The Vollrath Company

What The Vollrath Company does

The Vollrath Company is a privately held, family-owned commercial foodservice and industrial manufacturing enterprise founded in 1874 in Sheboygan, Wisconsin. Now in its sixth and seventh generation of woman-owned family stewardship, Vollrath operates across multiple divisions and brands—Vollrath Foodservice, Stoelting Foodservice, Vollrath Manufacturing Services, Stoelting Cleaning, Polar Ware, Pujadas, and Corsair—serving commercial kitchens, restaurants, schools, healthcare facilities, frozen-treat venues, and OEM manufacturing clients with stainless steel and aluminum equipment, frozen dessert machinery, medical supplies, and custom deep-draw metal stamping. The company employs approximately 1,250-1,300 people globally and operates twelve facilities across three continents.

Vollrath's product portfolio spans approximately 17,000 SKUs backed by 230+ active patents, with manufacturing centered on stainless steel fabrication, induction technology, humidity-controlled hot-holding systems, frozen treat equipment, and progressive metal stamping. Iconic category-defining products include the Super Pan hotel pan launched in 1986 and the original soft-serve ice cream freezer produced by Stoelting for Dairy Queen over seventy years ago. Recent product development has emphasized energy-efficient induction cooking, humidity-controlled hot food display cases with integrated fan extraction, and compact rethermalizers designed for demanding commercial kitchen environments. Production is concentrated in nine factories in the United States with additional manufacturing in Mexico, Spain, and China, enabling Vollrath to serve customers in North America, Europe, Latin America, and Asia.

Vollrath generates revenue primarily through direct sales of proprietary commercial hardware, OEM manufacturing services, and medical supplies distributed via dedicated division-level sales teams and an international dealer network. Go-to-market combines enterprise field sales, channel partners, industry trade shows (notably the National Restaurant Association Show), and digital inquiry capture, with quote-based pricing for enterprise accounts and no publicly disclosed price list. The company operates with no external institutional investors, having remained under continuous family control since founding, and in December 2025 announced a multi-million dollar, approximately $40 million modernization and expansion of its Sheboygan headquarters to support future growth.

Name

The Vollrath Company

Legal name

The Vollrath Company, L.L.C.

Website

https://vollrathcompany.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1874

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1,001–5,000 employees

Short description

The Vollrath Company is a privately held, family-owned manufacturer of commercial foodservice equipment, stainless steel serving systems, frozen treat machinery, OEM metal stamping solutions, and medical supplies, serving restaurants, healthcare facilities, and industrial clients globally since 1874.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Commercial Foodservice Equipment Manufacturing

NAICS

Commercial and Service Industry Machinery Manufacturing (33331), Food Product Machinery Manufacturing (333241), Ventilation, Heating, Air-Conditioning, and Commercial Refrigeration Equipment Manufacturing (33341)

SIC

Special Industry Machinery, Nec (3559), Wholesale-Industrial Machinery & Equipment (5084), General Industrial Machinery & Equipment, Nec (3569), Wholesale-Machinery, Equipment & Supplies (5080)

akta.pro primary industry

Restaurant & Commercial Kitchen Equipment Wholesale (AFAIALAB)

akta.pro secondary industries

Food Preparation Equipment & Smallwares Wholesale (AFAIALAK), Janitorial & Sanitation Supplies (Foodservice) Wholesale (AFAIALAD), Disposables & Single-Use Foodservice Products Wholesale (AFAIALAC)

Keywords

• Commercial foodservice equipment
• Stainless steel cookware
• Frozen treat equipment
• Metal stamping services
• Medical healthcare supplies

Headquarters

HQ city

Sheboygan

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices11 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

Operations, Personnel, Supply Chain, Infrastructure, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Commercial Foodservice Equipment Sales: Revenue primarily from manufacturing and selling commercial cooking equipment, serving systems, countertop equipment, and smallwares to foodservice operators worldwide. Products are primarily produced and assembled in the United States with global manufacturing.
2. Manufacturing Services OEM Solutions: Vollrath Manufacturing Services division provides custom OEM solutions for deep draw and progressive metal stamping, offering full-service product solutions for customers' manufacturing needs.
3. Medical/Healthcare Supplies (Polar Ware): Sales of stainless steel, aluminum, and plastic medical supplies through the Polar Ware brand serving healthcare facilities, laboratories, and patient care operations.

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

The Vollrath Company designs, manufactures, and sells stainless steel and aluminum commercial foodservice equipment (cooking, serving systems, countertop equipment, smallwares), frozen treat equipment, OEM metal stamping solutions, and medical/healthcare stainless steel supplies. The company operates multiple divisions including Vollrath Foodservice, Stoelting Foodservice, Vollrath Manufacturing Services, Pujadas, Polar Ware, and Corsair, primarily serving commercial kitchens, healthcare facilities, and industrial OEM clients.

Product overview

The Vollrath Company is a diversified manufacturing enterprise operating across multiple divisions. The portfolio includes Vollrath Foodservice (commercial cooking and serving equipment, including Super Pan gold-standard hotel pans since 1986), Vollrath Manufacturing Services (OEM metal stamping and manufacturing solutions), Stoelting Foodservice (frozen treat equipment), Stoelting Cleaning (cleaning equipment), Pujadas (professional cookware from Spain), Polar Ware (medical/healthcare supplies), and Corsair (display products). Recent product launches focus on foodservice equipment including humidity-controlled hot food display cases, vertical contact bun toasters, 3-well rethermalizers, induction ranges, and the SerVue Touchless Refrigerated Slide-In serving solution.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Vollrath Foodservice: Global leader in foodservice equipment and supplies offering commercial cooking and serving equipment, serving systems, countertop equipment, and smallwares.
• Stoelting Foodservice
• Pujadas
• Polar Ware
• Vollrath Manufacturing Services
• Stoelting Cleaning
• Corsair

Products and services

• Vollrath Foodservice Equipment High-quality commercial cooking and serving equipment providing efficiency and ease of use in commercial kitchen and foodservice environments. Includes cooking equipment, serving systems, countertop equipment, and smallwares for restaurants, hotels, schools, and institutions.
• Vollrath Manufacturing Services (OEM Metal Stamping)

Quantifiable outcome

• Zero-particulate emissions at Sheboygan headquarters achieved through high-efficiency heaters
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers3 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature5 records

Partnerships

Six partnerships are on record, tiered minor.

• Fresh Meals On Wheels of Sheboygan CountyminorOthersVollrath supports the Fresh Meals On Wheels program through equipment donations and community engagement. The partnership helps provide nutritious home-delivered meals to community members in need.
• American Cancer Society Road America Run/WalkminorOthersVollrath maintains a long-standing partnership with the American Cancer Society Road America Run/Walk event, supporting cancer awareness and research in the Sheboygan community.
• Nourish FarmsminorOthersVollrath's partnership with Nourish Farms, a sustainable agriculture program, bridges the company's agricultural legacy with modern sustainability values, promoting environmental stewardship and community education.
• Junior AchievementminorOthersVollrath supports Junior Achievement programs to inspire future leaders through workforce readiness and entrepreneurship education.
• Boys & Girls Club, Big Brothers Big SistersminorOthersVollrath supports youth development organizations including Boys & Girls Club and Big Brothers Big Sisters through corporate giving programs aimed at inspiring future leaders.
• Habitat for Humanity, Rebuilding TogetherminorOthersVollrath supports housing and community development organizations that make the places employees live and work better places to be.

Scale indicators9 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Middleby Corporation: Middleby is a global leader in commercial foodservice equipment, with a broad portfolio of cooking, holding, and refrigeration brands (including TurboChef and Viking). It directly competes with Vollrath's Vollrath Foodservice and Stoelting divisions across chain-account and independent operator segments.
• Welbilt (Ali Group): Welbilt, now part of Italy's Ali Group, manufactures commercial cooking, holding, and beverage equipment under brands like Cleveland, Convotherm, and Merrychef. It is one of Vollrath's closest direct competitors in commercial kitchen equipment globally.
• Carlisle Foodservice Products: Carlisle Foodservice Products manufactures commercial smallwares, tableware, and foodservice supplies. Comparable to Vollrath's smallwares and serving systems business serving the same restaurant and institutional customers.
• Duke Manufacturing: Duke Manufacturing is a US-based, privately-held maker of commercial cooking, holding, and serving equipment for chain restaurants. It is a closely comparable direct competitor to Vollrath Foodservice with similar customer segments and distribution model.
• Antunes Corporation: Antunes is a privately-held US manufacturer of custom foodservice equipment including cooking, holding, and water-filtration products. Comparable to Vollrath in scale and as a privately-held mid-market competitor focused on commercial kitchen equipment.
• Electrolux Professional: Electrolux Professional is a Swedish-listed global manufacturer of commercial kitchen and laundry equipment. Comparable to Vollrath and its Pujadas Spanish operations across cooking, food preparation, and warewashing categories in Europe.
• Hoshizaki America: Hoshizaki manufactures commercial ice machines, refrigeration, and beverage equipment under Hoshizaki and Lancer brands. It directly competes with Vollrath's refrigeration, ice, and frozen-treat equipment (including Stoelting's soft-serve legacy).

Broad incumbents

• Ali Group S.r.l. Ali Group is a large Italian foodservice equipment conglomerate whose operating brands (Welbilt, Scotsman, Hoshizaki in some territories, etc.) compete broadly with Vollrath. It is a broader incumbent than Vollrath but the most analogous privately-held European competitor.
• Illinois Tool Works (Food Equipment): ITW's Food Equipment segment includes Hobart and Traulsen, makers of commercial cooking, refrigeration, and warewashing equipment. ITW is a much larger diversified industrial conglomerate, making it a broad incumbent rather than a direct pure-play peer.
• Hamilton Beach Brands Holding Company: Hamilton Beach is a US small-appliance manufacturer with a commercial foodservice division. While broader and consumer-skewed, it competes with Vollrath in select commercial cooking and beverage equipment categories.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks7 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

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Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles12 records

Subsidiaries7 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A1 record

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about The Vollrath Company