Sub-Zero is often ranked among the most respected names in the refrigerator game. The brand also ranks as one of the more innovative outfits in the consumer arena, with its design team pioneering dual refrigeration, a setup that uses separate evaporators and compressors for the refrigerator and freezer. The brand also led the custom refrigeration market in integrated coolers, which essentially turn any drawer or cabinet in your house into a cooling unit. These Consumer Reports-recommended fridges are also intuitively designed to adapt to an individual owner’s usage.
These advancements didn’t happen overnight, of course, with the Sub-Zero company developing those game-changing features, and many more, over the course of more than eight decades in existence. The company came into being at the behest of one Westye F. Bakke, an engineer from Wisconsin who first started tinkering with refrigeration while looking for a way to properly preserve his Diabetic son’s Insulin.
Bakke also spent several years helping Frank Lloyd Wright customize refrigerators for the iconic architect’s patrons. Thus, when Bakke founded Sub-Zero Group Inc. in 1945, he sought to marry the worlds of architecture and engineering. Today, Sub-Zero is still designing refrigerators to that very end. The company is also still headquartered in Wisconsin, and yes, it is still independently owned. In fact, Sub-Zero is still run by the Bakke family, with James J. Bakke now serving as the third-generation CEO of the family-owned brand.
Sub-Zero refrigerators are made in the USA
If you’re eyeing a Sub-Zero refrigerator for your kitchen, you should first know that they are among the more expensive you can buy in the consumer arena, with prices starting in the $9,000 range. Sub-Zero has positioned itself as a uniquely American brand since its founding. However, in today’s market, many are only willing to apply that tag to companies that aren’t just headquartered within the borders of the continental United States, but also manufacture their goods there.
If you’re staunch in your desire for an American-made appliance, you can rest assured that the brand’s cooling devices are actually made in the USA. For that matter, the brand’s high-end appliances have always been manufactured in the States, with Sub-Zero initially setting up shop in its home state of Wisconsin. As the company’s story goes, Westye Bakke built the first Sub-Zero prototype in his own basement circa 1943.
The company has come a long way since the days of Bakke’s basement innovations. However, many of its refrigerators are still manufactured in Wisconsin by way of Sub-Zero’s Fitchburg production facility. Apart from the Wisconsin facility, Sub-Zero also operates a manufacturing plant in Goodyear, Arizona, and in May 2026, the brand went on to open a sprawling new 600,000-square-foot facility in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. These days, Sub-Zero has also become a singular player in the luxury appliance market, claiming ownership over the Wolf range brand and high-end dishwashing outfit Cove. And yes, those brands also make their products in U.S. facilities.
