The West Bend brand name is well-know to anyone who spent much time in the kitchen in the 20th Century. The West Bend Company was a West Bend, Wisconsin company from 1911 to 2001. They were primarily known for manufacturing aluminum cookware and electrical appliances.
But the company also made two-stroke engines, including outboard boat motors. Fun fact: Art Ingels used a surplus West Bend engine to power the first go-kart. The engine division of West Bend was sold to Chrysler, then to Brunswick, and finally to USMotor.
In 2001, Regal Ware, Inc. of Kewaskum, Wisconsin acquired certain assets of the West Bend Company. In 2003, Regal Ware sold the Small Kitchen Appliance Division of the West Bend Company to Focus Products Group LLC. The Small Kitchen Appliance Division is now known as West Bend Housewares.
Regal Ware retained the West Bend Cookware Division and product lines of the West Bend Company; and continues to manufacture the cookware products in West Bend and Kewaskum, Wisconsin under the brand names Lifetime and Royal Queen.
This history represents over 100 years of continuous manufacture of West Bend Cookware product lines in West Bend, Wisconsin.
But all that changing of hands resulted in an empty four-story factory building in West Bend, and folks have been trying to figure out what to do with it for over a decade.
Now. the redevelopment of West Bend Company‘s former factory complex is entering its final stages, reborn as Cast Iron Luxury Living.
The first stage came in May of 2016, when 70 apartments became available in the repurposed and renewed building. They were fully leased within three months. “It went very quickly,” said Cathryn Gallun, Cast Iron’s property manage.
The second batch of new luxury apartments opened September 1, 2017 at the four-story Cast Iron building, which is part of the larger River Shores development near downtown West Bend.
All 59 new apartments will open by October 20, with about half the units already leased. Cast Iron’s success comes after years of delays in redeveloping the former manufacturing site.
Here’s what Cast Iron says about their heritage-rich apartments: “Cast Iron Luxury Living offers our residents a truly unique experience with high end homes and amenities but this wasn’t always the case. Situated on the scenic Milwaukee River, this historic campus was once home to the West Bend Aluminum Company.”
“Founded in 1911 by Bernard C. Ziegler, the West Bend Company grew to be the leading nationwide manufacturer of cookware and electrical kitchen appliances from the 1950’s into the early 1990’s. Beyond cookware, the company was also commissioned by the U.S. military as a major supplier of aluminum products during World War II. Today, this rich past and proud heritage is blended with modern luxury throughout to make Cast Iron Luxury Living an extraordinary place to call home.”
All photos courtesy of Cast Iron Luxury Living.