Empire Comfort Systems: A Company Perspective
· Family Owned Since 1932
· A Full Line of Gas-Fired Products for the Independent Dealer
· Made in the USA
Empire – a Family-Owned Tradition
Empire Comfort Systems grew out of a small sheet metal shop founded by Henry Bauer in 1911 in the city of Belleville, Illinois. Formally incorporated on August 26, 1932, Empire Stove Company produced sheet metal heaters that took advantage of the increasing availability of natural gas.
While the company has weathered the ups and downs of economic downturns, wars, labor strife, fires, and societal changes, the Bauer family has remained the one constant.
The family tradition continues. Nick Bauer and Jane Bauer represent the fourth generation of Bauer’s at Empire Comfort Systems – making this a continuously family-operated business since 1932.
The Products – Affordable, Efficient, Artful Heating Solutions
Empire was the first to market vent-free heaters equipped with an Oxygen Depletion Sensor, now standard on all vent-free products in the U.S. In the 1980s, Empire became the first to market a gas-fired heater that achieves 80-percent efficiency, and in 2006, Empire marketed the first vented gas fireplace to achieve 90-percent efficiency. Today’s heater and hearth offerings cover a wide spectrum of gas-fired products:
Vented, Vent-Free, and B-Vent Heaters and Fireplaces
Vented and Vent-Free Log Sets
Fireplace Inserts and Cast Iron Stoves
Jøtul can look back on a more than 170-year-long history. It all began in 1853 when the merchant and farmer's son Oluf Onsum founded Kværner Jernstøberi at Loelva east of Norway's capital, which was called Kristiania at the time. Kværner started as a manufacturer of cast-iron goods, where cast-iron stoves were one of the most important products.
In the years leading up to 1900, the company established one of the largest stove foundries in Norway and sold its products throughout the country. In 1916 the stove production was sectioned out from Kværner Brug and sold to Herman Anker. Anker continued to build the company until it was sold again to Johannes Gahr in 1927. Gahr led Jøtul into a period of strong growth and in 1935 the company received its present name, Jøtul.
Through the years Jøtul demonstrated a remarkable ability to adapt to changing market conditions and when the company was sold to Norcem in 1977, a new era with international focus started. In the middle of the 1980s, additional steps were taken to expand globally through a number of acquisitions of foundries and import companies in the US and Europe. For a while Jøtul was listed on the Norwegian stock exchange, until it was purchased by private equity in the early 2000’s.
Today Jøtul has the world’s largest distribution network for stoves and fireplaces and is one of the highest sought after brands in the stove and fireplace industry. Jøtul has subsidiaries in Denmark, USA, France, Spain, Italy, the UK and Poland and we market our products in 43 countries on six continents under the brands Jøtul, Scan, Atra, Ild and Warm.
Production in Norway takes place in Fredrikstad and Halden, while foreign production plants are located in Vissenbjerg in Denmark, Portland in the USA, Motz one Chautagne in France and Gdansk in Poland.
Jøtul Group has an annual turnover of about EUR 100 million and employs about 700 people.
Dimplex North America Limited is a world leader in innovative electric heating and electric fireplace solutions, offering a wide selection of residential, commercial and industrial products including an expansive portfolio of fireplace designs as well as a full line of electric heating products ranging from baseboard heaters to heavy-duty industrial heaters.