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Oneida Ltd.
| Name: | Oneida Ltd. |
|---|---|
| Dates: |
1880-2006 (Life/Active Dates)
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| Biography/History: | Oneida Ltd. was one of the world’s largest designers and sellers of stainless steel and silver-plated cutlery and tableware to consumers and the foodservice industry. The company arose out of the utopian Oneida Community, which was established in Oneida, New York, in 1848. In 1880, the Oneida Community voted to transfer much of the common property to a joint-stock company to be known as Oneida Community Ltd. Oneida Community started production of silver-plated flatware and hollowware in 1899 using the "Community Plate" mark. Oneida Community purchased the Wm A. Rogers and 1881 Rogers companies in 1929 and started producing a somewhat lower-quality line of products using those companies’ marks. In 1935, Oneida Community changed its name to Oneida Ltd. Oneida's main lines, Oneida Flatware, Oneida Holloware, and Oneida Dinnerware, have been available since the company's beginning. Early on, the company recognized the importance of marketing and advertising. Starting in 1899, the American illustrator Coles Phillips illustrated dozens of ads for the company as did Maxfield Parrish and John Whitcomb. Oneida also focused on print advertisements in home, fashion, bridal, and epicurean publications. The company made an innovative transition to the manufacture of stainless steel flatware in 1961, which eventually dwarfed its production of silver-plate. By the 1980s, Oneida made at least half of all flatware purchased in the United States. In 1983, the company acquired Rena-Ware, a Bellevue-based kitchenware manufacturer, but sold it three years later. In 1984, it acquired D. J. Tableware, a flatware and china manufacturer that targeted the foodservice industry. At the end of the 1990s, the company encountered tough economic times. The events surrounding 9/11 negatively affected the hospitality and consumer tableware markets, and over several years, Oneida sold off its U. S. and international assets. The company was taken private in 2006. Oneida no longer operates manufacturing in the United States and has passed through a several corporate holding companies. |
| Related Objects: |
4002.1 (Spoon, Soup, Davenport Hotel Soup Spoon, 1953 - 1967)
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