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In-Depth Product Review: Vollrath Optio and Update International 11-inch disc-base skillets

Vollrath Optio aka Update International SuperSteel 11 inch skillets.
Vollrath Optio aka Update International SuperSteel 11 inch skillets.

THE COMPANIES

The Vollrath company is a privately-held American foodservice (kitchenware and appliance) manufacturer headquartered in Sheboygan, Wisconsin. The company traces its roots back to 1874, when Jacob Vollrath started a factory that made and sold various kitchenware products such as pots and pans. The company also made products as varied as furniture castings and railroad and agricultural parts. Some of Vollrath’s earliest popular products included ceramic/enamel-coated cast iron and sheet steel, but by the 1930s the company had begun to shift to stainless steel, and the company also mass-produced millions of military products like mess trays and drinking canteens during World War II.

Today, Vollrath manufactures a broad array of commercial kitchenware and kitchen electrics.

Update International Inc. makes a broad spectrum of commercial kitchenware and kitchen electrics, just like Vollrath, but almost everything they sell is made in China or India. Perhaps it is more accurate to call Update an importer than an manufacturer. Update’s website is extremely spartan, but from what I’ve managed to piece together, the company was incorporated in 1978 in Los Angeles, California.

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In-Depth Product Review of Lodge Carbon Steel 12-inch Skillet (CRS12)

THE COMPANY

There used to be many American cast iron manufacturers from the 1800s and 1900s, but Lodge Manufacturing is the only survivor, making it something of a hometown favorite, or home-country favorite, if you will. The company originated with Joseph Lodge and is still a private, family company to this day. Its main foundry is still in the original town of South Pittsburg, Tennessee, where bare cast iron cookware is made. Lodge’s enamel-coated cast iron cookware is made in China.

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In-Depth Product Review: Demeyere 5-Plus aka Industry5 aka Industry 5 aka Zwilling J.A. Henckels Sensation Product Line Review – Featuring 11-inch Frying Pan (Skillet)

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THE COMPANY

You might have heard of the Henckels, the German knife manufacturer, and you might be familiar with the Zwilling (German for “twin”) logo used on their higher-end knives.

J.A. Henckels has a long history dating back to 1731, when Peter Henckels adopted the Zwilling logo with the Cutlers’ Guild of Solingen, Germany. His son Johann renamed the company J.A. Henckels and expanded the customer base over time. In 1970 the company was acquired by the Werhahn Group of Germany. Werhahn KG is a family firm that owns interests in building materials, finance and real estate, beauty products, and, of course, kitchenware. Werhahn’s Henckels kitchenware unit, by now known as Zwilling J.A. Henckels, went on a buying spree in the 2000s and purchased Demeyere in 2008.

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In-Depth Product Review: T-fal E93808 Professional Total Nonstick Thermo-Spot Heat Indicator Fry Pan (Skillet), 12-Inch, Black

T-Fal 12-inch Professional Nonstick
T-Fal 12-inch Professional Nonstick

THE COMPANY

Groupe SEB of France is one of the two largest cookware manufacturers in the world. Groupe SEB’s strategy is apparently to buy the biggest brands in each country and then aggressively market them. As a result of this strategy, Groupe SEB owns a lot of brands, ranging from All-Clad and T-Fal and to names you’ve probably never heard of before because you don’t live in the target market for them (e.g., Panex, Supor, Maharaja, etc.).

Fun fact: T-Fal is actually known as TeFal (Teflon-Aluminum) in many other countries, but DuPont successfully threatened legal action and got the name changed to “T-Fal” in the USA. Apparently DuPont felt that “TeFal” might be confused with “Teflon.”

THE PRODUCTS BEING REVIEWED

This review is for the T-fal E93808 Professional Total Nonstick Thermo-Spot Heat Indicator Fry Pan, 12-Inch, Black, though it is be applicable to the rest of the same product line. The T-Fal is made in China.

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