Viking is a privately held company which manufactures and markets the industry's finest professional kitchen appliances for the home. Viking is the originator of the "Professional" segment of major appliances in the USA, introducing the first commercial type range for home use in 1987. The company now offers two distinctive, complete lines of ultra-premium appliances, including cooking, ventilation, kitchen clean-up and refrigeration, as well as outdoor products to extend the Viking Kitchen to the pool or patio. The way it all began ... After evaluating standard restaurant ranges for use in the kitchens of upscale homes, Fred Carl, Jr. founder and president of Viking, recognized that these commercial appliances had numerous disadvantages when considered for installation in a residential kitchen, making them undesirable and impractical for home use. Viking was designed to overcome the problems of installing commercial equipment in the home.