Rheem

Rheem Manufacturing Company

The new degree of comfort
Type	Private
Industry	Plumbing, heating, and cooling
Founded	Rheem - Richmond, California, (1930 (1930)) Ruud - Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania (1897 (1897))
Founder	Richard Rheem, Donald Rheem Edwin Ruud
Headquarters	Atlanta, Georgia, United States
Area served	North and South America, Australasia, Middle East
Products	Water heaters, air conditioners, Household furnaces
Owner	Paloma Industries
Number of employees	7000
Divisions	Rheem, Ruud, Raypak, Prostock
Website	www.rheem.com

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, and also produces and markets products in Argentina, Armenia, Australia, Bahrain, Brazil, Canada, Iraq, Kuwait, Mexico, New Zealand, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, UAE, and Ukraine.

The company is named for its founders, brothers Richard "R.S." Rheem and Donald "D.L." Rheem. They were the sons of William S. Rheem (1862–1919), former Standard Oil Company of California president who led the construction of a major oil refinery for the company in Richmond, California. The brothers initially began manufacturing galvanized steel drums in 1925 as a co-partnership with Pacific Galvanizing Company in Emeryville, California. A third brother, William "W.K." Rheem, helped finance the company at its start. The Rheem Manufacturing Company was subsequently organized on January 22, 1930, buying out Pacific Galvanizing. Rheem also acquired the Republic Steel package company, which also had a plant in Richmond. Republic Steel made boilers and tanks, which allowed Rheem to enter the business of water heating. The company acquired the John Wood Manufacturing Company of California, which produced automatic gas storage water heaters, in 1931. The company expanded overseas to Australia in 1936, building a plant in Sydney. The Australian operation began making steel shipping containers, including drums, in 1937 and water heaters in 1939.