Rheem Manufacturing Co (Australia) Proprietary Ltd was incorporated in Melbourne, Australia on November 26, 1936 as the first overseas venture of Rheem Manufacturing Company, an American drum manufacturer.

Rheem® began making drums in Australia in 1937 and manufactured its first water heater in Australia at Waterloo, an inner Sydney suburb, in 1939.

In May of that same year, BHP purchased a 50% stake in the company and supplied the Australian steel used in all Rheem manufacturing. It was the beginning of an association that has endured for many years and which has been a contributing factor in Rheem’s ongoing success.

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Key milestones:

• Rheem Manufacturing Co (Australia) Proprietary Ltd was incorporated in Melbourne, Australia on November 26, 1936.
• First Rheem gas water heater manufactured in 1939 at Waterloo, Sydney.
• In 1939, BHP purchased a 50% share in the company, which at that time was making drums at Waterloo.
• In 1973, BHP purchased the American interest in Rheem Australia Limited, making Rheem a truly Australian company.
• In 1988, Southcorp Limited (then South Australian Brewing Holdings) purchased Rheem, which then became known as Southcorp Water Heaters.
• Since 2001, Paloma Co Ltd, an international leader in water heating and space heating technology and manufacturing, has been the ultimate controlling entity of Rheem Australia Pty Ltd.

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