On Jan. 2, 2006, the world leader in radiant heating systems, PEX plumbing systems and fire safety protection systems changed its name from Wirsbo to Uponor, consolidating our global companies and unifying our brand.

A unified Uponor better serves the heating and plumbing industries and supports our mission to provide better human environments to more people in more places around the world.

Uponor North America, formerly Wirsbo, is a company with a long history of service. The company first began as Wirsbo, founded in 1620 in Virsbo, Sweden, forging high-quality steel and weapons for the King of Sweden.

Wirsbo emerged as the leader in the polyethylene pipe industry in 1968 when German inventor, Dr. Thomas Engel, developed a method to chemically crosslink polyethylene (PEX). A year later, Wirsbo successfully developed a viable manufacturing process, and in 1984, Wirsbo was incorporated.

Uponor of Today

Uponor Corporation, based in Helsinki, Finland, is a publicly traded company and operates throughout Europe and North America.

The company's operations are organized into four regions — Uponor North America, Uponor Nordic, Uponor Central Europe and Uponor Europe WES (West, East and South).

Uponor North America is headquartered in Apple Valley, Minn., a suburb of Minneapolis and St. Paul, with manufacturing facilities in Apple Valley and Burnsville, Minn., as well as Saint John, New Brunswick, Canada.

The Canadian headquarters and distribution center are located in Regina, Saskatchewan, along with an additional distribution center in Brampton, Ontario. Canadian sales offices are located in Brampton,Ontario and Laval, Quebec.