Sunbeam and "Chainsaw Al"
Sunbeam: 100+ Years of Change
Sunbeam is a well-known and recognized designer, manufacturer, and marketer of consumer products. Sunbeam products are considered household staple items and are known for their use in cooking, health care, and personal care. Over its 100 years of operation, Sunbeam has grown and changed according to societal needs. It operates facilities in Canada, England, Hong Kong, Mexico, the US, and Venezuela. A few of the most recognized brand names Sunbeam markets today include: Coleman, Eastpak, First Alert, Grillmaster, Health o meter, Mixmaster, Mr. Coffee, Mrs. Tea by Mr. Coffee, Oster, Osterizer, Powermate, Borg, and Campingaz.
The first products that the company manufactured and sold over 100 years ago were agricultural tools. In 1910 they began manufacturing electrical appliances, one of the first being a clothes iron. Sunbeam’s electronic products were extremely popular even during the Great Depression of the 1930s. The launch of the Sunbeam Mixmaster, automatic coffee maker, and pop-up toaster were warmly received by housewives throughout the country.
Although the name was not officially changed to Sunbeam Corporation until 1946, Stewart and Clark adopted the name Sunbeam and started using it in their advertising campaigns in 1910. The next fourteen years were times of growth and innovation, as the United States’ economy was stable and businesses were booming. Sunbeam acquired a rival appliance maker, the John Oster Manufacturing Company in 1960. That acquisition helped make Sunbeam the leading manufacturer of electric appliances.
The 1980s were a time of high inflation and interest rates, recovery from the Vietnam conflict, and corporate acquisitions, mergers, closings, and restructurings, with companies doing whatever they could to continue to operate profitably. In 1981, Sunbeam was acquired by Allegheny International, an industry conglomerate. Allegheny kept the Sunbeam name and added John Zink (air-pollution control devices) and Hanson Scale (bathroom scales) to the Sunbeam product line. In 1988, sales of other divisions of Allegheny International declined, and, coupled with the changing times of the 1980s, the company was forced into bankruptcy.
Investors Michael Price, Michael Steinhardt, and Paul Kazarian bought the Sunbeam division from Allegheny International’s creditors in 1990. They renamed it the Sunbeam-Oster Company. Two years later, they took Sunbeam-Oster public. Kazarian was forced out of the company a year later, and Sunbeam-Oster relocated to Florida. It also purchased the consumer products unit of DeVilbiss Health Care and, a year later, bought Rubbermaid’s outdoor furniture business. In 1995, the company changed its name back to Sunbeam Corporation.