Yes! Wood Stone specialty cooking equipment and stone hearth ovens are made in the USA.  Since 1990, we’ve been building our equipment in Bellingham, Washington. Our Founders, Keith Carpenter and Harry Hegarty, both lived in and loved Whatcom County and started Wood Stone with a few close friends.

These friends built stone hearth ovens unlike any others on the planet; unlike the traditional imported ovens, they use modern materials formulated specifically for the application of stone hearth cooking. This refractory is cast in molds to make very strong monolithic floors and monolithic domes. The result is hand-crafted ovens that are more reliable and predictable than ovens made with clay tiles or bricks (or “cotto refrattario”).

We continue to strive to build the best stone hearth and specialty cooking equipment in the world, provide the best customer service and create the best work/play environment for our 100+ employees. We are very proud to provide meaningful employment for people in our community and look forward to the fun and challenges of continued growth.

In late 1989, during a routine call on a key customer, Keith Carpenter learned that a customer was struggling to find a wood fired stone hearth or 'brick oven' that could stand up to the rigors of the American commercial kitchen.

The idea of building a wood fired oven suited to the rigors of a modern American kitchen intrigued him and led him to contact Harry Hegarty. Harry had been building large scale, high temperature ceramic incinerators for the forest products industry for 17 years. This meeting was a turning point. In April 1990, Keith and Harry founded Wood Stone and were soon revolutionizing stone hearth cooking.

In 1995 we introduced gas-fueled and gas-assist stone-hearth ovens, with many different configurations to meet different production requirements. Wood Stone gas-fired ovens are carefully designed to be responsive to the demanding needs of high production cook lines. Now customers know they can get "wood-fired flavor" from a gas-fired oven!

In 2007, Wood Stone expanded their manufacturing capacity and capabilities. The project included a new 57,500 foot manufacturing facility (for a total of 117,000 square feet), a new Research and Development laboratory and a state of the art integrated metal fabrication system that will be used to produce its products.

Wood Stone's product line has grown over the years and now, in addition to several to several types of commercial stone hearth ovens, it also includes rotisseries, planchas, charbroilers, and tandoors. In addition, Wood Stone carries a selection of stone hearth ovens for the home which can be experienced at woodstonehome.com.

In 2010 Keith and Harry knighted two new equal presidents: Kurt Eickmeyer as President of Sales and Marketing, and Wade Bobb as President of Engineering, Manufacturing and IT. To read more about this transition, visit our blog.