George D. Roper founded the company in 1890 as a manufacturer of
home appliances,
pumps, and other industrial products. He had part ownership of the Van Wie Gas Stove Company of
Cleveland. The Van Wie plant moved to
Rockford, Illinois and passed into the hands trustees in the early 1890s. George D. Roper became the sole owner of the Van Wie Gas Stove company after the company's debts had been paid off on September 1, 1894. Ten days later, a fire destroyed the facility. The factory was rebuilt and renamed as the Eclipse Gas Stove Company, and later expanded in 1906 to include the Trahern Pump Company, founded in 1857. In 1957, Roper sold his stove business to Florence Stove Co. of
Kankakee, Illinois. The stoves continued to operate under the name George D. Roper, despite the original company changing its name to Roper Pump Company. In 1981, Dexter Corporation acquired the company. In 1982, Roper moved his appliance production factory (originally Florence Stove Company) from Kankakee, Illinois to a plant in
LaFayette, Georgia. The Kankakee factory was razed in 2016. In 1988,
Electrolux purchased Roper's lawn and garden products division. In 1989,
Whirlpool Corporation acquired the Roper brand. In 1992, the company once again became a
public company via an
initial public offering. Between 2001 and 2018, Brian Jellison, a former executive of
General Electric and
Ingersoll-Rand, served as
CEO. In April 2015, Roper Industries Inc. changed its corporate name to Roper Technologies, Inc.
Acquisitions ==References==