Who Owns Ruud?

Edwin Ruud immigrated to the United States from Norway in the late 1800s and worked as a mechanical engineer. While employed at Fuel Gas and Manufacturing Company in Pittsburgh, he designed the first practical automatic storage gas water heater in 1889: a cast iron tank with a gas burner whose valve was regulated by a thermostat to hold water at a constant temperature. He patented the design in 1890 and won a Gold Medal at the 1904 St. Louis World's Fair.

Ruud left his employer, bought the rights to his own invention and founded Ruud Manufacturing Company in Pittsburgh in 1897, filing a new patent for an improved coiled tube automatic water heater issued in 1898. The company expanded through the early 1900s, acquiring local heating and plumbing firms and opening offices in Kalamazoo, Toronto and Hamburg by 1915. Its instantaneous and storage water heaters became standard equipment in American homes and commercial buildings.

After Edwin Ruud died in 1932, the company continued under professional management and broadened into heating equipment. In 1959 California manufacturer Rheem bought Ruud Manufacturing's water heater business, gaining a broader commercial line, an established distribution network and a second respected name in the category.

Under Rheem, Ruud evolved into a full line brand: water heaters first, then furnaces, central air conditioners and heat pumps built on shared Rheem engineering. Ruud products are assembled in the same North American plants as Rheem equipment and sold through a parallel but distinct contractor network. In 2025 the brand joined Rheem's centennial celebrations and adopted the group's refreshed "Engineered for Life" positioning.