Elkay Manufacturing

Elkay Manufacturing Company is a manufacturer of stainless steel sinks, faucets,[1] drinking fountains, bottle fillers and branded commercial interiors,[2] was started in 1920 by Leopold & his two sons Louis and Marcel (known as Max) Katz and Ellef Robarth, a tinsmith who came up with an idea to hand fabricate German silver sinks and deliver them in Chicago.[3] Today, still privately owned by the founding family,[4] Elkay has 3,500 employees worldwide and is America's largest stainless steel sink company.[3] Over the years the products Elkay manufactures have expanded to include sinks, faucets, water coolers, drinking fountains, water bottle fillers,[5] and residential and commercial kitchen and bath products.

"Elkay" redirects here. For the historic building in Los Angeles, California, see Elkay Apartments.
Elkay Manufacturing
TypePrivate
IndustryPlumbing fixtures manufacturing
FoundedChicago, United States (1920 (1920))
Founders
  • Leopold Katz
  • Louis Katz
Headquarters
Chicago, Illinois
,
United States
Products
Number of employees
2,500

History

The Elkay Manufacturing Company was founded in 1920 by Leopold Katz and his sons Louis and Max . It started with three employees in rented premises in Chicago's Near North Side. During World War II, Elkay supplied sinks and commodes to equip the U.S. Military.[6][7]

In 2010, Elkay launched the EZH2O Water Bottle Filler, which has been recognized for contributing to keeping plastic bottles out of landfills.[8] The unique counter on the unit allowed for users to see how many bottles had been saved from landfills at a particular location, which had the effect of “making the thing go viral”.[9] The EZH2O first came about when Elkay business travelers started noticing their fellow travelers doing "the airport dance." More people were toting plastic water bottles. Rather than drinking from the fountain, they wanted to refill those jugs. It wasn't working. The dance was a sort of shuffle done by travelers trying to tilt bottles at the proper angle for refilling without splashing water on their shoes.[10]

In 2013, Elkay Manufacturing, won an international trade case involving anti-dumping and anti-subsidy petitions filed by the company and "unlawful pricing by Chinese producers of drawn stainless steel sinks which caused material injury to ELKAY Manufacturing Company and other domestic producers."[11]

Elkay acquired Interior Systems, Inc. in 2017, growing Elkay's business into the interior design, build, and commercial project management space. Interior Systems’ nationwide presence in the restaurant, education, hospitality, and retail markets was a natural fit when Elkay looked to expand business operations. Elkay Interior Systems later acquired competitors in China, Austria and Washington, DC.

Elkay sold its Wood Products Division to ACPI in January, 2019.

In October, 2019, Ric Phillips replaced Tim Jahnke as president and CEO. In March 2020, Elkay announced the retirement of Board Chairman Ron Katz. Former President and CEO Tim Jahnke was named as his successor.[12]

In January 2020, the company celebrated its 100th Anniversary.

In February 2022, Zurn Water Solutions announced they had reached a "definitive agreement to combine" with Elkay, in an all-stock transaction.[13]

Products

Elkay currently has four main product categories – Coolers; Sinks, Faucets and Accessories; Commercial Interior Design; Foodservice and Millwork. Their breadth of plumbing products includes 4,000 SKUs of kitchen sinks made of a variety of different materials.[2] Elkay manufactures residential kitchen and commercial products, such as sinks, bars, faucets, cabinets and commercial kitchen appliances. They are the largest sink manufacturer in the world and the largest water cooler offering in the market.[2] Most recently, Elkay elaborated on water cooler units by creating bottle filler units that can both retrofit to existing water cooler units, or stand-alone. These units decreased plastic waste through promotion of using reusable plastic bottles. Their most popular bottle filler unit model is the ezH2O.[12] Elkay products are sold through distributors, designers, home center establishments and various internet retailers.

Divisions

Elkay Manufacturing has several divisions:

• Elkay Plumbing manufactures Elkay sinks, drinking fountains and coolers, LIV, EZH2O, water bottle filling stations, Smartwell water delivery systems, Halsey Taylor, and Revere sinks

• Elkay Interior Systems provides turnkey commercial front of house interior design and build services for restaurants, hospitality and cafeteria environments

• Elkay Commercial Systems provides engineering, global sourcing, and back of house manufacturing in the restaurant, retail, and hospitality markets.

Facilities

Elkay Manufacturing is based in Downers Grove, Illinois, with fifteen offices, distribution and manufacturing facilities across the United States and international operations in Mexico, China, Hong Kong, Austria and Cyprus.

Major competitors

References
  1. Haynes, Joshua (October 19, 2011). "Stainless Steel Faucets". NIVITO.
  2. Yue, Lorene (January 3, 2008). "Elkay Manufacturing CEO". Crain's Chicago Business.
  3. Cimarusti, Sarah (March 2015). "In for the Long Haul". The Wholesaler Magazine. TMB Publishing.
  4. "Crain's List: Chicago's Largest Privately Held Companies" (PDF). The Lake Team. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2013-06-12. Retrieved 2014-12-03.
  5. Gudeman, Sarah. "Elkay EZH2O Bottle Filling Station". Green-Buildings.com.
  6. "Elkay Manufacturing Company". Reference for Business. Advameg.
  7. Spencer, Mark (February 2, 2000). "A Sparkling Success Longtime Sink Maker Elkay Seen as Best in Business". Daily Herald. Arlington Heights, IL.
  8. Lanum, Jamison (February 17, 2011). "Drinking fountain to curb plastic waste". The Daily Beacon. Knoxville, TN: University of Tennessee. Archived from the original on April 22, 2015.
  9. Daft, Richard L. (2015). Management. Boston, MA: Cengage Learning. p. 368. ISBN 978-1-285-86198-2.
  10. Haggerty, James (March 24, 2013). "With Bottle-Fillers in Mind, The Water Fountain Evolves". Wall Street Journal.
  11. Reisman, Lisa (April 2, 2013). "Elkay Manufacturing Interview: How the Company Monitors Imports, Dumping". Metal Miner.
  12. "Ron Katz Retires as Board Chairman at Elkay Manufacturing Company". finance.yahoo.com. Retrieved 2020-03-04.
  13. "Zurn Water Solutions and Elkay Manufacturing to Combine; Creating a Leader in Sustainable Water Solutions". zurnwatersolutions.com. Retrieved 2022-02-14.
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