type private industry manufacturing founded may 8 1893 founder george a. stephen headquarters palatine illinois products outdoor grills website www.weber.com the weber stephen products llc is a privately held american manufacturer of charcoal gas and electric outdoor grills with related accessories . in 2004 weber stephen acquired some assets of competitor ducane at a bankruptcy sale . 1 it also owns restaurants and publishes cookbooks . the company was family owned until it sold a majority stake to bdt capital partners in 2010 . 2 contents 1 history 2 weber grill restaurants 3 grill academy 4 ducane products co. 5 publications 6 references 7 external links history edit replica of the original 1951 weber kettle grill weber stephen was originally incorporated on may 8 1893 as weber bros. metal works . 3 in 1951 the original round charcoal kettle grill was built by george stephen sr. a then part owner of the sheet metal shop in chicago 4 who sought to improve on the brazier he had been using to cook with at home . 5 the grill was produced using two sheet metal half spheres normally used as parts of buoys built in his shop . shortly thereafter he began selling the invention which he called george s barbecue kettle for which there was considerable demand . 6 because the grill became so successful after he began selling it in 1952 stephen formed the barbecue division of the weber brothers factory . in the late 1950s stephen bought out the weber brothers factory and became the sole owner devoting all his professional time to manufacturing and selling the weber kettle . soon thereafter stephen changed the company s name to weber stephen products co. 7 the weber stephen company manufactures and sells outdoor electric grills charcoal grills gas grills and charcoal smokers . weber grill restaurants edit weber grill restaurant in chicago illinois weber grill restaurant in schaumburg illinois in 1989 the company opened the first weber grill restaurant in wheeling illinois but in spite of a remodeling in 2000 this location closed in 2010 . 8 yet four more locations were built in lombard illinois 1999 downtown chicago 2002 schaumburg illinois 2005 and indianapolis 2007 . 9 while a majority share of weber stephen products llc was sold to bdt capital partners in 2010 the acquisition did not include restaurant operations . while both the restaurants and outdoor cooking equipment maintain the weber branding two separate companies now exist . the restaurants remain solely owned by the stephen family . grill academy edit the grill academy is a day long cooking school where attendees learn various barbecue cooking techniques . in the early 2000s weber stephen started testing the grill academy concept in european markets and expects to expand the scheme to the united states in 2016 . ducane products co. edit the ducane products company started out as the ducane brothers metal fabricating in 1946 . it moved three years later to little ferry new jersey where they manufactured warm air furnaces . in 1968 the name was changed to the ducane company and moved the base of operations to barnwell sc . and in 1975 they started making ducane gas grills . 10 however ducane filed for bankruptcy in 2003 and was partially acquired by weber stephens at a bankruptcy sale in 2004 for 13.6 million . under weber s leadership ducane marketed propane and natural gas grills through big box home improvement and specialty outdoor product stores . in an effort to revamp the ducane brand weber introduced the ducane stainless 2006 exclusively through home depot the ducane affinity 2007 and the ducane meridian 2007 through multiple channels . 11 publications edit weber s art of the grill recipes for outdoor living jamie purviance and tim turner isbn 978 0 8118 2419 4 1999 . weber s big book of grilling jamie purviance sandra s. mcrae and tim turner isbn 978 0 8118 3197 0 2001 . weber s art of the grill deck recipes for outdoor living cards jamie purviance and tim turner isbn 978 0 8118 3336 3 2002 weber s real grilling jamie purviance mike kempster and tim turner isbn 978 0 376 02046 8 2005 . weber s charcoal grilling the art of cooking with live fire jamie purviance and tim turner isbn 978 0 376 02047 5 2007 . weber s way to grill the step by step guide to expert grilling jamie purviance isbn 978 0 376 02059 8 2009 . weber s complete barbecue book step by step advice and over 150 delicious barbecue recipes jamie purviance isbn 978 060062111 9 2010 . weber s on the grill chicken & sides over 100 fresh great tasting recipes jamie purviance isbn 978 037602035 2 2010 . weber s on the grill steak & sides over 100 fresh great tasting recipes jamie purviance isbn 978 037602033 8 2010 . weber s time to grill get in . get out . get grilling . jamie purviance isbn 978 037602060 4 2011 . weber s smoke a guide to smoke cooking for everyone and any grill jamie purviance isbn 978 037602067 3 2012 . weber s barbecue anytime over 190 inspirational recipes to help you get the most out of your barbecue jamie purviance isbn 978 060062413 4 2012 . weber s new real grilling the ultimate cookbook for every backyard griller jamie purviance isbn 978 037602798 6 2013 . references edit weber stephen products co. acquires ducane r gas grills . thefreelibrary.com . retrieved 2016 07 29 . acquisition march 2004 . privco.com . retrieved 2016 07 29 . 1 dead link pro gril weber . supergrily.cz . retrieved 2016 07 29 . keepers of the flame . saveur 117 68 . 2009 . weber newsroom company history . archived from the original on 2007 06 08 . retrieved 2007 07 02 . george stephen company founder and inventor of the weber kettle grill . archived from the original on 2007 06 23 . retrieved 2007 07 02 . phyllis benson 2000 06 08 . weber grill restaurant 920 milwaukee ave. wheeling has ... . articles.chicagotribune.com . retrieved 2016 07 29 . weber stephen product co. corporate fact sheet . archived from the original on 2007 11 07 . retrieved 2008 03 31 . ducane gas barbeque grill parts and bbq manufacturing history . retrieved june 15 2013 . weber stephen products co. introduces its new 2007 ducane gas grill line up . prnewswire.com . retrieved 2016 07 29 . external links edit weber website weber grill restaurants website ducane website v t e barbecue cooking styles asado barbacoa char siu churrascaria churrasco indirect grilling korean barbecue mangal mixed grill mongolian barbecue schwenker shao kao shisa nyama siu mei yakiniku regional variations of barbecue barbecue in the united states barbecue in north carolina barbecue in oklahoma barbecue in texas kansas city style barbecue memphis style barbecue santa maria style barbecue st. louis style barbecue cookers and related barbecue grill barrel barbecue briquette buccan charbroiler charcoal lighter fluid chimney starter disposable grill flattop grill gridiron grilling hibachi kamado pit barbecue propane shichirin skewer smoking foods and dishes list of barbecue dishes list of smoked foods anticuchos arrosticini bakkwa barbecue chicken barbecue sandwich barbecue sauce brochette bulgogi bull roast burnt ends cha siu bao chuan churrasco cocolo i corn on the cob espetada fat ny ros frig rui galinha africana isaw jeok jujeh kabab kabab barg kai yang kebab khorkhog khorovats kofte kebab lechon mashawi m choui meurav yerushalmi mixiote mu kalica pig pickin pig roast pinchitos provoleta pulled pork ra nji i red slaw satay sausage sizzle shashlik i kebap shish taouk spare ribs sosatie souvlaki suckling pig suya tsukune yakitori misc . barbecue restaurant list of barbecue restaurants food portal category commons wikiproject food and drink retrieved from https en.wikipedia.org w index.php title weber stephen products & oldid 737097052 categories palatine illinoiscompanies based in cook county illinoiscompanies established in 1893privately held companies based in illinoiscooking appliance brandsamerican brandshidden categories all articles with dead external linksarticles with dead 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