World Kitchen Inc, which makes kitchenware under brands such as Corelle, Pyrex & CorningWare, is looking for a new owner. The privately held company, based in Virginia, wishes to remain intact when it changes owners rather than being broken up. "There's great synergy among these brands, & they're all household names," spokesman D Arnold said 3/03/05. While Corning Inc. still licenses the Pyrex & CorningWare trademarks, it is not expected to be an obstacle to any sales, he said. World Kitchen was created in 1998 from the sale of Corning's business: Pyrex & Corelle, CorningWare glass ceramic & Revere metal cookware. In 1999, it acquired Ekco Group & General Housewares. Parent company WKI Holding agreed to a voluntary Chapter 11 filing in 2002 in a restructuring deal with stakeholders aimed at cutting debt, & World Kitchen emerged from bankruptcy 8 months later.
