Domestic electrical appliance manufacturer, Woking, England

Kenwood Manufacturing Company Limited was founded by Kenneth Maynard Wood. After the war, Wood left the RAF and founded Woodlau Industries, with wartime colleague Roger Laurence, starting production in 1947 in Woking with the A100 turnover toaster, an appliance that was uncommon in Britain at that time, and then the A200 food mixer - the predecessor of the Kenwood Chef which was launched in 1950. When Roger Laurence left the company, Wood changed the name to Kenwood Manufacturing Company Ltd. The company moved to Havant in Hampshire in 1961, then employing a workforce of 700. Wood was a millionaire at 38, selling more than 10 million 'Chefs' before parting company with Kenwood Manufacturing Co. Ltd. in 1968 after a hostile and successful takeover by Thorn Electrical Industries Ltd.