The name “Westye” pays tribute to the founder of Sub-Zero Freezer Company, Westye F. Bakke. In 1943, Westye F. Bakke built the first freestanding freezer in the basement of his Madison, Wis., home. A businessman with a keen ability to anticipate post-World War II refrigeration trends, he founded Sub-Zero Freezer Company just two years later in an old two-car garage. From its modest beginnings, Sub-Zero has become what is today: the recognized leading manufacturer of premium built-in home refrigerators.
Since its founding, Sub-Zero has pioneered quality products that meet its customers needs. In the mid-1950s, for example, the company developed the built-in refrigerator – a unit that changed the future of kitchen design by fitting within surrounding counter and cabinet space. Over time, the company has refined its early concept and has brought to market a comprehensive line of built-in models, including the 200 Series of undercounter models, its award-winning 500 Series, the design-flexible 600 Series, the integrated 700 Series, and, most recently, the state-of-the-art 400 Series of wine storage.
Indicative of the company’s innovative engineering is its dual refrigeration system, which relies on two separate, self-contained cooling systems to keep fresh food fresher and preserve frozen food longer.
For 60 years, Sub-Zero has offered innovative, aesthetically appealing and technologically advanced solutions to meet virtually any home refrigeration need. Through foresight and responsiveness, the company has earned its position as an industry leader – a position Sub-Zero intends to maintain well into the new millennium.
An Ideal MarriageWhen Sub-Zero Freezer Company acquired Wolf in March 2000, kitchen design insiders uttered a collective "Aha!" It just made sense, this marriage of ice and fire, cold and hot. Sub-Zero and Wolf are complementary expressions of a single idea: the steadfast refusal to compromise. They are the brands for people who will have nothing less than the kitchen they have always wanted — an uncompromised kitchen.
Heritage Meets HeritageSub-Zero is the enduring symbol of the possibilities of what a kitchen can be, Wolf the symbol of all that the kitchen can do. Founded in 1945 and now in its third generation of family ownership and management, Sub-Zero forever changed kitchen design with the exceptional quality, beauty and innovative technology of its equipment.
For more than 70 years, Wolf has been synonymous with professional cooking equipment for restaurants and hotels. Now, as part of Sub-Zero, the Wolf line has been adapted for the serious in-home cook. With their superior performance and leading-edge design, Wolf instruments fuel a passion for cooking.
Compromise? Never.Every product bearing the Wolf name was designed from the ground up to give the user ultimate control and cooking confidence. Each new Wolf instrument is tested not merely to meet but to exceed industry standards, and each is backed by one of the best warranties in the business. In design, manufacturing and customer service, Wolf accepts no compromise, and neither should you.