🠈 Oneida 🠊
Oneida
Oneida Silverware is a popular brand that offers both fine silverware and flatware for daily use. Their web site lets you order new pieces and fill out old sets. (NOTE: The button is an affiliate link and I might get a commission on sales).
Oneida's History
The company was named after the Oneida Community built on the Oneida River which was named after the Oneida branch of the Iroquois Confederacy. The company has a colorful history.
Oneida Community was founded in 1848 by John Humphrey Noyes who sought to develop a religious community based on the ideals Chirstian Perfectionism. This branch of the Restoration Movement held that Christ had returned in 80 AD and that it would be possible for Christians to create a socialist utopia.
Noyes wife (Harriet Holton) suffered from five premature births with only one of the children surviving. This caused Noyes to rethink marriage. The Oneida Community practiced plural marriage with property held in common.
The community began manufacturing things such as animal traps and chains before settling on tableware. The communal society began fracturing in the 1870s. The community transformed its communal holdings into a joint stock company called Oneida Community Ltd. in January 1, 1881.
The company expanded to provide products for World War I and II and became the most popular brand of tableware in the United States in the post war boom. Unfortunately, there was a major drop in business after the 9/11 attacks and they were forced into bankruptcy and revival by private equity firms.
Advertisement: The Book Oneida - A Goodly Heritage Gone Wrong provides the history from Oneida's founding to its 2006 bankruptcy. (FTC Disclaimer: I might get a commission from the link in this paragraph.)
Corporate Timeline
This section shows select corporate events.
- 1848: Noyes established the Oneida Community on the banks of the Oneida River.
- 1881: The silverware manufacturing business became a joint stock company called
. - 1894: John's son, Pierrepont Burt Noyes, joined the firm. He moderated and modernized the operations.
- 1912: Oneida sold its chain business.
- 1913: Oneida closed its silk business.
- 1928: Oneida sold its trap business to focus exclusively on tableware.
- 1935: Oneida shortened its name to Oneida Ltd.
- 1977: Oneida acquired Camden Wire Co., Inc in an effort to diversify.
- 1978: Oneida acquired Rena-Ware based in Bellevue which makes cookware from the Zylstra family.
- 1983: The Zylstra family reaquired Rena-Ware.
- 1984: Oneida was the source for over half of the tableware bought in the US.
- 1984: Oneida acquired D.J. Tableware.
- 1996: Oneida acquired THC Systems, Inc. the parent company of Rego China.
- 1997: Oneida acquired Encore Promotions which had a grocery store redemption program.
- 1996: Aarque Cos made an unsuccessful bid to buy Camden Wire for $50.7 million.5
- 1997: International Wire Group acquired Camden Wire.
- 1998: Oneida acquired Table Top Engineering of Italy.
- 1998: Oneida acquired Stanley Rogers & Son of Australia.
- 1998: Oneida acquired Westminster China of Australia.
- 1999: Libbey Inc. attempted to takeover Oneida.
- 2006: Oneida filed bankruptcy.
- 2006: Monarch Alternative Capital acquired Oneida.
- 2011: Monomoy Capital Partners acquired Oneida.
- 2012: Monomoy merged Oneida with Anchor Hocking which makes glassware. The combined company was called EveryWare Global.
- 2015: EveryWhere Global filed for bankruptcy.
- 2017: The company emerged from bankruptcy as Oneida Limited.
- 2019: Crown Brands acquired Oneida's Food Service division.4
References:
- Wikipedia - Oneida Limited (Drawn 2/7/2020)
- Replacements - Oneida (Drawn 2/7/2020)
- Funding Universe - Oneida (Drawn 2/7/2020)
- AP News - Oneida Sells Foodservice Business (Drawn 2/8/2020)