Viking Range Corporation is an appliance company that manufactures kitchen appliances for residential and commercial use. Viking originated the "professional" segment of kitchen appliances with its introduction of the first professional-grade range for home use in 1987. Today the company offers three complete lines of premium appliances including cooking, ventilation, kitchen clean-up and refrigeration, as well as various outdoor appliances. In addition to their "Professional" and less expensive "Designer" series, Viking's latest offering is their new "Commercial" line of kitchen appliances for use in restaurant and other commercial kitchens. Headquartered on historic Cotton Row in downtown Greenwood, Mississippi, Viking Range employs more than 1,000 people at four manufacturing facilities in Leflore County. In 2013, the Middleby Corporation acquired Viking Range Corporation for $380 million in cash. Within a couple of months of the acquisition the company laid off one-fifth of its employees.
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History
In the 1980s Fred Carl, Jr., founder and CEO of Viking Range, discovered some major flaws in the design of commercial appliances with respect to their installation in a residential kitchen he was designing for his family. These flaws among other things made them impractical and undesirable for use in the home. After much research and development, Carl worked through the problems and finally introduced the first commercial-type range in 1987 thanks to the help of Surjit Kalsi, former president of Capital Cooking Equipment, and recently invited to Kitchen and Bath association as the 82nd member ever to be recognized by this nonprofit organization, for this accomplishment. The unanticipated volume and growth experienced by Viking quickly overwhelmed the capacity and capabilities of the California manufacturer and production was subsequently moved to a household appliance manufacturer in eastern Tennessee that was more accustomed to larger volumes. Although this company provided some degree of improvement, various problems and challenges persisted which were beyond Carl's control and he knew another change had to be made. Therefore, in October 1989, Viking began preparations for manufacturing its own product line in Carl's hometown of Greenwood, Mississippi, located in the historic Mississippi Delta. By February 1990, the first Viking-produced range top went into production. Production of the 48-inch range followed in April, and by July 1990, all models were in production in Greenwood. For the first time Viking assumed full responsibility for the in-house manufacture of its own product line. Since then the company has expanded with its increased success and currently manufactures such premium items as cookware, dishwashers, cutlery and professional counter top appliances.
Viking Refrigerator Problems Video
Greenwood's Viking renaissance
The establishment of Viking's hometown of Greenwood, Mississippi as a tourist destination came with the opening of The Alluvian Hotel on Howard Street in 2003. Built as a subsidiary of Viking Range, The Alluvian is a boutique hotel located in the old Hotel Irving in historic downtown Greenwood.
In 2005, Viking opened a 7,000-square-foot (650 m2) spa, a cooking school and a restaurant. The Alluvian Spa, Viking Cooking School, and Giardina's Restaurant are all the work of Viking Hospitality Group, and provide services to local residents and corporate clientele that Viking provides training and demonstrations to.
Outside of Viking's development, other private ventures have flourished in the blocks surrounding The Alluvian, including museums, boutique retail stores, a book store, art galleries, restaurants and antique stores, among others.
2011 product safety settlement
In June 2011, the US Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) accepted a settlement under which Viking agreed to pay $450,000 in civil penalties to settle charges that it failed to report defects in its refrigerators.
Between 1999 and 2006, Viking manufactured side-by-side and bottom-freezer refrigerators that were alleged to be unsafe by the CPSC. Viking issued a recall in 2009. Viking denied any violations and a final settlement was made CPSC in June 28, 2011.
2017 product safety settlement
In April 2017, the US Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) provisionally accepted a settlement under which Viking agreed to pay $4.6 million in civil penalties to settle charges that "Viking failed to immediately report to CPSC that its gas ranges contained a defect that could create a substantial product hazard or that the ranges created an unreasonable risk of serious injury."
"Between 2008 and 2014, Viking received 170 incident reports of ranges that had turned on spontaneously and could not be turned off using the control knobs, resulting in extreme surface temperatures that posed a burn hazard to consumers. The reported incidents included two consumers who were unable to turn off the range using the controls and were burned while attempting to disconnect the power source. Viking also received five reports that the ranges had turned on spontaneously and caused property damage to the area surrounding the range. Several consumers called 911 for assistance when they discovered that the ranges had turned on spontaneously and could not be turned off or disconnected. Viking knew of this information, but failed to notify CPSC immediately of the defect or risk posed by the ranges, as required by federal law."
"Viking recalled 52,000 ranges in May 2015. The ranges were sold at ABT, Ferguson, Morrison, Pacific Sales, PC Richard & Son and other stores nationwide from July 2007 through June 2014 for between $4,000 and $13,000."
Source of the article : Wikipedia
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