The Rheem story
Rheem Manufacturing Company is an American privately held manufacturer that produces residential and commercial water heaters and boilers, as well as heating, ventilating and air conditioning (HVAC) equipment. The company also produces and sells products under the Ruud brand name. It is a subsidiary of Paloma Industries What became Rheem started in 1925 as a supplier of packaging to the petroleum industry, and is currently headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia in the United States. The company is one of the largest manufacturers of both water heating and HVAC equipment in the United States.
The company is named for its founders, brothers Richard and Donald Rheem. The brothers initially began manufacturing galvanized steel drums in 1925 as a co-partnership with Pacific Galvanizing Company in Emeryville, California.
The Rheem Manufacturing Company was subsequently organized in 1930 and bought out Pacific Galvanizing and acquired the Republic Steel package company, which also had a plant in Richmond, California. Republic Steel made boilers and tanks, which allowed Rheem to enter the business of water heating.
The company expanded overseas to Australia in 1936. The Aussie operations began making drums in 1937 and water heaters in 1939.
In 1941, the company became the largest manufacturer of automatic water heaters in the United States. 1954 brought the introduction of "glass-lining", which coated the interior of a water heater tank with porcelain to extend the life of the tank.
One of the most significant events came in 1956 with the introduction of "Rheemaire" central air conditioning and heater systems for homes. This eventually became one of the company's primary business areas. In 1959, Rheem purchased the Ruud Manufacturing Company.
In the 1970s, Rheem began producing Heat pumps for residential applications. The company discontinued its packaging business in 1985, ending a 60 year run making steel drums and other containers. In the same year, the company acquired Raypak, Inc., which expanded the business into swimming pool heaters as well as commercial boilers. In 1988 Rheem was acquired by Paloma Industries, Ltd.
Rheem was the first residential HVAC company to begin using Scroll compressors throughout their line up in 1994, and all air conditioners and heat pumps continue to use Copeland Scroll Compressors. The company was also first to introduce a 14 SEER remote condensing unit in 1997. In 1998, the company began supplying the Home Depot with a line of GE branded water heaters. In 2009, Rheem and Ruud were the first to sell a Hybrid Heat Pump Water Heater, which was more than twice as efficient as similar electric water heaters. Also in the same year, Rheem and Ruud central air conditioners were reported to have the fewest percentage of units requiring repair among all major HVAC brands according to Consumer Reports. Rheem currently has a 12% market share of the US central air conditioner market.
Ruud was founded by Edwin Ruud, a Norwegian immigrant who lived in Pittsburgh. He developed the first automatic storage tank gas-fired water heater, which went into production in 1889. Ruud worked for George Westinghouse, but eventually bought the rights to produce the product he invented and formed his own company in 1897. In 1913, Ruud merged and absorbed the Humphrey Company of Kalamazoo, Michigan which also manufactured water heaters. The Humphrey Company had a large manufacturing operation in Kalamazoo, which Ruud continued to operate and expand. In 1954, Ruud moved all operations from Pittsburgh to Kalamazoo where they were headquartered until the purchase by Rheem.
In North America, Rheem and Ruud manufacture and sell a full line of heating and cooling products for residential and commercial applications, including up to 96% Annual fuel utilization efficiency gas furnaces, oil fired furnaces, up to 19.5 SEER Air Conditioners, Heat Pumps, Thermostats, Air handlers, Package Units, and Indoor air quality products such as media filters, UV lamps, and humidifiers. In many additional countries around the world, the companies sell numerous types of water heating equipment, including gas fired tank storage and tankless water heaters, high efficiency condensing water heaters, hybrid heat pump water heaters, and solar water heaters under the Rheem, Ruud, Richmond, Paloma, Solahart, and GE brands. Swimming pool related products include gas fired and heat pump heaters sold under the Rheem and Raypak brands. Protech replacement parts for HVAC systems are sold through the PROSTOCK retail program.
Rheem HVAC products were first brought into the UK in the 1980s by SEC Air Conditioning and later High Cool Ltd in Shrewsbury. The current UK importers, covering both the UK and Europe, are Medal Aircon Accessories Ltd in Shrewsbury and most of their staff were previous employees of either SEC or High Cool so have been dealing with Rheem products for over 30 years.
The Rheem-sponsored NASCAR vehicle of Kevin Harvick in 2013