This article needs additional citations for verification .(November 2008) |
Type | Brand of Pacific Market International, LLC |
---|---|
Founded | 1908 |
Headquarters | Seattle, Washington |
Key people | Victor S. Johnson, Sr. Victor S. Johnson, Jr. |
Website | https://aladdin-sustain.com/ http://www.hattersleyaladdin.co.uk/ |
Aladdin is a brand notable for its line of character lunchboxes including Hopalong Cassidy, Superman, Mickey Mouse and The Jetsons. Today, Aladdin continues to be a food and beverage products brand and is owned by Pacific Market International, LLC of Seattle, Washington and Aladdin continues to be a kerosene lamps and wicks products brand and is owned by Hattersley Aladdin Ltd of the United Kingdom.
Aladdin Industries was a vendor of lunchboxes, kerosene lamps, stoves and thermal food storage containers. It was founded in Chicago in 1908 by Victor Samuel Johnson, Sr. and incorporated as the Mantle Lamp Company. Aladdin Industries was created as a subsidiary of Mantle Lamp Company in 1914, specifically to manufacture vacuum bottles. The company was further diversified under former president Johnson's leadership. It was the maker of the first character lunchbox, using images of Hopalong Cassidy, in 1950. [1]
In 1908, Johnson Sr., a Chicago soap salesman, became interested in kerosene mantle burners. Dissatisfied with the available kerosene lamps of the time, Johnson began selling U.S.-made mantle lamps. He incorporated his lamp sales business and called the company the Mantle Lamp Company of America. In 1912, the company began manufacturing mantle lamps that gave off a steady white light without smoke. They called these lamps Aladdin lamps after the magical lamp and wish-granting genie in the children's story.
In 1917, Johnson Sr. diversified the company's offerings and began producing insulated cooking dishes, known at the time as Aladdin Thermalware jars. These Thermalware jars were the company's first venture into heat and cold retaining dishes and are early cousins of the products in use today. In 1919, Johnson moved these jars into a new subsidiary he called Aladdin Industries. This subsidiary offered thermalware jars and vacuum ware and successfully sold and manufactured these products from 1919-1943.
In 1943, Johnson Sr. died and his son Victor S. Johnson, Jr. took over as president of Aladdin Industries, Inc. In 1949, in an effort to centralize operations, Johnson Jr. moved Aladdin's offices and manufacturing facilities to Nashville, TN.
Under Johnson Jr.'s management, Aladdin began producing metal lunch boxes in the 1940s. By the 1950s Aladdin was an industry leader in this category and would remain so for the next 30 years. Aladdin's dominance in lunch products resulted from a strategic move in the early 50s to license popular character images on its products. Hopalong Cassidy was the first character licensed product and in its first year, sales went from 50,000 units to 600,000 units. Subsequent branding included Superman, Mickey Mouse and The Jetsons.
In 1965 Aladdin Industries expanded their product line through the acquisition of the Stanley Bottle operation. This move helped solidify the company's position in the food and beverage container category by deepening their line of steel offerings.
In 1968, Aladdin introduced the insulated thermal tray, which revolutionized meal distribution for airlines, and then hospitals and other mass-feeding institutions which could, at last, keep hot foods hot and cold foods cold for long periods of time. Aladdin Industries incorporated Aladdin Synergetics as a new division for healthcare foodservice products. In 1998, this subsidiary was sold to Welbilt Corporation and was renamed Aladdin Temp-Rite. In 2002, Aladdin Temp-Rite was acquired by the Ali Group.
During the 1980s and 1990s Aladdin continued to grow and by the mid 1990s its Nashville operation grew to employ 1100 employees. At this time, foam insulated mugs grew in popularity and Aladdin's products were sold in grocery chains nationwide. Aladdin opened their Nashville factory on Murfreesboro Road, producing its first thermal products in July 2002.
Seattle-based company Pacific Market International, LLC purchased the Aladdin brand in 2002.
The Aladdin brand is now owned by the privately held Pacific Market International (PMI), and is headquartered in Seattle, Washington, with offices in Europe, Asia and Australia. As of 2009, PMI sell vacuum flasks and other thermal products manufactured under the Aladdin name.
The protagonist in Penelope Fitzgerald's Booker prize shortlisted novel The Gate of Angels , set in 1912, uses one of the company's lamps (an "Aladdin") in the fictional college of St Angelicus, where the use of electricity or gas is not permitted. [2]
A vacuum flask is an insulating storage vessel that greatly lengthens the time over which its contents remain hotter or cooler than the flask's surroundings. Invented by Sir James Dewar in 1892, the vacuum flask consists of two flasks, placed one within the other and joined at the neck. The gap between the two flasks is partially evacuated of air, creating a near-vacuum which significantly reduces heat transfer by conduction or convection. When used to hold cold liquids, this also virtually eliminates condensation on the outside of the flask.
A kerosene lamp is a type of lighting device that uses kerosene as a fuel. Kerosene lamps have a wick or mantle as light source, protected by a glass chimney or globe; lamps may be used on a table, or hand-held lanterns may be used for portable lighting. Like oil lamps, they are useful for lighting without electricity, such as in regions without rural electrification, in electrified areas during power outages, at campsites, and on boats. There are three types of kerosene lamp: flat-wick, central-draft, and mantle lamp. Kerosene lanterns meant for portable use have a flat wick and are made in dead-flame, hot-blast, and cold-blast variants.
An incandescent gas mantle, gas mantle or Welsbach mantle is a device for generating incandescent bright white light when heated by a flame. The name refers to its original heat source in gas lights which illuminated the streets of Europe and North America in the late 19th century. Mantle refers to the way it hangs like a cloak above the flame. Gas mantles were also used in portable camping lanterns, pressure lanterns and some oil lamps.
A lunch box refers to a hand-held container used to transport food, usually to work or to school. It is commonly made of metal or plastic, is reasonably airtight and often has a handle for carrying.
Hopalong Cassidy is a fictional cowboy hero created in 1904 by the author Clarence E. Mulford, who wrote a series of short stories and novels based on the character. Mulford portrayed the character as rude, dangerous, and rough-talking. He was shot in the leg during a gun fight which caused him to walk with a little "hop", hence the nickname.
The Coleman Company, Inc. is an USA brand of outdoor recreation products, especially camping gear, now owned by Newell Brands. The company's new headquarters are in Chicago, and it has facilities in Wichita, Kansas, and in Texas. There are approximately 4,000 employees. Some of the products manufactured are portable stoves, lanterns, coolers, sleeping bags, camp chairs, and shelters.
A Mason jar, also known as a canning jar or fruit jar, is a glass jar used in home canning to preserve food. It was named after American tinsmith John Landis Mason, who patented it in 1858. The jar's mouth has a screw thread on its outer perimeter to accept a metal ring or "band". The band, when screwed down, presses a separate stamped steel disc-shaped lid against the jar's rim.
Aladdin is a folk tale of Middle Eastern origin.
Hella KGaA Hueck & Co. is an internationally operating German automotive part supplier with headquarters in Lippstadt, North Rhine-Westphalia. The company develops and manufactures lighting, electronic components, and systems for the automotive industry. It also has one of the largest trade organizations for automotive parts, accessories, diagnosis, and services within Europe.
Victor Samuel Johnson Jr. was an American lawyer who was president of Aladdin Industries, a manufacturer of vacuum bottles, kerosene lamps, and stoves. He was notable for creating the market for decorative lunch boxes. The company was further diversified under Johnson's leadership. He was a businessman in Nashville, Tennessee.
Victor Samuel Johnson Sr. was an American businessman who founded Aladdin Industries, best known as manufacturers of kerosene mantle lamps.
The Tilley lamp is a kerosene pressure lamp.
Tiger Corporation is a Japanese manufacturer that applies vacuum insulation and heat control technology to consumer electronic appliances. Their headquarters are located in Kadoma City in Osaka, Japan. The company manufacturers and sells appliances such as household and commercial vacuum insulated containers and stainless-steel bottles, along with cooking appliances such as rice cookers. The company also manufacturers industrial parts and products used in automobiles, homes, air conditioners, space, and medical care in 60 countries around the world.
Vapalux is a brand name for paraffin pressure lamps and lanterns developed and manufactured by Willis & Bates in Halifax, England, part of the United Kingdom.
Insulated shipping containers are a type of packaging used to ship temperature sensitive products such as foods, pharmaceuticals, organs, blood, biologic materials, vaccines and chemicals. They are used as part of a cold chain to help maintain product freshness and efficacy. The term can also refer to insulated intermodal containers or insulated swap bodies.
A koozie (US) or stubby holder (Australian) is a fabric or foam sleeve that is designed to thermally insulate a beverage container, like a can or bottle.
Stanley is an American brand of food and beverage containers invented by William Stanley Jr.
A thermal bag is a type of thermally insulated shipping container in the form of a bag which can be carried, usually made of thermally insulating materials and sometimes a refrigerant gel. It is used to help maintain the temperature of its contents, keeping cold items cold, and hot items hot.
Thermos LLC is a manufacturer of insulated food and beverage containers and other consumer products. The original company was founded in Germany in 1904.
Hopalong Cassidy is an American Western TV series that ran from 1949 to 1952 on NBC, starring William Boyd as Hopalong Cassidy, a fictional gunslinger who had been created by writer Clarence E. Mulford. It was the first Western television series. The series began as simply broadcasts of edited versions of previous Hopalong Cassidy films, all of which had starred Boyd. Eventually, the series transitioned to original episodes, with a new cast of characters and actors, notably Edgar Buchanan as Hopalong's sidekick Red Connors. The show was created and produced by Boyd.