Addis Housewares

Last updated
Large black plastic Addis pedal bin Large black pedal bin.jpg
Large black plastic Addis pedal bin

Addis Housewares (also known as Addis or Addis Brush Company) is a British supplier and manufacturer of domestic and commercial products. [1] Originally founded in 1780, [2] the company was owned by the Addis family, to whom the first modern toothbrush is credited. [3]

Contents

The now international independently owned company, based in Bridgend in the United Kingdom, has a 240-year history of designing, manufacturing and supplying housewares. The Addis brand has manufacturing facilities in the United Kingdom, Germany, and the Far East. Its products are sold in many large British homeware stores.

The company is a subsidiary of EMSA, a German consumer goods company. [4]

History

Addis Housewares was originally created in 1780 by William Addis I (1734-1808), a stationer and rag merchant, who produced the first modern toothbrush and went on to export high-quality English brushes. [3] William Addis II (1787-1873) grew the family business (Addis and Sons) and by 1840 had 60 staff working for the company. [5] William Addis III took over in the 1860s, further expanding the business with the use of machinery. William III had seven sons who went into the business - three of which (William Addis IV, Robert Addis I, and Charles Addis) became partners in the firm. In 1893 the partnership was dissolved with Robert Addis I (1850-1918) separating to form his own brushmaking business. Following the death of William IV, in 1900, Robert I purchased his brother's business with the agreement of William IV's widow, merging the two entities to form one Addis company. [5] Following the death of Robert Addis I in 1918, his son, Robert Addis II, took over the business.

In 1920 the Addis family moved to Hertford, taking over a factory on Ware Road, which they retained until 1996. [6] By 1940, the company had invested in modernised technology and moved into plastic moulding manufacturing, [7] including the development of the first bristle-style artificial Christmas trees. [8] [9] [10] By the end of World War II, Addis had launched Wisdom Toothbrushes and entity that became Britain's leading toothbrush manufacturer, [7] and expanded their brush range into Addis Housewares which included the production of items such as bowls, buckets, and washing-up brushes. Due to the brand's popularity and rising demand, they purchased an additional manufacturing premises in Swansea in the 1960s.

On the anniversary of its bicentenary, the company celebrated by publishing a 55-page historical biography. The book however was not shared for public retail. [11]

In 1996 Wisdom Toothbrushes was sold to a management buy-out team composed of its pre-existing chief executive, Brian McMullen (with the controlling 51% stake), Mike Rudge (manufacturing director), Janice Collins (marketing director), Julian Edge-Partington (financial director) and 3i (a venture capital group). [7] Earlier in the same year, Addis Housewares also experienced a management buy-out, led by Chris Papadopoulos, worth £20 million. [7] [12] [13]

In 1999 Addis Housewares was taken over by Emsa, the German housewares company, for an undisclosed sum. The purchase was backed by CINVen, the same venture capital fund that backed the 1996 management buy-out. [13]

Directors

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Toothbrush</span> Oral hygiene tool

A toothbrush is an oral hygiene tool used to clean the teeth, gums, and tongue. It consists of a head of tightly clustered bristles, atop of which toothpaste can be applied, mounted on a handle which facilitates the cleaning of hard-to-reach areas of the mouth. They should be used in conjunction with something to clean between the teeth where the bristles of the toothbrush cannot reach - for example floss, tape or interdental brushes.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bed Bath & Beyond Inc.</span> American retail company

Bed Bath & Beyond Inc. was an American big-box retail chain specializing in housewares, furniture, and specialty items. Headquartered in Union, New Jersey, the chain operated stores in the United States and Canada, and was once counted among the Fortune 500 and the Forbes Global 2000. The chain filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in April 2023 and liquidated all of its remaining stores, with the last closing on July 30, 2023.

du Pont family Wealthy American family

The du Pont family or Du Pont family is a prominent American family descended from Pierre Samuel du Pont de Nemours (1739–1817). It has been one of the richest families in the United States since the mid-19th century, when it founded its fortune in the gunpowder business. In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, it expanded its wealth through the chemical industry and the automotive industry, with substantial interests in the DuPont company, General Motors, and various other corporations.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rubbermaid</span> American manufacturer and distributor of household items

Rubbermaid is an American manufacturer and distributor of household items. A subsidiary of Newell Brands, it is best known for producing food storage containers and trash cans. It also produces sheds, step stools, closets and shelving, laundry baskets, bins, air fresheners and other household items.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Toilet brush</span> Tool for cleaning a toilet bowl

A toilet brush is a tool for cleaning a toilet bowl.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tooth brushing</span> Act of scrubbing teeth with a toothbrush

Tooth brushing is the act of scrubbing teeth with a toothbrush, usually equipped with toothpaste. Interdental cleaning can be useful with tooth brushing, and together these two activities are the primary means of cleaning teeth, one of the main aspects of oral hygiene.The recommended amount of time for tooth brushing is two minutes.

Robert Dyas is a UK hardware retailer founded in London in 1872. It sells a range of housewares, small electrical appliances, gardening products, kitchenwares, DIY, and consumer electronics throughout 93 shops, mainly in Greater London and South East England, as well as online.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Artificial Christmas tree</span> Artificial pine or fir tree manufactured for the specific purpose of use as a Christmas tree

An artificial Christmas tree is an artificial pine or fir tree manufactured for the specific purpose of use as a Christmas tree. The earliest artificial Christmas trees were wooden, tree-shaped pyramids or feather trees, both developed by Germans. Most modern trees are made of polyvinyl chloride (PVC) but many other types of trees have been and are available, including aluminum Christmas trees and fiber-optic illuminated Christmas trees.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hertingfordbury</span> Village in Hertfordshire, England

Hertingfordbury is a small village in Hertfordshire, England, close to the county town of Hertford. It was mentioned in the Domesday Book. Hertingfordbury is also the name of a neighbouring civil parish, which does not contain the village. Hertingfordbury Village is located within the Castle ward of local government Hertford Town Council. The population of the civil parish as of the 2021 census was 689.

Pro-Phy-Lac-Tic Brush Company was a health care business established in 1866 in Florence, Massachusetts.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Teeth-cleaning twig</span> Plant branch chewed for oral hygiene

A teeth-cleaning twig is an oral hygiene tool made from a twig from a tree. It can help to prevent tooth decay and gum disease.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Salter Housewares</span>

Salter is a British housewares brand. Established in 1760, Salter has been developing precision products for over 260 years. Salter develops and sells products that span a wide range of core product categories, including scales, electricals, cookware and countertop. It is a market leader in kitchen and bathroom scales and one of the UK’s oldest consumer brands. It was acquired by Manchester-based consumer goods giant Ultimate Products in 2021, after they had previously licensed the brand for cookware and kitchen electrical goods since 2011.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Oral-B</span> American brand of oral hygiene products

Oral-B is an American brand of oral hygiene products, including toothpastes, toothbrushes, electric toothbrushes, and mouthwashes. The brand has been in business since the invention of the Hutson toothbrush in 1950 and in Redwood City, California.

Jacob Bromwell is a privately held American designer, manufacturer, marketer and distributor of flasks, kitchenware and housewares. Founded in 1819, it is the oldest housewares company in the United States. The company manufactures several historically significant products including the Original Popcorn Popper, Classic Tin Cup, and Legendary Flour Sifter. The Original Popcorn Popper is one of the company's oldest and best-selling items, and has been made with the original equipment and dies since the late 1800s, when the company acquired the patent from William Wood, its inventor. They were originally sold at a wholesale price of $3.50 for a gross. The Legendary Flour Sifter was patented in 1930 by a descendant of Jacob Bromwell's, Thomas G. Melish.

William Addis (1734–1808) was an English entrepreneur believed to have produced the first mass-produced toothbrush in 1780.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sunstar Group</span> Japanese global manufacturing company

Sunstar is a Japanese global oral care, health and beauty, chemicals, and motorcycle parts conglomerate with international affiliates. The corporation has two main wings, healthcare and engineering. The current CEO is Hiroo Kaneda. Its main businesses are the development, manufacturing and sale of oral care products as well as of chemical formulations for industrial applications and motorcycle parts. In recent years it has been expanding into the area of Cosmetics and Health Food.

Reach is an American brand of oral hygiene products, including toothbrushes, dental floss, and mouthwash. The brand originated from Reach toothbrushes developed by DuPont in 1976.

A toothbrush sanitizer is a device used to disinfect the tooth brush by applying short-wavelength ultraviolet (UV-C) light to kill or inactivate microorganisms. Studies in dental journals demonstrate that UV sanitizers effectively kill bacteria and microorganisms, but other forms of sanitizing, using common household products, were found to be equally or more successful at eliminating microorganisms from toothbrushes.

The TRISA Group is a Swiss consumer products company, focused on producing personal hygiene products like oral care, hair care and body care. It was founded in 1887 by six citizens of the municipality of Triengen, in the district of Sursee within the Swiss canton of Lucerne. Trisa employs approximately 1,150 people and generated sales of 232.1 million Swiss francs in 2015. It operates in 80 markets around the world and the company is owned by the fourth generation of Pfenniger family, Andrian Pfenniger and Phillip Pfenniger.

References

  1. "Addis Housewares Ltd - Company Profile and News". Bloomberg.com. Retrieved 2023-08-19.
  2. Kay, Emma (2014). Dining with the Georgians. Amberley Publishing. ISBN   9781445636566.
  3. 1 2 "Toothpaste & Toothbrushes | Encyclopedia.com". www.encyclopedia.com. Retrieved 2023-08-19.
  4. "Addis Housewares Ltd, Waterton Industrial Estate". Cylex. Retrieved 19 August 2023.
  5. 1 2 Lockdown Lunchtime #3 Addis Brushworks , retrieved 2023-08-19
  6. "Addis Archive". Hertford Museum. Retrieved 2023-08-19.
  7. 1 2 3 4 "Addis family finally sees the Wisdom of selling out". The Independent. 1996-06-02. Retrieved 2023-08-19.
  8. Savage, Joanne (7 December 2022). "A potted history of the Christmas tree in Britain: The tradition of lighting and decorating a Christmas tree began with Queen Charlotte in 1800". The Newsletter.
  9. Adams, Kathy (2019-12-14). "The Not-So-Glorious History of the Artificial Christmas Tree". Medium. Retrieved 2023-08-19.
  10. "Artificial Christmas tree, made by the Addis Brush Co., 1930s". digitalcollections.lib.washington.edu. Retrieved 2023-08-19.
  11. Kransdorff, Arnold (2006). Corporate DNA: Using Organizational Memory to Improve Poor Decision-making. Gower. p. 157. ISBN   9781445636566.
  12. Petty, C (1996). "Management buys Addis for 20m pounds". Housewares. 126 (2).
  13. 1 2 "Emsa deal secures future for Addis". Housewares. 149 (5). 1999.
  14. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "ADDIS HOUSEWARES LIMITED people - Find and update company information - GOV.UK". find-and-update.company-information.service.gov.uk. Retrieved 2023-08-19.