Wisconsin's aluminum cookware industry expanded rapidly in the 20th century, growing from under 5 percent of the nation’s aluminum cookware production in 1910 to over 50 percent in 1920. Anticipating this rise, local financier Bernhard C. Ziegler encouraged S.F. Mayer, Martin Weber, his cousins A.J. and C. Edwin Pick, and brothers Carl and Robert Wentorf to each invest $1,000, and the West Bend Aluminum Company was incorporated on September 27, 1911. The Wentorf brothers, formerly employed by Mirro Aluminum in nearby Two Rivers, joined the new company and brought aluminum manufacturing expertise. Its first products were saucepans, a frying pan, a pie pan, and a water dipper. In 1914 Ziegler became general manager, and the company moved from an old knitting mill and button factory into a new 14,000-square-foot plant. Ninety percent of its sales went to Sears and other mail-order houses. The company introduced a waterless cooker in 1921, one of its most successful products, and the Flavo-Perk drip coffeemaker in 1922, which did not require filter paper. Ziegler became president in 1921 and remained so until his death, followed by A.C. Kieckhafer from 1946 to 1959 and J.R. Brown from 1959 to 1971. During World War II, when aluminum was restricted to war production, the company supplied military war materials and operated 24 hours a day until 1945, then returned to the civilian market. In 1961 it dropped Aluminum from its name to reflect its use of stainless steel and other materials. Rexall Drug and Chemical Company acquired the West Bend Company in 1968, when it employed about 2,000 people, roughly one-sixth of the community’s population. Despite later ownership changes, it continued to operate independently until it dissolved in 2002.