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Thermador was founded in 1916 by William E. Cranston as a manufacturer of electric items, particularly portable and built-in electric room heaters. In the early 1930s Cranston and H.H Fogwell merged their independent companies forming The Thermador Electrical Manufacturing Company. By the end of the 1930s the Thermador facility in Los Angeles had grown to 86,000 square feet on 4.5 acres. The company expanded their production to cooling, pioneering the first “Evaporative Coolers,” room coolers and automotive air coolers. Thermador also introduced its first cooking products in the late 1930s, expanding production even further.
On Jan. 27, 1943, Thermador was awarded the Army-Navy “E” Excellence award for its contributions, which included specially sealed transformers that withstood extreme ranges of temperatures and humidity.
Thermador’s post war innovations include a number of firsts for the industry:
1947 The first wall oven with matching built-in cooktop is produced
1952 Invention of the first electric cooktop with a griddle
1952 Introduction of the first warming draw, an industry first
1963 Thermador develops the first self-cleaning oven
1965 The “Black Glass” oven door front trend is first started by Thermador
1968 The first white on white design is introduced
1970 Thermador introduces the first smooth cooktop, another industry first
1976 The first “Speed Cooking” Oven is produced
1982 The first gas cooktop with a “Super Burner” having 11,500 BTUs is introduced
1995 Thermador introduces the first Professional Ranges and Cooktops with sealed
burners
1998 The first Professional Ranges and cooktops with Star® Burners are produced
2002 Thermador produces the first domestic Jet Impingement Oven, reducing cook
times by 75 percent
2006 The first separate refrigeration columns are introduced by Thermador, along with
the first convection warming drawer
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