Metters Limited

Metters Limited was an Australian manufacturer whose brand became closely associated with domestic cooking equipment, particularly wood-burning stoves and ovens. Its origins lay in the business established in Adelaide in 1891 by Frederick Metters, who developed and patented kitchen appliances including the influential “top-fire” wood stove. Frederick’s brothers, Charles Henry Metters and John Thomas Metters, had earlier been involved in the manufacture of stoves and ovens through Metters Bros. in Melbourne. The business expanded beyond South Australia during the 1890s. In 1894 Frederick Metters entered Western Australia, where he formed a partnership with Henry Langdon Spring, a Perth-based businessman who had emigrated from London. Spring initially provided premises for the operation and subsequently became a partner in what was known as Metters & Company. Expansion continued into New South Wales, with a Sydney presence established in 1902. Spring bought out Frederick Metters’s interest in 1907 and incorporated Metters Limited in 1908. The new company was established with capital of £100,000, moved its headquarters to Sydney, and expanded production through facilities and branches in several Australian states. A factory was acquired in Tasmania, while branches were established in Brisbane and New Zealand. Manufacturing and distribution were developed across Perth, Adelaide and Sydney, giving Metters a substantial national footprint in the Australian appliance market. The company’s principal products were household cooking appliances. Its enclosed wood-fired stoves heated a cooking surface above the fire and an oven below, while removable plates allowed cookware to be placed closer to the flame. Metters manufactured numerous stove families at its Adelaide and Sydney foundries, including the Beacon Light, New Improved, Barossa, Royal, Dover, Bega, Wilga, Canberra, Empress, Regina, Herald, Newcastle, Samson, Capitol, Shearer, Crawford and related models. These appliances were designed for Australian domestic conditions and became recognizable examples of early twentieth-century Australian household equipment. Metters also diversified into gas cooking. In 1937 it introduced the Early Kooka range, whose name played on the word “cooker” and whose enamel decoration featured a kookaburra swallowing a worm. The brand later extended into electric and gas kitchen cookers. Metters also manufactured windmills, more precisely windpumps, adding an agricultural and rural-equipment dimension to its product portfolio. Competition was an important feature of the company’s development. In 1911, former Metters employees Norman Keysor, Edward Forrest and Henry Barnett established K.F.B. Foundry, which became K.F.B. Limited in 1918. The companies entered a price war that was described as damaging to both sides. In 1927 Metters and K.F.B. were combined under the holding company General Industries Limited. Henry Spring remained managing director and chairman, with control of Metters until his death in 1937; his brother Robert, previously manager of the Sydney branch, then became general manager. Email Limited acquired the wider concern in 1974. Email continued to market electric and gas cookers under the Metters name, but the brand was gradually phased out during the mid-1980s. Metters therefore survives principally as a historical Australian appliance name, remembered for its wood stoves, early gas cookers, rural windpumps and contribution to the development of locally manufactured household equipment.

Metters Limited developed from an Australian stove-making enterprise founded in Adelaide in 1891 by Frederick Metters. Frederick patented and produced several kitchen appliances, including top-fire wood stoves, while his brothers Charles Henry and John Thomas Metters were associated with the earlier Metters Bros. stove and oven business in Melbourne. In 1894 Frederick expanded into Western Australia. He formed a partnership with Henry Langdon Spring, who had emigrated from London and was operating from premises in Perth. Spring became a junior partner in Metters & Company, helping establish the business in a new regional market. A Sydney branch followed in 1902, extending the company’s reach into eastern Australia. Spring acquired Frederick Metters’s interest in 1907 and founded Metters Limited in 1908. The company was capitalized at £100,000, transferred its headquarters to Sydney, and invested in a broader manufacturing and distribution network. It expanded production in Perth, Adelaide and Sydney, acquired a factory in Tasmania, and opened branches in Brisbane and New Zealand. Under Spring’s leadership, the company greatly increased both its product range and its manufacturing volume. Metters became known primarily for wood-burning household stoves. Its Improved Stove No. 2 used an enclosed wood fire to heat a hob above and an oven below. Removable plates in the cooking surface permitted direct exposure to the heat. The Adelaide foundry produced models such as Beacon Light, New Improved, Barossa, Royal, Dover, Bega and Wilga. The Sydney foundry produced a wider series, including Beacon Light, Dover, Bega, Canberra, Empress, Regina, Herald, Newcastle, Samson, Edford, Capitol, Shearer, Royal, New Royal, Improved, Crawford and Early Kooka models. The company faced direct competition from K.F.B. Foundry, established in 1911 by former Metters employees Norman Keysor, Edward Forrest and Henry Barnett. K.F.B. became K.F.B. Limited in 1918, and competition developed into a price war that was reportedly disadvantageous to both businesses. In 1927 the two concerns were merged under General Industries Limited. Spring served as managing director and chairman of the holding company and retained control of Metters until his death in 1937. His brother Robert, who had managed the Sydney branch, subsequently became general manager. Metters diversified beyond solid-fuel appliances. In 1937 it launched the Early Kooka gas range, using a distinctive kookaburra motif in its enamel decoration. Later, under Email ownership, the Metters name continued on electric and gas cookers. The business also manufactured windmills or, more precisely, windpumps, which gave the brand a presence in rural equipment as well as domestic appliances. Email Limited acquired the concern in 1974. Although Email continued to market cooking appliances under the Metters name, the brand was eventually phased out in the mid-1980s. The company’s legacy is therefore primarily historical: it represents a significant Australian manufacturer of stoves, ovens and related appliances during the transition from locally made wood-fired equipment to gas and electric household cooking technology.

• 1985

  Brand phased out

  [1]Metters Limiteden.wikipedia.org

  The Metters name was phased out during the mid-1980s.

• 1974

  Acquisition by Email Limited

  [1]Metters Limiteden.wikipedia.org

  Email Limited acquired the wider concern and retained the Metters name for selected cooking appliances.

• 1937

  Early Kooka gas range launched

  [1]Metters Limiteden.wikipedia.org

  Metters introduced its Early Kooka line of gas cooking appliances.

• 1927

  Merger under General Industries

  [1]Metters Limiteden.wikipedia.org

  Metters and K.F.B. were combined under General Industries Limited.

• 1911

  Former employees establish K.F.B. Foundry

  [1]Metters Limiteden.wikipedia.org

  Three former Metters employees founded K.F.B. Foundry, creating a significant competitor.

• 1908

  Metters Limited founded

  [1]Metters Limiteden.wikipedia.org

  Henry Langdon Spring founded Metters Limited, acquired Frederick Metters’s interest and expanded the company’s manufacturing network.

• 1902

  Sydney expansion

  [1]Metters Limiteden.wikipedia.org

  Metters extended its operations to Sydney, establishing a presence in New South Wales.

• 1894

  Expansion into Western Australia

  [1]Metters Limiteden.wikipedia.org

  Frederick Metters expanded to Perth and entered a partnership with Henry Langdon Spring.

• 1891

  Frederick Metters establishes the predecessor business

  [1]Metters Limiteden.wikipedia.org

  Frederick Metters established a stove and kitchen-appliance business in Adelaide, beginning the enterprise that later developed into the Metters brand.

A locally manufactured Australian household-appliance brand focused on durable cooking equipment for domestic and rural use.

• Wood-burning stove

  Metters Improved Stove No. 2

  An enclosed wood-fire cooker with a heated hob above the fire and an oven beneath it. Removable plates set into the cooking surface allowed users to expose cookware to more direct heat. The model illustrates Metters’s focus on practical, locally manufactured solid-fuel cooking equipment.

• Wood-burning stoves and ovens

  Metters wood-stove ranges

  Metters produced extensive families of wood stoves through its Adelaide and Sydney foundries. Named ranges included Beacon Light, New Improved, Barossa, Royal, Dover, Bega, Wilga, Canberra, Empress, Regina, Herald, Newcastle, Samson, Capitol, Shearer, Crawford and New Royal. These models formed the core of the company’s early household-appliance business.

• Gas cooking appliances · 1937

  Early Kooka

  Introduced in 1937, the Early Kooka range marked Metters’s move into branded gas cooking equipment. Its name was a play on “cooker,” and its enamel decoration included an image of a kookaburra eating a worm, giving the range a distinctive Australian visual identity.

• Electric and gas cooking appliances · 1974

  Metters electric and gas cookers

  After Email Limited acquired the concern in 1974, the Metters name continued to be used on electric and gas kitchen cookers. These products represented the later phase of the brand before its eventual withdrawal during the mid-1980s.

• Agricultural equipment

  Metters windpumps

  Metters also manufactured windmills, more accurately described as windpumps. This product category extended the brand beyond household appliances into rural and agricultural equipment.

• 1974

  Acquisition by Email LimitedM&A

  Background

  Metters operated within the General Industries structure before the concern was acquired by Email Limited.

  Action taken

  Email Limited took over the concern and continued marketing electric and gas kitchen cookers under the Metters brand.

  Aftermath

  The Metters name remained in appliance retail for a period but was eventually phased out during the mid-1980s.

  Source

• 1937

  Launch of the Early Kooka gas appliance rangeProduct launch

  Background

  Metters broadened its product portfolio beyond wood-fired appliances as gas cooking became an important alternative household technology.

  Action taken

  The company introduced the Early Kooka range of gas cooking appliances with distinctive kookaburra-themed enamel decoration.

  Aftermath

  The range became one of the identifiable later products associated with the Metters name.

  Source

• 1927

  Combination with K.F.B. under General IndustriesM&A

  Background

  Competition between Metters and K.F.B. had escalated into a price war following K.F.B.’s formation by former Metters employees.

  Action taken

  The two companies were merged under the holding company General Industries Limited.

  Aftermath

  Henry Spring remained chairman and managing director and retained control of Metters within the new structure.

  Paid-up capital of General Industries Limited. £1,077,405 (1927)

  Source

• 1908

  National manufacturing and distribution expansionStrategy

  Background

  After acquiring Frederick Metters’s interest, Henry Langdon Spring reorganized the business as Metters Limited and sought to increase production and geographic coverage.

  Action taken

  The company moved its headquarters to Sydney, expanded manufacturing in Perth, Adelaide and Sydney, acquired a Tasmanian factory, and opened branches in Brisbane and New Zealand.

  Aftermath

  Metters developed into a major multi-state Australian manufacturer and distributor of cooking appliances.

  Source

1. 1Metters Limiteden.wikipedia.org