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Press Room: Corporate News
Hamilton Beach/Proctor-Silex Inc. Celebrates 100 Years of Innovation
Today’s Small Appliance Technology has Century-Old Roots
RICHMOND, Va., March 20, 2004 – The meeting seemed innocent enough. The year was 1904, and Louis H. Hamilton was the advertising manager at United States Standard Electrical Works in Racine, Wisconsin. That’s where he met Chester A. Beach, who had a penchant for tinkering with mechanisms. Little did they know this meeting of the minds would lead to the largest manufacturer of small appliances in the United States.
Hamilton Beach/Proctor-Silex Inc. is celebrating the 100th anniversary of the duo’s collaboration this year, a century that started with Beach’s perfection of a universal electric motor capable of 7,200 revolutions per minute. The motor, which had numerous applications because it could operate on both alternating and direct current, ultimately paved the way for the formation of The Hamilton Beach Manufacturing Company in 1910. One of the team’s first products – the Sew-E-Z home motor – was an interchangeable tool that could be used to operate a wide variety of appliances, from a sewing machine or grinder to a fan or cake-batter mixer. Thanks to the Sew-E-Z, consumers across the country could spend less time on everyday chores such as sewing and baking.
The more things change, the more they stay the same.
While the products have changed over the years, Hamilton Beach has not forgotten its roots as a company providing America’s homes with tools that make everyday life easier and more enjoyable. Its latest product innovation is the Eclectrics™ collection – a complete line of small, die-cast metal appliances that come in a myriad of colors – which hits stores later this year.
“The launch of the Eclectrics™ line is a timely way to pay our respects to our founders,” said Michael J. Morecroft, president and CEO of Hamilton Beach/Proctor-Silex Inc. “Not only do these appliances respond to customers’ desires to express their style through a display of color in the home, but the hefty, die-cast metal construction also harkens back to the quality that the first Hamilton Beach consumers came to know.”And came to expect.
Hamilton Beach has built its reputation on high-quality innovations to make the home more versatile. In the early days of the company, the company filed a patent for a “drink mixer agitator implement.” That 1911 patent paved the way for the Classic DrinkMaster® that is still in production today. By the end of the 1920s, Hamilton Beach’s product line included portable household vacuums, food mixers, juice extractors, fans, floor polishers, meat grinders and jewelers’ motors.
Other highlights from the Hamilton Beach storied journey include:
- 1941: Hamilton Beach contributes to the war-time effort and produces instrumentation motors for military equipment.
- 1966: Hamilton Beach contracts Rene Verdon, the Kennedy Administration’s White House chef, to be the company’s primary culinary consultant.
- 1977: A Hamilton Beach blender is featured in the classic Saturday Night Live skit “Super Bass-O-Matic 76” starring Dan Aykroyd.
- 1983: Hamilton Beach enlists Mickey Rooney to make milkshakes in a national advertising campaign for the DrinkMaster® drink mixer.
- 1990: Hamilton Beach merges with Proctor-Silex. Company headquarters are now located in Richmond, Va.
- 2000: Hamilton Beach revolutionizes the home-environment category with the introduction of its TrueAir™ odor eliminators, air purifiers and humidifiers.
- 2003: The company’s BrewStation™ coffeemaker allows consumers to grab their cup of joe with one-hand dispensing – no carafe, no pouring and no spills.
- 2004: Hamilton Beach launches the Eclectrics™ collection, a complete line of small kitchen appliances available in numerous colors.
About Hamilton Beach/Proctor-Silex Inc.:
Hamilton Beach/Proctor-Silex Inc. is the largest North American manufacturer and marketer of small kitchen, garment care and home health appliances. The company’s corporate headquarters is located in Richmond, Va. For information on other innovative Hamilton Beach and Proctor-Silex products, visit the Hamilton Beach web site at www.hamiltonbeach.com
