Oneida Limited

An example of Oneida stainless steel flatware: Teaspoon, Venetia pattern.

Oneida Limited is one of the world's largest marketers of stainless steel flatware, and offers a range of tabletop products. Its operations in the United States, Canada, Mexico, the United Kingdom and Australia market stainless, silverplated, and sterling flatware products, china dinnerware, and crystal and glassware items.^[1] The company originated in a utopian community, the Oneida Community, established in the mid-nineteenth century, and has had a strong reputation for quality since that time.^[2]

Incorporated as one of the earliest joint-stock companies in the United States in the late 1880s, Oneida Community started production of silver-plated flatware and hollow-ware 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.^[3]

After successfully adapting to the difficult economic conditions of the two world wars and the depression, and managing a successful transition to the manufacture of stainless steel flatware in 1961 which eventually dwarfed its production of silver-plated flatware,^[4] the company fell victim to tough economic times in the late 1990s as it tried to hold on to its mantle as the last remaining US-based manufacturer of flatware (knives, forks and spoons). Eventually, the manufacturing facilities in Sherrill, New York were sold to Sherrill Manufacturing on March 22, 2005. The company shuttered its other American factories and became an importer, sourcing out their manufacturing to foreign markets. Oneida continues to design all of its products and has always held intellectual property in the highest regard. Sales, marketing, advertising, procurement, customer service, legal and operational support is also still based in Oneida NY. The company was taken private in 2006.^[5] This means that while Oneida has headquarters in Oneida NY, their branded products are made in Indonesia, Vietnam, China, etc. Oneida no longer operates manufacturing in the United States.

Oneida announced at the beginning of 2009 they were shutting down all company-owned outlet stores due to poor financial results and performance. As of October 2010, there still exists an outlet store in Sherrill, NY.

References

1. ^ http://www.oneida.com/index.cfm/fuseaction/content.page/nodeID/45c80cd8-88a3-44a3-9569-0495196eba88/
2. ^ http://www.replacements.com/mfghist/oneida.htm
3. ^ http://library.syr.edu/digital/collections/f/FirstHundredYears,1848-1948/
4. ^ http://www.replacements.com/mfghist/oneida.htm
5. ^ http://www.irconnect.com/ocq/pages/sec-filings.html

External links

• Oneida website