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10 HARTFORDBUSINESS.COM | JULY 8, 2024 From Sea To Hotel Diversification key to Clinton-based electric grills, cooktops maker Kenyon International's growth By David Krechevsky davidk@hartfordbusiness.com F ire and boats don't mix. Just ask Phil Williams, co-owner and presi- dent of Kenyon International, a Clinton-based manufacturer. "My partners and I, we have an extensive background in the marine industry, and we have seen boats burn to the water line because of people doing stupid things," he said. "It's terrible to witness." While his privately held business has been based in Connecticut for more than 90 years, it has gone through several changes before ultimately becoming what it is today — a manufacturer of electric grills and ceramic glass cooktops for marine and other uses. "Electric grills are much safer," Williams said. "When we originally started designing our electric grill, it was specifically for the marine marketplace. "We didn't want anything that was going to be dangerous to use on a boat," he continued. "So, everything that we put into designing our grills is to make it the easiest to use, easiest to clean, and safest product." Dozens of patents Kenyon didn't start as an electric grill maker. It was founded in 1931 by Theo- dore "Ted" Kenyon to make precision instruments for aviation and marine use. Kenyon's first patent — the company now has more than 70 — was for a boat speedometer. He also had a background in aviation, working for Grumman (now Northrop Grumman) as a pilot flying around the country to demonstrate its autopilot system. He later met and married Cecil "Teddy" Kenyon, who shared his love of flying. She won the National Sports Women Flying Championship in 1933, and worked as a test pilot during World War II, according to the company's website. Together in 1953, the couple founded Kenyon Laboratories Inc. in Lyme, where they designed and manufactured instruments and control equipment for aircraft and boats. Eventually, that also included creating cooktops and alcohol stoves for boats. By 1961, however, Kenyon Labo ratories faced bankruptcy. It "found a new lease on life," though, by selling gyrostabilizers under the new company name, Ken-Lab Inc. Meaningful growth By the 1980s, Ken-Lab had been acquired by a larger company, International Marine Industries (IMI), which grew the cooktop business. It also acquired, in 1988, a St. Peters- burg, Fla.-based company called Crosby that had been launched by Williams, who had designed a new marine refrigeration system. Eight years later, Williams and some friends bought Kenyon from IMI and relocated it to Clinton. At that time, the company had about 20 employees and produced items solely for the marine industry. "When we bought the company in '96, we started looking at what our strengths and our weaknesses were," Williams said. "We were determined to be able to take this organization that we had and actually grow this in a meaningful way." That meant looking into other markets, which led Kenyon to develop products for extended-stay hotels. "We started developing our cook- tops so that they would fit into small kitchenettes, whether that be for retiring Baby Boomers or in any other application," Williams said. "Now we are the leading supplier to the hotel industry for their extended-stay flags — Marriott, Hilton, IHG (InterConti- nental Hotel Group). Any hotel that has properties where they put kitch- enettes in, we're a supplier to them." In fact, he said, that is now the biggest segment of Kenyon's business. It's not, however, the only way Kenyon diversified. It also supplies cooktops for housing to all branches of the U.S. military, as well as for academic housing, assisted living facilities and RVs. It also works with homebuilders, providing both cook- tops and electric grills. The diversification was important to the company's survival, Williams said. "We needed to have three legs to this stool so that we wouldn't fall over." The Kenyon Signature Grill offers a lid that stays cool to the touch and a rotating handle equipped with an LED light that can illuminate the grill surface. CONTRIBUTED PHOTOS Phil Williams AT A GLANCE Kenyon International Industry: Manufacturing Top Executive: Phil Williams, Co-Owner & President HQ: 8 Heritage Park Road, Clinton Employees: 53 Patents: 70+ Website: cookwithkenyon.com Contact: Hello@CookWithKenyon.com