Our History

1929 to Today: Amerock Evolves as a Partner in Style

1929's Fearless Initiative At the very moment when their adopted country was rocked by great challenges, Reuben and Gedor Aldeen foreshadowed the advice that "the only thing we have to fear is fear itself" and bravely left Rockford's National Lock Company to establish Aldeen Manufacturing Company. Innovators from the start, they decided to focus their creativity on the kitchen, "the heart of the home" and began building the first US manufacturing company to specialize in cabinet hardware. They put their name on the promise that they would shine a light on dark times by putting great home design within reach. They became their customers "Partners in Style."

The Beat Goes On The Aldeens signaled the start of a new era as America's partners in style by changing the company name to The American Cabinet Hardware Company of Rockford and by creating families of matching cabinet hardware including knobs, pulls, and hinges. In a decade dominated by the "Great Depression" a local newspaper described how these matched ensembles and improved mechanical features that made them easier to install, fed the brand's growth as cabinet companies began offering the Aldeens' stylish and efficient hardware to a new group: retail customers.

Partners in Style and Patriotism Putting their skills at the service of their country's war effort The American Cabinet Hardware Company of Rockford manufactured items needed by the military. Bravely putting their faith in their country and its dreams for its homes, they continued to grow and succeed. In the 1940s as they put America first, it was only fitting to combine the words "American" and "Rockford" and adopt Amerock as the company's new name.

Postwar Progress In a decade of post-war growth for both the country and the company, Amerock was the choice for thousands of homes built to welcome the return of America's veterans and what came to be known as the "baby boom." To anticipate and serve these new needs Amerock purchased 94 acres in Rockford to accommodate a new factory, and also built a second plant in Canada. Style, quality and innovation continued to march forward together, typified by Amerock's design, patent and manufacturing of its demountable hinge program.

Going Out to Meet the Future Now confident of its role as "America's Partner in Style", Amerock put wheels under its spirit of innovation and in the 1970s moved to bring decorative and functional hardware directly to consumers by way of a mobile merchandising van. This expanding alliance for style inspired Amerock to introduce Bath hardware and to form a strategic alliance with the Anchor Hocking Group.

Half a Century Young Like the homes it made both more practical and more stylish Amerock marked its first half-century by designing and patenting a new kitchen storage accessory program. In the 1980s, Amerock was acquired by Newell Rubbermaid and the strength of the joint heritage was put at the service of its customers of more than 50 years. Committed to seeking and finding new ways to strengthen the marriage between function and style, Amerock introduced the first American-made frame concealed hinge program.

Newer than Ever at the End of a Century As Amerock's trade and consumer base continued to expand, the company put its creative craftspeople to work to build a palette of finishes as diverse as its growing family of brand loyalists. Finish options now numbered more than 70. Amerock's commitment was…and remains: "We will keep expanding our skills to bring you beautiful hardware accessories that match your dreams and turn "any home" into "YOUR home." Names like Antique Silver and Wrought Iron were added to Amerock's dictionary of fine design options. The introduction of new finishes & styles enabled the designer and homeowners the luxury to personalize and enhance the appearance of their furniture and cabinetry without ever sacrificing functionality, usability and character. This vision was warmly received and the century ended with expanded sales and record growth.

A New Millennium Embraced as "a darling of designers," Amerock continued to be an innovator and style partner. The brand grew, adding more than 70 new products to the hundreds already offered, including classics like the Atherly™ and Candler™ collections and new finishes such as Satin Nickel, Oil-Rubbed Bronze, Venetian Bronze and more. With the largest and widest variety of decorative hardware styles, sizes and finishes, Amerock's hardware coordinated with and enhanced all the trending styles in kitchen plumbing fixtures, cabinets, appliances, lighting and color palettes.

Today and Tomorrow Now as a part of the North Carolina-based Piedmont Hardware family of excellence Amerock is rising to new heights as a trendsetter with a genius for helping change the way people use hardware to enhance their homes. In 2013 it captured the kitchen and bath community's imagination with the bold and exciting new concept AmerockNOW. Amerock chose nationally acclaimed interior designer Eric Cohler as the charter member of its projected Design Council commissioned to grow the brand's strength as a Partner in Style by providing the Amerock family with the best of professional insights and inspiration. Cohler's debut assignment was to act as curator of the brand's treasure house of products, focusing his infallible designer's eye and creative good taste on making it easy and exciting for Amerock brand loyalists to express their growing appetite for trending regional looks that are right for them. And so, AmerockNOW was born.

Like privileged guests at a gallery, Amerock's customers can now be guided to explore the thousands of options at their fingertips and make "perfect-for-them" selections. As they do so, Amerock's team of designers, craftspersons and marketers continue to cherish the best of the past and invent the best of the future. In the spirit of the fearless Aldeens, Amerock's creative vision for the future is constantly expanding, turning new products such as wall plates into integrated expressions of style. Each of its newly unveiled combinations of fashion and function fulfills an 85-year commitment. Each proud new moment in its dynamic history has only one purpose: to continue to deserve their customers' choice of Amerock as a Partner in Style for the 21st Century.