NESCO got It’s start in the 1930's selling electric roasters, which were thought of as “portable ovens” at the time. The roasters were manufactured by the National Enameling and Stamping Company (NESCO). Through a joint marketing effort with a local utility company in Wisconsin, NESCO sold their roaster ovens along with “new electric service” to rural families who were still cooking on wood stoves.
The orginal NESCO products were sold over time to other companies. In 1981, the roasters were purchased by The Metal Ware Corporation, of Two Rivers, Wisconsin. Today, Metal Ware manufactures other cooking appliances under the NESCO name, including Open Country Camp Cookware. In 1997, The Metal Ware Corporation acquired the assets of American Harvest in Chaska, MN, and currently markets their products under the NESCO/American Harvest brand name.
NESCO makes a wide variety of products, including dehydrators, roaster ovens, jet stream ovens, massage stone heaters, and jerky kits. They also a collection of camping related products under the Open Country label, including dehydrators branded as Open Country.
NESCO has a range of dehydrators, from small starter units to larger consumer machines. NESCO food dehydrators can be organized into four categories as follows:
- Basic models (FD-35, FD-39)
- Snackmaster line (FD-60, FD-75PR, FD-80)
- Gardenmaster line (FD-1020, FD-1010, FD-1018)
- Jerky - FD-28JX
