Wolf Steel Ltd., better known as Napoleon, is the largest privately-owned manufacturer of

fireplaces A fireplace or hearth is a structure made of brick, stone or metal designed to contain a fire. Fireplaces are used for the relaxing ambiance they create and for heating a room. Modern fireplaces vary in heat efficiency, depending on the design. ...

, grills, and gas

furnaces A furnace is a structure in which heat is produced with the help of combustion. Furnace may also refer to: Appliances Buildings * Furnace (central heating): a furnace , or a heater or boiler , used to generate heat for buildings * Boiler, used t ...

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere and almost entirely within the Western Hemisphere. It is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South America and the Car ...

. Based in

Barrie Barrie is a city in Southern Ontario, Canada, about north of Toronto. The city is within Simcoe County and located along the shores of Kempenfelt Bay, the western arm of Lake Simcoe. Although physically in Simcoe County, Barrie is politically i ...

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central Ca ...

, Napoleon began in 1976 as a steel fabrication business under the name Wolf Steel Ltd. In 1995, Napoleon was founded after the company diversified its production to include outdoor heating products.

History

Wolfgang Schroeter began Wolf Steel Ltd. with his wife and co-founder, Ingrid, in 1976. The

family enterprise A family business is a commercial organization in which decision-making is influenced by multiple generations of a family, related by blood or marriage or adoption, who has both the ability to influence the vision of the business and the willin ...

manufactured steel railings in

Barrie, Ontario Barrie is a city in Southern Ontario, Canada, about north of Toronto. The city is within Simcoe County and located along the shores of Kempenfelt Bay, the western arm of Lake Simcoe. Although physically in Simcoe County, Barrie is politically i ...

. Schroeter began building wood-burning stoves in his garage, which soon evolved to a

cast iron Cast iron is a class of iron–carbon alloys with a carbon content more than 2%. Its usefulness derives from its relatively low melting temperature. The alloy constituents affect its color when fractured: white cast iron has carbide impuriti ...

frame with a glass door. This invention was the first of its kind, allowing the user to see the fire inside the stove. In the 1980s and early 1990s, Napoleon's wood stoves were distributed across

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

and the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

. Napoleon was founded in 1995 after the company introduced barbecue grills to its

product line Product may refer to: Business * Product (business), an item that serves as a solution to a specific consumer problem. * Product (project management), a deliverable or set of deliverables that contribute to a business solution Mathematics * Produ ...

. This trade name was inspired by the Napoleon brandy, not by the French rulers of that name. In 2010, the company developed a

charcoal Charcoal is a lightweight black carbon residue produced by strongly heating wood (or other animal and plant materials) in minimal oxygen to remove all water and volatile constituents. In the traditional version of this pyrolysis process, cal ...

grill to cater to buyers within the

European European, or Europeans, or Europeneans, may refer to: In general * ''European'', an adjective referring to something of, from, or related to Europe ** Ethnic groups in Europe ** Demographics of Europe ** European cuisine, the cuisines of Europe ...

market. In the same year, Napoleon opened branch offices within the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...

, and the

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

. As new barbecue models were developed, Napoleon soon began distribution outside of Europe, where their products were sold in

Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...

Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...

, and

Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in the western part of South America. It is the southernmost country in the world, and the closest to Antarctica, occupying a long and narrow strip of land between the Andes to the east a ...

. In 2013, Napoleon invented the first 30,000

BTU The British thermal unit (BTU or Btu) is a unit of heat; it is defined as the amount of heat required to raise the temperature of one pound of water by one degree Fahrenheit. It is also part of the United States customary units. The modern SI u ...

gas furnace, which was described as the smallest BTU size of any gas furnace sold in the world. Since then, the company has continued developing multiple

patented A patent is a type of intellectual property that gives its owner the legal right to exclude others from making, using, or selling an invention for a limited period of time in exchange for publishing an enabling disclosure of the invention."A p ...

inventions for fireplaces, grills, along with heating and cooling products. In 2018, Wolfgang and Ingrid Schroeter announced their

retirement Retirement is the withdrawal from one's position or occupation or from one's active working life. A person may also semi-retire by reducing work hours or workload. Many people choose to retire when they are elderly or incapable of doing their j ...

from Napoleon, while their sons Christopher and Stephen Schroeter were named as the new co-

CEOs Kea ( el, Κέα), also known as Tzia ( el, Τζια) and in antiquity Keos ( el, Κέως, la, Ceos), is a Greek island in the Cyclades archipelago in the Aegean Sea. Kea is part of the Kea-Kythnos regional unit. Geography It is the island o ...

Production

Napoleon's main manufacturing divisions include wood stoves, gas grills, and HVAC products. Each division comes with a

research & development Research and development (R&D or R+D), known in Europe as research and technological development (RTD), is the set of innovative activities undertaken by corporations or governments in developing new services or products, and improving existi ...

department dedicated to engineering new products. Currently, the company employs 1,600 staff around the world, including production facilities in North America, Europe, and

Asia Asia (, ) is one of the world's most notable geographical regions, which is either considered a continent in its own right or a subcontinent of Eurasia, which shares the continental landmass of Afro-Eurasia with Africa. Asia covers an area ...

. Approximately 80% of their manufacturing is managed from Napoleon's headquarters in Barrie.

Recognition

In 2012, founder Wolfgang Schroeter was awarded the Queen Elizabeth II, Diamond Jubilee Medal, for his business achievements in Canada. Since 2013,

Deloitte Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu Limited (), commonly referred to as Deloitte, is an international professional services network headquartered in London, England. Deloitte is the largest professional services network by revenue and number of profession ...

recognized Napoleon as one of Canada's Best Managed Companies and retained that honor for the past seven years. In 2018, Napoleon won the Brand Builder Awards Marketer of the Year, which recognized innovative marketing campaigns in the residential and commercial design and construction industries. In 2020, Napoleon was the recipient of multiple Vesta awards by ''Hearth & Home'' magazine, including the categories of Best-In-Show Hearth Products, Electric Products, and Wood Products.

References

{{reflist, 30em

External links

Napoleon – Official Website
Companies based in Barrie Manufacturing companies established in 1976 Cooking appliance brands Home appliance manufacturers of Canada Home appliance manufacturers of the United States