8 Refrigerator Brands That Are Manufactured In America

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These days, how well the appliances we buy blend in with our living spaces matters a lot. Refrigerator brands offer different designs, from French door and side-by-side units, to under-counter and quad-door models, all available in a number of styles. However for some, where something is made matters just as much as how it's made. Refrigerators have been a standard part of the typical American household for almost a century, and the United States has played a pivotal role in the product's development.

In 1913, Chicagoan Fred W. Wolf invented the world's first home electric refrigerator, essentially a refrigeration unit on top of an icebox. Five years later, General Motors founder William C. Durant helped establish Frigidaire, which brought the world the first fridge with a built-in compressor.

The global refrigerator market is booming, and expected to hit nearly $120 billion by 2032 — even niche refrigeration products like portable coolers for cars have seen tremendous growth — and the U.S. remains the largest contributing country. However, despite that, the list of top fridge manufacturers in the world is dominated by international brands. 

This isn't the kind of appliance you should buy used, so what do you do it you're keen on finding something domestically produced? Whirlpool is an iconic American brand, but it's not the only option that's truly "Made in America." In this article, we're highlighting eight brands that continue to manufacture fridges in the U.S., maintaining the legacy of American craftsmanship in the global appliance market.

Family-owned made-in-America home appliance company Sub-Zero is a well-established refrigerator brand. The nearly 80-year old company has an interesting story. It all started with founder Westye F. Bakke looking for a way store diabetic insulin for his son at a low temperature. His personal need sparked an urge to create an appliance that could keep things very cold.

With help from architect Frank Lloyd Wright, Westye officially launched the Sub-Zero Freezer company in 1945 in Madison, Wisconsin. His son, Bud Bakke, took over the company from his father in 1972 and introduced several models, including one with a built-in refrigerator unit, which became a common feature across refrigerator brands. In 2000, Sub-Zero acquired Wolf –- another Made-in-America kitchen appliance company –- to enter the world of home appliances. With a presence in multiple regions of the U.S., the company opened its second major plant in Goodyear, Arizona in 2024, and has another one coming in Cedar Rapids, Iowa.

Currently, Sub-Zero has a lineup of refrigerators, including the Classic series, Designer series, and Pro series. Each series offers a unique feature, making them suitable for every aesthetic preference. Sub-Zero also offers under-counter refrigeration drawers that can fit under kitchen islands or pantries. This Made in America brand also has a variety of wine storage models with advanced preservation technology, preventing wines from losing their character.

Made-in-America appliance company Viking is fairly new compared to the other ones on this list. Although the concepts and rough sketches of the first Viking range were drawn back in 1981, it was in 1983 when the Viking name was chosen and the logo was designed. Founder Fred Carl, Jr. incorporated the company in 1984, and the first prototype that received American Gas Association (A.G.A.) approval came out of its manufacturing plant in 1986.

The company's first appliance for home use was manufactured by a Californian company in 1987. Following its success, the company moved to Mississippi in 1989 to manufacture its own products. After over 40 years in the home appliance business, Viking now not only offers Professional and Designer series appliances, but it has also added a Commercial line meant for restaurants and other food-related businesses. Viking added refrigerators to its product line in 1996, and in 2000, it acquired an 84-inch wide built-in refrigeration line from appliance company Amana.

Global leader Middleby Corporation acquired Viking Range Corporation in 2012 for $380 million. Currently, Viking offers fridges in categories such as built-in refrigeration, freestanding refrigeration, undercounter refrigeration, ice machines, and even wine cellars. Viking products have received noteworthy awards and accolades, cementing its place as a key American refrigerator brand.

Headquartered in Irvine, California, Thermador is a Made in America refrigerator brand that started over 100 years ago, producing refrigerators. Before its ventured into refrigeration, Thermador started off with the tagline "Seven Leagues Ahead," and its first product was an electric heater in 1916. The company is credited for introducing many world firsts, such as the warming drawer, speed cooking oven, and self-cleaning oven, among many more. In 1932, Thermador began manufacturing home appliances that operated by either gas or electricity.

In 1957, Thermador introduced the "Bilt-in" refrigerator-freezer, which wasn't just available in stainless steel finish but came in four more colors, including turquoise, desert pink, daffodil yellow, and sugar white. This gave American people more options to decorate their kitchens and add a personality to them. Fast forward to 2006, this Made in America company invented modular refrigeration with its "Freedom Collection." The thing about this series was that it had a built-in refrigerator, freezer, and wine columns.

Thermador further enhanced customization in refrigeration with its "Culinary Preservation Centers." This allowed people to mix and match refrigeration units as per their kitchen setting. Meaning people can choose the size of the refrigerator, freezer, and wine storage units, and build one specifically meant for their needs. In 2025, the company serves a wide range of refrigerator categories with features such as Wi-Fi, Theater lighting, and a feature to freeze, cool, or store in a single drawer.

One of the most reliable home appliance brands, General Electric is not only popular in the U.S. but is also one of the world's largest appliance companies. Before becoming a household name, GE started making smaller electric household items back in the 1890s. Then, in 1904, George A. Hughes created the first electric range. Two decades later, GE introduced the "Monitor-Top" refrigerator, featuring an all-steel cabinet, which was so popular that GE eventually produced more than 1 million units.

GE engineers, in 1931, invented a lightweight insulating material called "Thermocraft." It was so unique that for several years, it brought in royalties for GE from competitors for using Thermocraft in their products. In 1947, GE introduced its first two-door refrigerator-freezer combo. In 1950, GE brought together its scattered assembly plants from all across the U.S. to Louisville, Kentucky, into an area spread across 750 acres called Appliance Park. Interestingly, it is a small town in itself with its own ZIP code

The townThere are all the facilities available for up to 6,000 people, such as a healthcare and fitness facility, R&D center, warehouses, 20 miles of railroad track, and more. For refrigerator fanatics, the beep you hear when you leave the fridge door open was invented by GE. Today, GE boasts a wide range of refrigerator styles that are "Made in America," but you may be surprised to know its refrigerators are made by Haier, as GE sold its appliance business to Haier in 2016 for $5.4 billion.

Whirlpool is an appliance brand still made in America that is hugely popular, with a big portfolio of products. Lou Upton founded Upton Machine Company (now Whirlpool Corporation) in 1911, with its first product being an electric washing machine. To meet the growing demands of customers, Upton Machine Co. joined hands with Nineteen Hundred Washer Company of Binghamton, New York, becoming The Nineteen Hundred Corporation.

This new company had big facilities in Michigan and New York, and in 1936 it started exporting washers to other countries. In 1950, the company was renamed to Whirlpool Corporation in honor of its first Whirlpool-branded washing machine. Whirlpool started making refrigerators after merging with Seeger in the mid-1950s, and introduced its first electric refrigerator in 1956. Gradually, it began entering new markets, and by 1994, it was present in 11 countries.

In 1996, Whirlpool entered India, expanding its presence in one of the world's major economies. The company also had various other sub-brands, such as Maytag, KitchenAid, and Amana, which manufacture "Made in America" appliances, including refrigerators. Currently, the company sells different types of refrigerators, including French door, side-by-side, bottom freezer, top freezer, four-door, counter-depth, beverage, and wine cellars. 

Now headquartered in Benton Charter Township, Michigan, the company has grown into one of the biggest brands for washing machines, refrigerators and more across the globe.

Established in 1893 in Iowa by Frederick Lous Maytag, Maytag began as manufacturer of farm goods, first selling threshing machines, band cutters, and self-feeder attachments. The Ruth Feeder established the company as the largest feeder attachment manufacturer in the world, and Ruth became a popular brand logo. Maytag ventured into making washing machines in 1907 to get out of the slow-selling farm-equipment season. Fun fact: Maytag dropped making appliances and helped make military items during WWII.

In 1925, the Maytag Washing Machine Company became Maytag Inc. after exclusively making washing machines. The company also got into refrigerators in 1946 by selling other companies' products under the Maytag brand. But that was short-lived, as the company decided to stop selling refrigerators and other products in 1960. Fast forward to 2005, Whirlpool outbid Haier to acquire Maytag for $1.7 billion and formally introduced Maytag as its sub-brand in 2006. Currently, the company is back in the refrigerator business, and most of its appliances are assembled in the U.S.

The company's official website says, "Inside every Maytag appliance is the tough, hard-working spirit of American dependability." Maytag currently sells all types of refrigerators, including top freezer, bottom freezer, French door, and side-by-side, and usually has a high rating across online e-commerce platforms.

KitchenAid is a more than 100-year-old "Made in America" company, making popular lines of refrigerators and other home appliances. Similar to most home appliance brands, its first product wasn't a refrigerator; instead, it was a stand mixer called "H-5," launched in 1919.  Over the years, the company has launched a bunch of mixers and in-home dishwashers that made KitchenAid a popular household name. It was in 1986 when KitchenAid launched its first refrigerator, and its portfolio of major home appliances became complete.

1986 was a significant year for KitchenAid, as the company was acquired by Whirlpool for $150 million. Both companies strategized in such a way that Whirlpool served as the mid-range brand, whereas KitchenAid continued to offer a premium line of appliances. This acquisition was quite fruitful for KitchenAid, as its appliances were then sold in over 4,000 retail outlets, roughly 30% of all outlets in the U.S. By 1994, KitchenAid products from the U.S. were sold all across Europe, and many famous European chefs, including Eric Lanlard, Emanuele Scarello, Stefan Wiertz, and Simone Zanoni, endorsed and used KitchenAid-branded products.

Currently, the company sells a variety of refrigerators under its brand name. KitchenAid also made it to our list of the most reliable appliance brands, and it continues to be a popular name for its legendary stand mixers.

The U.S. brand Amana derives its name from the place of its origin, Middle Amana, Iowa. Founded by George Foerstner in 1934, the company was first known as Amana Refrigerator Inc. and began as a challenge to develop a dependable beverage cooler. In 1947, Amana came up with its first DeepFreeze upright freezer meant for home use. In 1949, Amana became the world's first company to introduce a side-by-side configuration refrigerator, which is now a standard across major refrigerator brands.

Amana was the world's first company to patent a self-defrost refrigerator back in 1954. And among its long list of other firsts, the company was also the first refrigerator brand to offer a bottom-freezer refrigerator, a configuration that it came up with in 1957, and also introduced the first-ever 24-inch deep freestanding fridge. Taking a detour from refrigeration, Amana is also introduce the world to the consumer microwave.

Amana took home appliances to the next level by introducing the world's first refrigerator with a built-in messenger. The Messenger allowed users to leave a note, a to-do list, a shopping list, or any other message directly on the fridge's front panel. It was equipped with an LCD, a keyboard, a microphone, and a speaker for recording voice messages and letting users know when it is time for service, etc. The company also introduced the world's first refrigerator that allowed you to write anything on its panel and erase it. Currently, it is owned by Whirlpool, but it still sells products under its brand name.