A New Hood in the 'Hood'

ReadingEagle.com

Published: September 29, 2008

Prizer-Painter Stove Works Inc. has had a reputation for top-quality stoves for almost 130 years.

Michael J. Trapp, vice president of Prizer-Painter Stove Works with one of the hoods.

That tradition of high quality continued last month when the company - which manufactures the BlueStar brand - launched its own line of high-performance ventilation hoods.

Keith Wolf, vice president of marketing, said producing a hood line was a logical step for the Reading company.

"When we would sell a high-performance stove, the next question a customer would ask is what sort of hood should they buy," Wolf said. "So it only made sense to develop our own hood line."

The company at 600 Arlington St. has released two kinds: BlueStar Pyramid Hoods and BlueStar Pro-Line Hoods.

Both have similar performance, Wolf said, but the Pro-Line offers a traditional, restaurant-style appearance, while the Pyramid has a more chiseled, chimney aesthetic.

"Any time we introduce a new line of BlueStar products, our overriding objective is to deliver well-constructed products that perform at the same level found in a restaurant kitchen," Wolf said.

Both BlueStar hood lines are available in 30-inch, 36-inch, 42-inch, 48-inch, 54-inch, 60-inch and 66-inch width sizes and peak at 1,200 cubic feet per minute of exhausting air flow.

The higher the number, the greater the amount of air exhausted.

Other features include variable blower control, welded seamless corners, dishwasher-safe stainless-steel baffle filters and halogen lamps with dimmer controls for greater visibility and efficiency.

Wolf said one of the most popular features of its stoves and hoods is the choice of colors - 190, to be exact.

"Customers now have the ability to match a ruby-red range to a ruby-red hood," Wolf said. "Colors are a great asset. That's what's getting people excited about this line.

"With 190 standard colors from which to choose, it's easy to match any kitchen's color scheme. And that is important as kitchens are becoming much bigger and more important rooms in the home than they used to be."

Wolf noted that each BlueStar hood - like the stoves and ranges - is hand-crafted at its Reading manufacturing facility.

"It is pretty unique to have each hood be hand-assembled," he said. "Every one is touched by human hands as it is crafted."

The price of the high-powered hoods starts at $1,525.

"These hoods combine heavy-duty construction with seamless design to offer durability, functionality and beauty," Wolf said.

And, he added that the BlueStar line is going to be offering its own cookware for the first time.

He said the five- to eight-piece cookware sets feature the highest-grade stainless steel.