and equipment),
is crucial in the development of better and more versatile plastic packaging
for the entire global business.

Australia was home to the Rheem brothers’ first overseas venture back in
1936, and the Rheem name continues to grow on that continent. By 1976, Rheem Australia Ltd. has 22 plants,

employs 5,000 people, and is a majority shareholder in companies
in New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, and Indonesia.

As the Sydney Morning Herald writes, “The longstanding partner­ship between the American and Australian Rheems provides an outstanding example of what can be achieved by
an international relationship where there is respect and goodwill on
both sides.”

By 1977, Packaging and National
Bag operate as two divisions within Rheem Australia’s packaging group.

A Montgomery
love story

On August 5, 1971, Clifford V. Coons, Rheem’s third president, launches construction of a new plant in Montgomery, Alabama, by digging
up a symbolic shovelful of site dirt.

Rheem is the first company to
sign a lease in the new 512‑acre Gunter Industrial Park in Montgomery, Alabama. After a lot more dirt
is shoveled, the $5-million plant

On August 5, 1971, Clifford V. Coons, Rheem’s third president, launches construction of a new plant in
Montgomery, Alabama, by digging up
a symbolic shovelful of site dirt.

Rheem doubles the size of the plant. In 1988, to meet the need for production of commercial water heaters, the company again expands the facility,
this time to 600,000 square feet with a roster of about 1,100 workers.

Dedicated Montgomery employees overcome a variety of obstacles to
make sure the work gets done. In 1996,
a tornado damages the plant, causing it to close for 5 days, but by day 10,
it’s back running at full capacity. In
the 1990s, a committed workforce
produces more than a million water heaters annually under the Rheem and Ruud brands.

Over the years, Rheem invests in upgrading and renovating the plant’s
lab. In 2012, it spends $2.5 million to produce a new line of metal-free water heaters, and in 2016 it revamps its R&D

($37 million in today’s dollars)
opens on an 80-acre site with about 200 employees who manufacture water heaters to better meet the
needs of the Southeastern
United States. In just one year,
the Montgomery plant produces 100,000 residential water heaters.

Fast-forward a half-dozen years.
In 1977, business is so good that

Rheem’s Montgomery, Alabama, plant staff, over 1,000 strong, gathers for a photo in 1993.

< Cake and camaraderie at an open house at the facility, January 28, 1973.

The manufacturing facility in Fort Smith, Arkansas, houses Rheem’s heating and air conditioning operations in the 1970s.

DELIVER ON
COMMITMENTS

Rheem engineers, always looking for the next innovation to better serve their customers, come up with the first major breakthrough
in decades for home water heaters: a pilotless gas-fired burner. Because it doesn’t rely on a continuously standing light, it is more efficient. In a 1975 survey of more than 6,000 dealers, Rheem water heaters are rated number
one in quality.

With so many innovations, Americans are using increasing amounts of oil during the early years
of the 1970s, even as domestic oil production is shrinking. As a result,
the country is growing dependent
on foreign oil imports. In 1973, world events upend the market. Egyptian and Syrian forces launch a joint attack on Israel, hoping to win back territory in the region, and the Yom Kippur
War breaks out. America supports Israel, causing the Organization of
Arab Petroleum Exporting Countries to reduce their petroleum production and embargo oil shipments.

An international energy crisis follows. The price of a barrel of oil soars from $3 to $12. Drivers wait in long lines for gas, and homeowners
are asked to reduce their consumption of energy in all ways, including skipping holiday lights.

Rheem is quick to respond with
more efficient appliances. In 1978,
the company becomes the first HVAC manufacturer to offer a full line of residential air conditioning products with a high minimum efficiency rating. And it expands its line to include heat pumps, which run air conditioning systems backwards to move heat into

a building instead of taking it out. They are more effective, lower in cost, and
do not rely on burning fossil fuels like traditional gas and oil furnaces. This technology will return with substantial improvements in technology and
scale in the 2020s, as climate change drives legislation for higher-efficiency

products with a lower global warming potential. Rheem’s passion to pursue
all possibilities in producing high-quality, energy-saving, cost-efficient products makes it an industry leader.
In a Trendex survey of 70,000 people, Rheem is the name most recognized in the HVAC industry.

< Far left: Rheem’s commitment to innovation dates back to the 1962 Demand-O-Matic water heater (the “burner with a brain”). In response to the 1970s energy crisis, the company expands on this vision with a range of energy-efficient appliances.

> Scenes of the wreckage left by the costliest tornado in U.S. history at the time, May 1975.

Supporting retailers and wholesalers
in tough times

With the ongoing global scarcity of
oil and a general downturn following post-war prosperity, many Western countries face a recession through the middle years of the 1970s. Not only the United States but Canada, Northern Europe, Japan, and Australia all see a decline in their economies, most often with high inflation paired with high unemployment.

Consumers have no choice but to look for less expensive ways to do just about everything. This includes buying water heaters at lumber yards, home improvement centers, and hardware chain stores, and then installing the appliances themselves — or having the retailer do it.

Rheem must find ways to support both wholesalers and retailers; part of
the answer is to make sure consumers know the benefit of using Rheem distributors and professional plumbers. The company rises to this challenge with two marketing campaigns.

“The Rheem Difference” and “Ruud Awakening” both promote the advantages of doing business with Rheem distributors who know the product intimately and can provide

first-class customer service. In the Rheem model, every transaction is the foundation for a lifelong relationship.

The brigade members said they would happily do the job for
free. But they also didn’t mind the free steak dinner provided
in the cafeteria every year as thanks.

Rewarding safety at Rheem’s Chicago plant

While Rheem employees always work hard, they also have fun. In Rheem’s Chicago plant, the competition is fierce as Rheem’s divisions battle for first place in the Grand Prix of Safety, which runs through September 1973.

The contestants must ensure
that they meet all safety goals all the
time. Safety glasses, ear protection,
and safety shoes in place? No
electrical or fire hazards lying around? Neatly stacked work material in the proper area? All debris stored in wastebaskets?

In a close contest, the Movin-Mavericks (representing Porcelain 1st, 2nd, and 3rd shifts and Coppermatic

1st shift) beat out Team 72 (Heater and Tapping 2nd shifts and Container Paint 1st and 2nd shifts). Each member of
the winning team deservedly receives a gift certificate to the Montgomery Ward department store worth $10 (about $70 in 2024).

These types of competitions demonstrate how Rheem has always put worker safety at the forefront. The October 1975 StRHEEMlines newsletter
for the Chicago plant highlights the company’s own volunteer fire brigade
that stands ready should an emergency strike anywhere in the plant.

The brigade includes all three
shifts and, ideally, an employee from

every department. Besides being ready to drop everything when an alarm sounds, members of the brigade check all fire extinguishers and sprinkler
systems three times a week.

The mettle of these volunteers was tested in 1973 when the Paint Room caught fire, but the team’s training paid off. The fire was extinguished in three minutes, and each brigade member received an honorable citation from the city fire department.

The brigade members said they would happily do the job for free. But they also didn’t mind the free steak dinner provided in the cafeteria every year as thanks.

The end of an era

In 1971, R.S. Rheem dies of an apparent heart attack at the age of 67,
just steps from his Pacific Heights, California, home. (Donald will pass away, following a stroke,in January 1983.)
At the time of his passing, R.S. has
given up leadership of Rheem, the
company he founded with his brothers, but he is still president of Rheem California Land Company. The latter
has extensive holdings in the Moraga Valley and many other Northern California oil and gas properties.

R.S. ends his days close to where he was born, in Oakland, but in the intervening years he traveled the globe building Rheem into an international powerhouse in not just steel containers but water heaters, air conditioning and

heating units, and other household appliances. Ambitious and far-seeing,
he was the driving force behind
Rheem’s success in the first half of
the century; when Fortune magazine issued its first Fortune 500 list in 1955, Rheem was there. R.S. played a big part in that accomplishment.

In 1956, he moved from his position
as president of Rheem to chairman of
the board. For the next eight years, he spent his time pursuing his passion for community service as president of San Francisco’s M.H. de Young Museum.
One of R.S.’s mottos is still reflected
in Rheem’s global success: “Don’t just accept things as they are but imagine them as they can be and build toward that future.”

Two brothers with a vision — R.S. (right) dies in 1971, Donald in 1983.

Clockwise from left: R.S. and
Donald Rheem observe the
high-speed lithograph drum line; William S. Rheem II presents his father, R.S., and uncle Donald with anniversary lapel pins; William,
in turn, receives an anniversary pin from his father.

Snapshots from the Rheem family archives, circa 1930s.

< Previous: The company produces its one millionth Rheemglas water heater in 1982.

> The Coppermatic water heater’s copper-lined cylinders fit perfectly inside the outer steel shells.

Honors for a steel shipping visionary

Carl Dinger, president of three Rheem divisions in 1980 (Container, Textile,

and Tipper Tie), is chosen by the Daily

Record of Morristown, New Jersey, as

its Businessman of the Week. The honor

comes after Dinger is named chairman

of the Steel Shipping Container Institute,

the industry’s trade organization.

In the profile, Dinger notes that
the steel drum and pail businesses
are a good barometer of the American economy. When automotive sales
and new home construction dipped in
the 1970s, so did the drum business.
Looking ahead, he says, the biggest
product challenge will be providing
containers for hard-to-hold products,
particularly in the chemical industry,
which buys the most steel containers.

Dinger, who was involved in developing Rheem’s Sterile-Pak drum, predicts that over the coming decade there will be a move toward lighter barrels that save on steel and reduce
fuel consumption during shipment.
Time will prove him correct.

> Woman of steel: Nellie Bly is credited with inventing the 55-gallon metal drum in 1905.

> Far right: Rheem continues innovating across industries, from textiles to food packaging.

INNOVATE TO LEAD

By the time of its 1980 profile, Rheem Textile Systems has more than 15 years’ experience. It begins back in 1964, when Rheem enters the fashion business
by acquiring the overseas assets of Hoffman International. Hoffman, which has plants in Europe and South America, is the world’s leading manufacturer
of pressing and cleaning equipment
for the growing fashion industry. With Rheem’s purchase of New York Pressing Companies in 1969, the company
forms Rheem Textile, which supplies the clothing, dry cleaning, and laundry industries nationwide.

Rheem acquires Tipper Tie in 1965. The company has become known as a leader in food packaging in just 13 short

In 1984, Pace Industries Inc. buys the North American operations of Rheem Manufacturing Company.
Four years later, Paloma Industries of Japan takes
over from Pace.

THE RHEEM LOGO
OVER THE DECADES

Rheem’s logo undergoes several transformations since the company’s founding in 1925. Initially,
the logo features a simple, industrial design reflecting its origins in manufacturing galvanized steel drums. As Rheem expands into water heaters and HVAC products in the 1930s, the
logo evolves to incorporate elements symbolizing
heating and cooling. In the 1950s, during a
period of significant growth, Rheem introduces the iconic circle with stylized white lettering,
a design that modernizes over the years but remains a core part of the brand’s identity today.
Alongside its evolving logo, Rheem refines its
messaging with memorable taglines that reinforce
its commitment to quality and innovation.

Building leadership
in the residential
market

Rheem’s Air Conditioning Division thrives in this era, offering a complete range of residential central air conditioning systems, heat pumps,
and warm air furnaces, as well as light commercial heating and cooling units.

In 1984, the company introduces an advance that makes hot climates much more bearable: a combination horizontal and vertical down discharge residential package unit that allows consumers much more air flow
flexibility. Typically, such features
are only found on much larger units. Rheem also adds commercial and residential air handlers — part of the HVAC system that circulates cool or warm air throughout the home — to
its manufacturing line.

At the beginning of the 1980s,
Rheem focuses resources on the

residential market; by the end of the decade, its share of the home furnace market has increased substantially.
In part, this success is due to the
company’s early introduction of ducted furnace systems, which allow low-cost retrofitting for central air conditioning systems. This far-sighted decision
by Rheem managers places the company in an excellent position in
the furnace market, especially as home construction moves away from non-ducted furnace systems to the ducted (forced air) model.

In 1988, Rheem purchases the
residential WeatherKing brand from Addison Products Company in
Orlando, Florida.

Addison, owned by industry
pioneer Verne Clifford Knight,
switched in the early 1950s from

making refrigerant systems for vending machines to developing a “split system”
cooling design, with an air-cooled
condensing unit outside the home and
a cooling coil in the warm-air furnace inside, which then circulated cool air throughout the house. It was a major breakthrough, and as the Addison company today boasts, “Soon nearly
every warm-air furnace company in
the country was beating a path to
Addison’s door and buying the revolutionary new system.”

Addison acquired WeatherKing, which was renowned for water-source

and air-source heat pumps for the warm Southern climate. When Rheem buys WeatherKing from Addison, it acquires its Michigan manufacturing facilities. As with Ruud and other
brands that make up the Rheem family, Rheem decides to sell WeatherKing
under its own label.

By the end of the 1980s, Rheem
is the nation’s largest maker of central warm-air furnaces and the second-largest producer of residential central
air conditioners.

The gift of honesty

One fine spring day in 1987,
Mary Kelly, who works in the
service parts department at Rheem’s Chicago plant, opens
an unexpected package. Cutting the tape on the box, she assumes she will find water heater parts. Instead, nestled inside are about $3,000 worth of gold charms.
With no hesitation, Kelly closes
the carton and sets out to find
the rightful owner. It turns out the charms were misdirected — they were intended for a Montgomery Ward department store. Kelly’s honesty and reliability are the
standard that every Rheem
employee seeks to uphold.

The Rheem Heat Pump Water Heater promises both savings and reliability with its all-copper, double-walled, high-efficiency heat exchanger.

Learning to adapt
with replacement purchases

The replacement market began
modestly back in the late 1960s when housing construction, busy following the war, began to slow. Yet Rheem’s sales continued to flourish. Rheem,
with its stellar reputation for high-quality products, captured a large
share of the nascent replacement market, and by 1972, replacement purchases accounted for about two-thirds of water heater sales. By 1996, the replacement market represents more than 80 percent of Rheem’s sales in commercial water heaters.

That year, Rheem revamps its commercial Water Heater Division with the Rheem/Ruud Universal line. These commercial gas water heaters are
what the market wants now: smaller,
more adaptable products that make
for easier replacements for competing products in the market. The success
of the Universal line significantly contributes to the Water Heater
Division’s increased market share and to the company’s overall efforts to future-proof the business.

An enduring
plastic venture

In 1988, Rheem manufactures and distributes a water heater made from … plastic. It does this through a joint
venture with Water Heater Innovations Inc., a newly formed company out
of Eagan, Minnesota. The company becomes a subsidiary of Rheem
and begins to manufacture these nonmetallic water heaters under the brand name Marathon. Available in electric versions for both residential
and commercial markets, the Marathon has a (remarkable) lifetime warranty
for homeowners and proves to be especially durable, particularly in hard water areas. It is still sold today and remains one of the longest-lasting
water heaters on the market.

< Far left: Beginning inside the Fort Smith facility, the replacement department grows to a key share of Rheem’s water heater sales. Pictured is the dedicated Replacement Parts Division in Randleman, North Carolina, built in 2005.

Rheem raises the
bar on quality

In the early 1990s, as a part of the company’s pursuit of excellence and
to gain a competitive edge in the marketplace, every Rheem plant applies for an ISO 9000 certification. These are issued by the International Standards Organization in Geneva, Switzerland. Earning the certification requires meeting seven stringent quality standards.

• Customer focus
• Leadership
• Engagement of people
• Process approach
• Improvement
• Evidence-based decision making
• Relationship management

Proving that these requirements have been met is a lengthy process that
can take some companies up to two years. By 1996, all Rheem plants
qualify for the certification, signaling to customers that, around the world, the company’s first-rate teams and top-quality products adhere to rigorous quality standards.

> Far right: The 1998 Home
Depot deal marks Rheem’s first time manufacturing water heaters for another company and GE’s
first time selling water heaters

under its own name.

A big leap in
air conditioning

In 1994, Rheem’s Air Conditioning Division is the first to adapt scroll compressor technology to its entire line of products. Scroll compressors, as the name indicates, compress
air or refrigerants, and provide far better performance, efficiency,
and reliability. They use advanced orbiting technology that eliminates
the need for pistons and valves.

A key partnership
with GE and
the Home Depot

In 1998, Rheem sees a new
opportunity by forming a partnership with The Home Depot to serve the homeowner who is looking to buy
a water heater at their local big-box store. But the reality is, the market
has been undergoing a dramatic shift for decades, from what was once
100 percent wholesale distribution to
a 50/50 retail/wholesale split today.

So, when The Home Depot approaches Rheem about exclusively selling Rheem water heaters at The Home Depot under the GE name, Rheem’s leaders see the possibilities: the company can capture a portion of the retail market while continuing to
serve the wholesale channel.

While Rheem had been marketing its own brand of retail water heaters under the Richmond name for the past 15 years, the Home Depot deal marks

Innovation brings
new markets and
new customers

Rheem’s strategy at the end of
the 20th century is to focus on strengthening and growing its core business of water heaters and heating and air conditioning by capturing
new markets.

As part of its longstanding commitment to research, in the
1990s Rheem doubles the size of the research and development department of its Water Heater Division. The
commitment means investing in state-of-the-art equipment to help engineers create more efficient designs for a
large range of gas and electric water heaters for both the residential and commercial markets.

Innovations that pour out of the division’s R&D lab include heat pump water heaters that extract excess heat from the ambient air to heat water,
along with a variety of direct-vent gas water heaters. (Direct vents draw in
air from outside the home, not inside.) These systems provide more comfort and use less energy.

Rheem also completely redesigns its gas and electric water heater line
(sold in some retail markets under
the Richmond badge). It is the first

< Far left: An employee oversees the powder coating line at the manufacturing facility in Nuevo Laredo, Mexico.

DELIVER ON COMMITMENTS

In 1988, Rheem closes the 47-year-old Chicago plant and moves manufacturing to Nuevo Laredo; this is a time when many American companies are setting up plants in Mexico for economic
reasons. The move further opens the Latin American market to Rheem water heaters, which are now manufactured
in Mexico as well as Montgomery and Ontario, Canada. The Nuevo Laredo plant makes it easier to export water heaters to other Central and South American countries that require
Spanish language documentation and products manufactured precisely to those governments’ requirements
and customers’ needs. During this decade, Rheem becomes a leading

competitor in water heaters in Mexico and Canada.

And in the newly opened Eastern European markets, Rheem moves
fast to introduce residential and commercial gas storage water heaters. The company’s exceptional ability to readily customize products according to standards and
applications in specific countries — such as unvented gas-fired water heaters used in apartments and
homes in Hungary, Czechoslovakia

(now the Czech Republic), and
Poland — quickly makes the region
one of the largest markets for Rheem’s exports from North America.

Three major factors are responsible for Rheem’s global growth: the
company’s reputation for quality, its relatively low-cost position in the
industry, and strong brand recognition
of the Rheem and Ruud names. The foundation of this reputation is Rheem’s passion for investment, innovation, and commitment to customers.

< Previous: Interiors of the Innovation Learning Center in Utrecht, the Netherlands.
> The sun sets behind the Fort Smith facility in Arkansas.

Preparations for

a new millennium

People worldwide eagerly anticipate the new millennium, with elaborate celebrations planned around the
globe. But there is an overarching fear: will computer infrastructure, potentially unable to handle the date change from 1999 to 2000, collapse and create havoc? The issue is
called Y2K, and it looms large.

Rheem prepares as best it can, carefully checking the thousands
of different systems in its four
separate IT networks: Rheem
Water, Air, Raypak in California,
and headquarters at the Chrysler building in New York City.

Only a handful of potential
problems are uncovered. The
vendors send the needed patches
and the much-anticipated
catastrophe, thankfully, never
occurs at Rheem or elsewhere.

By the mid 2000s, Rheem
has a global IT network that fully
integrates the company across its
far-flung regions.

> Far right: In the new millennium, Rheem actively pursues growth in the North American tankless water heater market.

Building awareness

for a transformational

technology

Tankless water heaters have been
around since the turn of the 20th
century — and by the 1970s they
had become more popular in Latin America, Europe, and Asia than in
North America. But it took a few decades for tankless to begin gaining popularity with American consumers.
In 2003, Rheem launches its first gas tankless water heater.

At the company, all hands are on deck to support the tankless growth opportunity in North America. Parent company Paloma has been a leader
in tankless technology for decades,
and Rheem’s Specialty Products Department revamps Paloma’s
tankless heaters to fit the requirements of the U.S. and Canadian markets.

Rheem Canada’s

first tankless training

seminar, held in Hamilton,

Ontario, successfully

engages more than

100 participants.

Rheem is swift to respond in times of disaster, offering support to contractors, distributors, and communities while ensuring minimal disruption to operations.

A center for Innovation
and education

Rheem’s initiatives to connect with plumbers and contractors have no better showcase than the Innovation Learning Centers.

While the company set up the
first two in the 1950s and 1980s in Rydalmere, Australia, and Auckland, New Zealand, respectively, it was
in 2009 that the concept took off. Between 2009 and 2024, 24 ILCs opened, with 16 of them outside the U.S., including in the United Kingdom, Mexico, the Netherlands, Brazil,
and Dubai.

The ILC openings are cause for ceremony and celebration. For example,
in 2020, a stunning glass-lined center opens at Rheem China’s Chengdu facility, where 200 guests gather during a ceremonial tree planting.

The ILCs vary, depending on the region’s needs, but they all offer in-depth hands-on training tailored to
the needs of the customer or channel partner.

For example, at the state-of-the art facility in Roswell, Georgia —
which is also the global headquarters of Rheem’s Water Division — one section is made up of a campfire round table, comfortable seating,
and a showroom of new products, while the back is a “hot room“ where participants receive hands-on training on installed equipment. The mood

can be light, but proceedings are always professional.

But it’s not enough to have a
nice-looking training center — in fact, it’s possible to learn the Rheem way without visiting a training center at all. It’s also about the people who do the training, and that’s where the Rheem teams’ knowledge of the field and dedication to its customers pay off.

Company leaders know no one wants a sales pitch; for this reason, Rheem has brought master plumbers on staff as trainers for water heating.

It’s all about education and developing relationships rather
than landing the one big deal. This approach takes longer, but the payoff is much bigger in the end.

State-of-the-art Innovation Learning Centers around the globe (clockwise from top right): Lawnside, New Jersey; San Antonio, Texas
(a Friedrich HVAC lab); Oxnard, California
(a Raypak facility); Utrecht, the Netherlands
(an Intergas facility); Riyadh, Saudi Arabia; Roswell, Georgia.

INVEST TO GROW

Since not all plumbers and contractors can make it to Rheem’s Innovation Learning Centers, the company offers Rheem Academy in the virtual world.
It’s taught by professionals in the field, including Rheem’s engineering team
and top business leaders in the industry. As of 2024, over 500 online courses
are offered, and over 8,000 users are in the system.

In 2020, Rheem partners with Interplay Learning, which provides online and virtual reality training for the skilled trades. Through these initiatives, Rheem customers can take on-demand online courses with 3D simulations to mimic hundreds of real-life scenarios from the field. Since these courses can be constantly upgraded, participants are always receiving the latest
information on cutting-edge products and technology.

In 2020, Rheem partners with Interplay Learning to offer online and virtual reality training for the skilled trades. The virtual reality courses feature interactive 3D simulations that allow contractors to act out real-life scenes.

> Energy-efficient solutions like Prestige and Proterra keep Rheem on the path to sustainability.

A key acquisition in heat transfer
technology. Rheem’s purchase in
2013 of Heat Transfer Products Group (HTPG), which provides commercial refrigeration equipment for the food service, food retail, and other non-consumables markets, is an important strategic acquisition for both companies, as heat transfer technology is key to

every product that both companies manufacture.

In 1946, Lewis Russell started
the Russell Coil Company in Santa
Fe Springs, California. In 1967, Ardco Glass Company acquired Russell and
it became part of the Heat Transfer Products Group. Today the HTPG portfolio includes, among other

products, unit coolers, condensing
units, and condensers under four main brands: Russell, Kramer (established 1914), Witt (1948), and ColdZone
(1981). In 2019, a fifth brand, Russell
by Rheem, launches in the HVAC
space. Two years later, Rheem proudly celebrates the 75th anniversary of the Russell brand.

Rheem makes a splash in the Middle East

Although the Rheem Middle East and Africa office is established in Dubai in 2012 to advance sales in the region,
the company’s history in the Middle East goes back decades. Almost all
of Rheem’s global growth is in the hot water market because Rheem has focused its air conditioning products on a ducted design typically used only in North American homes and businesses.

eight years later, it sells its first
units in the United Arab Emirates.

More recently, Rheem opens
two Innovation Learning Centers in
the area: in Dubai (in 2020) and in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia (in 2024). As Rheem continues to expand in the Gulf countries and larger Middle East region, air conditioning is and will continue
to be a major part of that growth.

Much of the rest of the world uses ductless air conditioning, which is dominated by Asian manufacturers.

But that’s different in the Middle Eastern region, where Rheem has
been able to influence the design of buildings to leverage the advantages
of ducted systems. In June 1980,
Rheem receives a $600,000 order
for air conditioning units in Kuwait;

Through Heart of Comfort®, Rheem teams
have raised money for scores of organizations through volunteering, humanitarian relief,
charitable events, and fundraising.

Rheem shows
its “heart”

In 2013, Rheem consolidates its
philanthropic programs under the
banner Heart of Comfort. The program builds on the company’s long history of community-focused giving and enables Rheem to address urgent needs where efficient heating, cooling, and water heating systems can make a difference in the lives of others.

Through Heart of Comfort, Rheem teams have raised money for scores
of organizations through volunteering, humanitarian relief, charitable events, and fundraising. Events in North
America have supported breast
cancer research, youth development, military veterans, Toys for Tots, Habitat for Humanity, the March of Dimes,
the Heart and Stroke Foundation
of Canada, and the Nuevo Laredo campus of the Tecnológico Nacional
de México.

> In 2015, Rheem launches EcoNet, a pioneering platform of smart electronic controls that connects and manages heating, cooling, and water heating products.

Rheem shows
its “brains”

Rheem has always been out ahead in harnessing the opportunities — and challenges — of the digital age. For example, in 2015, Rheem develops
and launches a scalable platform of smart electronic controls it names EcoNet. It is the only system smart enough to control and connect
heating, cooling, and water heating products. As Rheem states, it’s the “brains” of its smart air and water products. It allows homeowners to precisely set their temperature levels from across the room or across the country, thus saving energy; it also offers maintenance and care alerts

and streamlined professional service calls through one click.

EcoNet is the only system in
North America capable of doing this
for air and water products. Named “The Hot Product” by Green Builder Magazine, EcoNet receives the AHR Expo Innovation Award (honorable mention) in the software category.
It is also awarded the Smart Heating and Cooling Product of the Year
honor by the Internet of Things IoT)
Breakthrough, an independent organization that highlights companies, technologies, and products on the global IoT market.

And its use of new technology extends to helping the customer choose which water heater to
purchase. This new sales consulting service via smart phone uses an augmented-reality smart mirror,
which projects virtual images into
the real world. That, combined with an intelligent questionnaire, suggests the best product for each customer
at the point of service. This new
digital sales system doesn’t replace
the human touch; rather, it enhances customer experience by providing information in an interactive and innovative way.

That growth is thanks to a three-pronged strategy: invest
in the right countries, partner with or acquire companies
that are market leaders in those countries, and understand
differing culture and customer needs. It also follows a strategy

of leapfrog investment — making investments during down

periods, when most companies don’t invest.

Big acquisitions
lead to global gains

This strategy makes Rheem the largest manufacturer of water heating products in North America, and the only one that produces heating,
cooling, water heating, pool and
spa, and commercial refrigeration products.

Meanwhile, in South America, Rheem acquires CEM S.A., Chile’s market leader for water heating
products. CEM manufactures and distributes tankless, solar, and tank water heating products under the Splendid brand name throughout
South America. This makes it a
perfect acquisition, as it gives Rheem a strong foothold in an important region and provides it with products, such as tankless water heaters, that
are widely used in Latin America.

As of 2024, Rheem and Paloma serve customers in 88 countries,
with more than 14,000 employees
and more than 50 global water and air

brands. But as it grows, the company is careful to preserve the concept
of a family of brands — companies owned by Rheem that preserve
their individual names and work seamlessly together while

at the same time expecting and appreciating individual cultures.

Let’s meet some of the members of the family. The years indicate when the companies joined the Rheem
family of brands.

Eemax | 2015

eemax.com

The Connecticut-based company Eemax was founded in 1988 by employees who were left out of work when their original company, Thermar, went out of business. They introduced a line of tankless electric water
heaters for commercial use.

In 2000, Eemax expanded its line to residential products so consumers could benefit from tankless electric
water heating in the entire home.

Although most of its business
is in North America, Eemax sells its products globally, so the purchase of

Eemax creates a path for Rheem into the overseas market for electric tankless water heaters. It also
rounds out Rheem’s product line, making it the only manufacturer
of a complete line of air and water products.

Peter Cocks | 2016

petercocks.co.nz

Peter Cocks left school in Christchurch, New Zealand, at the age of 16 and quickly began a plumbing apprenticeship. With his entrepreneurial mindset, in
1963 Cocks started making copper
waste traps, and then with the advent of plastic as a substitute for traditional manufacturing metals, began making plastic toilet sumps.

Cocks also began manufacturing stainless steel hot water tanks, or “cylinders,” as they’re known in his home country, and those became the basis
of his success in the local plumbing world. They are not only used for
homes and businesses but are also

important in water heating for dairy sheds. That’s crucial for New Zealand, the world’s largest exporter of milk. Rheem’s purchase of Peter Cocks allows it to leverage the stainless technology and grow the brand throughout New Zealand.

The acquisition of Intergas is an important step in Rheem’s plan to further expand into the European marketplace. The Dutch company traces its roots back to 1939, when Gebroeders van de Wetering began manufacturing wooden washtubs and wringers.

The company, in an early sign of
its creativity, developed one of the first quick washers by installing a motor under an enamel drum. Thousands of these machines made their way from the company’s first headquarters in the city of Driebergen to all corners of Europe.

Intergas moved to Coevorden, in
the northeast of the country, in 1961,

and by the mid-1960s it started producing its first heating products.

By the 1990s, it had become
a leading player in high-efficiency boilers. In 1996, its dedicated group of Dutch researchers and engineers designed a boiler component that was both simple and advanced; called a bithermic heat exchanger, it remains at
the cutting edge of boiler technology today. “Bithermic” means the boilers have no parts (such as secondary-heat hot-water plate heaters, diverter valves, or auto air vents that tend to leak or stick). Also, unlike other condensing combination units, they condense all

the time in both central heating and
hot water modes for top-notch energy efficiency.

In 2008, Intergas opened a head office in the United Kingdom and distribution warehouse in the Midlands. This provided Rheem with a welcome entrée into the British market.

That position only strengthens
in 2014 when it joins forces with IBC Technologies, a Canadian leader in residential and commercial condensing boilers. In 2022, Intergas extends its product range to hybrid heat pumps,
an increasingly important part of its business.

Founded in 1883 by Ed Friedrich
in San Antonio, Texas, Friedrich Air Conditioning has evolved from crafting unique furniture to becoming a leader in air conditioning technology.

Initially recognized for innovating one of the first refrigeration systems,

variable speed packaged-terminal heat pumps with conditioned make-up air.

Today, Friedrich continues to lead with a comprehensive range of heat pump and air conditioning products, including the award-winning VRP, FreshAire PTAC, and Kühl products.

Products like WallMaster
and Hazardgard remain industry benchmarks in their own categories.

manufacturing facility in Monterey, Mexico, continue to bring products to market that improve end users’ lives. The company has had several firsts through the years, including the first
U.S.–branded ductless split system,
the first electronically controlled room
air conditioner, heat pump room air conditioner, variable speed packaged unit with conditioned make-up air, and

Friedrich quickly established itself
as a pioneer in the HVAC industry.
By 1950, it was one of the world’s largest manufacturers of commercial refrigeration equipment, and in 1952,
it expanded into room air conditioners with its groundbreaking Floating Air

window units. Throughout the
20th century, Friedrich became a trusted brand with a promise of “Quality without compromise.”

That commitment is still obvious today. Friedrich’s engineering and test center in San Antonio and world-class

Following the 2021 acquisition by
Rheem, Friedrich is even better positioned for the next 100 years
of innovation.

De Jong Gorredijk B.V., also known simply as DEJONG, started in 1859 as a copper workshop in Gorredijk in the Netherlands, supplying pots, pans, and jugs to farmers. As the number of milk and cheese factories increased in the area at the end of the 19th century, DEJONG became the largest supplier of milk churns in the Netherlands. By 1960, churns were no longer in demand, so DEJONG switched to the manufacturing of beer tanks and soft drink containers.

Since the 1930s, the company also worked with stainless steel, mainly for the dairy industry. In 1970, DEJONG started making stainless steel hot water tanks, which have since become its sole product.

In the 2020s, DEJONG’S owner,
a private equity company, couldn’t invest quickly enough nor did it have
the necessary innovation capabilities. So, when DEJONG was looking for a buyer, it wanted an owner that had a

long-term perspective, the financial capabilities to support growth, and an appreciation for DEJONG’s people-centric culture.

DEJONG found such a partner in Rheem, which brings it into the family of brands in 2022, and immediately doubles the size of its facility in the Netherlands, as well as expanding with a brand-new, state-of-the-art factory in Slovakia.

Started in 1927 as Wagner Hochdruk-Dampfturbinen AG, later known as Wahodag, the company became renowned for economical steam turbines and boilers for ships. In 1953, after a takeover, it changed its name to GmbH and in 2005 a management buyout led to the current name, MHG Heiztechnik.

In 1977, the company developed the Raketenbrenner oil burner, which is used in more than a million residential

radiators in Germany. In 1981, it was the first oil burner to be awarded the German “Blue Angel” environmental label. Since 2000, the company
has expanded its product range to include gas condensing boilers and
oil condensing units and flat and tube collectors for solar use.

Among many other innovations, MHG launched EcoStar Hybrid, combining an oil-condensing boiler and an air-to-water heat pump, which is

particularly suitable for older buildings. It provides sustainable heating largely using renewable energy.

Originally founded in 1919 as the International Oil Heating Company, Nordyne is a leading manufacturer of heating and air conditioning products
for the residential and manufactured housing HVAC markets. Dedicated
to “making the world breathe easier,” Nordyne, like Rheem, has a long history of bringing game-changing innovations to market. It all started in its hometown of St. Louis, Missouri. In the 1800s and

during World War II. The company was the sole supplier of heaters for military mobile homes.

Nordyne continued to innovate during the back half of the 20th
century, first within the manufactured housing market and then expanding
nto site-built residential housing. After World War II, the company took a
larger interest in the quickly developing mobile home business and, from

early 1900s, St. Louis was known as
the dirtiest city in the Mississippi Valley due to its excessive use of coal-burning
fuel. The pollution was so thick, it was noted that candles were necessary
even during the day. It was during this era that Nordyne introduced its oil
burning solution, which was a cleaner alternative to coal and wood at the time.

From here, the company went nationwide spurred on by its owners,

1948 through 1959, developed the following firsts for mobile homes: alcove heater, fully automatic
mobile home furnace, first furnace
to distribute air through ducts, first sealed combustion oil furnace, first
UL listing of a sealed combustion
gas furnace, and finally, the first
hinged furnace door. In another breakthrough, Nordyne produced
the first mobile home air conditioner

Sidney Heiman and Truman Brown. In 1933, the company began to expand its presence into manufactured
housing, which resulted in a series
of firsts for the industry. In 1940,
Nordyne developed the first forced-air distribution system using perimeter heating technology. This became the preferred methodof forced-air heating for residential homes. One of its
notable audiences became the military

in 1958, called the UF 2000. This spirit of innovation and creating solutions specifically for the manufactured housing market persists today.

Today, Nordyne is headquartered
in O’Fallon, Missouri, with a distribution center in Poplar Bluff, Missouri, and
a state-of-the-art manufacturing
facility in Saltillo, Mexico. In 2024,
Nordyne joined the Rheem family
of companies.

Sustainability
leadership in Europe

The four European companies Rheem acquired — Intergas NL, Intergas UK, DEJONG, and MHG — are part of a broad strategy to meet the continent’s diverse needs as it increasingly transitions to more environmentally sustainable heating products and systems.

The companies continue to grow, their strengths in manufacturing and sales combining to make Rheem
Europe a formidable force: in 2024,
DEJONG begins building a new
factory in Slovakia, with plans to
become the largest stainless steel tank manufacturing facility in the world. The plant is scheduled to open in 2026.

Rheem Europe, with its headquarters
in Utrecht, the Netherlands, has set its sights on two ambitious goals: to be among the top 10 heating companies in Europe and to set the standard for sustainability in the region.

> DEJONG expands its manufacturing footprint with a new facility in Prešov, Slovakia. The modern architecture seamlessly melds with the surrounding environment.

Air and Water
goes global

In 2019, Rheem creates fully
integrated and global Air and Water divisions. While the Rheem Americas had reported to the global heads
of these two divisions for several
years, Rheem Asia Pacific reported to their own general managers. By standardizing the reporting system, Rheem becomes even more inclusive and effective worldwide.

Inside is the world’s largest mobile touch-screen monitor, with eight large panels that allow interactive learning and virtual product demonstration.

Going above and
beyond for partners

Rheem is always looking for innovative ways to assist and educate its
partners. In 2016, Rheem launches
its High Efficiency Air & Water Road Show, a 48-week cross-country tour. The mobile learning and training center, housed in a glossy red expandable

53-foot truck, is unveiled at the
ComfortTech 2015 conference, then takes off to make appearances at NASCAR races and other events.

Inside is the world’s largest mobile touch-screen monitor, with eight large panels that allow interactive learning
and virtual product demonstration. It
also contains Flex Space that, with
the push of a few buttons, allows the interior to transform into a training space for 60 people.

In 2016, Rheem launches the High Efficiency Air & Water Road Show, a 48-week cross-country tour featuring a learning and training center on wheels.

Power in numbers

In addition to making leading products, Rheem has excelled in providing

training, tools, and programs to help contractors grow their own businesses.

In 2016, Rheem launches the Rheem and Ruud Pro Partner programs,
which grow to support thousands of contractors around the world. In

2017, Rheem kicks off its first Rheem and Ruud Pro Partner conferences
in Las Vegas, Nevada. More than 2,500 people attend to meet and learn from industry leaders and to explore
the latest technologies exhibited by more than 50 companies. Conferences follow in 2019 and 2022, with the last one boasting about 5,300 attendees from around the globe. In 2025, the Air and Water divisions will come together for the first time in Las Vegas, with an expected crowd of more than 7,000.

Pro Partners also receive not
only tailored professional training on technical product support, but ways to expand their business through courses that range from leadership to sales

(including using social media) and lead generation. For example, Pro Partners receive five monthly pieces of social media content to post on all top social media platforms plus four quarterly infographics to educate customers.

How can businesses become Pro Partner contractors?

• Maintain high-performing Rheem product sales, with at least 60 percent of annual purchases being Rheem residential products.
• Earn a four-star rating on the Rheem Online Ratings & Reviews Program
  from a minimum of 30 customer review submissions per year.
• Complete a minimum of 10 hours of Rheem authorized courses each year, including Rheem Academy online,
  in-class, and conference courses, as well as certain industry courses.
• Hold all required current and applicable state license documentation and be in good standing with their distributors.

The Rheem Special Team beams with pride at the inaugural Rheem and Ruud Pro Partner conference in Las Vegas, Nevada, 2017.

THE POWER OF NETWORKS

In 2020, Rheem launches a distribution growth strategy. The goal of this

strategy is to accelerate growth,
improve “voice of customer” feedback, and leverage efficiencies of scale in combining a regional/national branch footprint. This also gives Rheem more direct access to contractor partners to develop deeper relationships and gain more firsthand knowledge with these key decision makers. This distribution network, majority owned by Rheem, is composed of eight companies.

Dennis Bearden worked for an HVAC company for one year, but that was enough to make him confident that there had to be a better way to operate an HVAC distributorship. So, he began selling air conditioning parts out of his car trunk. In 1973, he founded Century A/C Supply in Houston, Texas, with one

underlying philosophy: regard employees

as family and customers as friends. By 2019, the company had grown to 28

locations throughout the state. Century split the business geographically and, in 2020, the 15 locations in the Houston area selling Ruud equipment became the first component of Rheem’s new strategy of investing in independent distribution channels.

This is another story of two companies that became one. Milwaukee Stove & Furnace Repair was founded by the Oelstrom brothers and their nephew Fred J. Engler in 1922 to provide
fuel for residential homes and to fix furnaces. Design Air began in 1972 as Combined Warehouse Distributors, but changed its name in the 1980s, which

is also when it built its first warehouse, in Kimberly, Wisconsin.

In 2013, the two merged, and
today Design Air has eight locations across Wisconsin, Michigan, and Illinois. Design Air offers HVAC
products, design services, and technical support.

Air Management Supply was established in 1964 by Leonard Simon in Omaha, Nebraska. In 1974, it became a Rheem distributor of heating and air conditioning parts and was bought 20 years later by Century. It still offers, as it likes to say, big company support with small company service.

Abe Kantor started his New Jersey plumbing business in 1912. Since then,

United Supply has grown from 1 location

to 17, now serving homeowners as well as contractors in New Jersey and New York with plumbing, heating, and air conditioning equipment.

Abe’s grandson, Steve Kantor, is
the CEO today. Becoming a Rheem-owned distributor brings the company more clout; customers know they have the support of 112 years of experience but also the backing of a renowned international company like Rheem.

P&N was started in 1984 in Cinnaminson, New Jersey, by industry veterans Lloyd Larkin, Sr., his son
Lloyd Larkin, Jr., Fred Hagee, and
Hagop Kouyoumdjian (who would have
a significant role to play as Rheem expanded into the Middle East).

The four came from different segments of the HVACR trade (the R stands for refrigeration) and wanted to have a distribution business.

Knowing Rheem’s reputation
or quality, the partners became the Rheem distributor for the region. The

company expanded to four locations covering parts of New Jersey,
Delaware, and Pennsylvania. (P&N stands for Pennsylvania and New
Jersey — the initial business was
set up to serve contractors in those two states.)