![]() Rubbermaid’s current logo used since 2002. | |
Type | Subsidiary |
---|---|
Industry | Manufacturing |
Founded | May 1920 (as The Wooster Rubber Company) Wooster, Ohio, U.S. |
Headquarters | , U.S. |
Key people | James R. Caldwell |
Products | Consumer household goods |
Parent | Newell Brands |
Website | www |
Rubbermaid is an American manufacturer and distributor of household items. It is a subsidiary of Newell Brands. It is best known for producing food storage containers and trash cans. Additionally, it produces sheds, step stools, closets and shelving, laundry baskets, bins, air fresheners and other household items. [1] [2]
Rubbermaid was founded in 1920 [3] in Wooster, Ohio as the Wooster Rubber Company by nine businessmen. Originally, Wooster Rubber Company manufactured toy balloons. [4]
In 1933, James R. Caldwell and his wife received a patent for their blue rubber dustpan. They called their line of rubber kitchen products Rubbermaid. [5]
In 1934 Horatio Ebert saw Rubbermaid products at a New England department store, and believed such products could help his struggling Wooster Rubber. He engineered a merger of the two enterprises in July 1934. Still named the Wooster Company, the new group began to produce rubber household products under the Rubbermaid brand name.
In 1984, Rubbermaid acquired Little Tikes, a toy maker. In 1985, Rubbermaid acquired competitor Gott Corporation. [6] In 1996, Rubbermaid acquired Graco baby products. [7]
In 1999, Rubbermaid was purchased by Newell for $6 billion. Then Newell changed its name to Newell Rubbermaid. [8] Newell Rubbermaid changed its name again to the present-day Newell Brands in 2016 as part of a takeover of Jarden in another merger.
In 2003, the company announced its move out of Wooster to Atlanta, Georgia; 850 manufacturing and warehouse jobs would be eliminated, and 409 office jobs would move to other locations. A Rubbermaid distribution center remained at the former headquarters for some time, until it was recently purchased by GOJO Industries, Inc. [9]
On November 16, 2004, Rubbermaid was used as a prime example in the PBS Frontline documentary "Is Walmart Good for America?" [10]
Prior to Rubbermaid merging with Newell Company.
Paper Mate is a registered division of Sanford L.P., a Newell Brands company that produces writing instruments. Paper Mate's offices are located in Oak Brook, Illinois, along with those of Newell Rubbermaid's other office products divisions.
Sunbeam Products is an American brand that has produced electric home appliances since 1910. Its products have included the Mixmaster mixer, the Sunbeam CG waffle iron, Coffeemaster (1938–1964) and the fully automatic T20 toaster.
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.
Newell Brands is an American worldwide manufacturer, marketer and distributor of consumer and commercial products with a portfolio of brands including: Rubbermaid storage and trash containers, home organization and reusable container products, Contigo and Bubba water bottles, Coleman outdoor products, writing instruments, glue, children's products, First Alert alarm systems, Calphalon cookware and kitchen electrics, Sunbeam, Rival, Crock-Pot, Holmes, FoodSaver, Oster, Osterizer, and Mr. Coffee small kitchen appliances as well as Yankee Candle, Chesapeake Bay Candle, Millefiori Milano, and WoodWick home fragrance products.
The Yankee Candle Company is an American manufacturer and retailer of scented candles, candleholders, accessories, and dinnerware. Its products are sold by thousands of gift shops nationwide, through catalogs, and online, and in nearly 50 countries around the world. The company operates just over 260 small-box format stores, located in malls across 43 U.S. states and Ontario, and is the largest candle manufacturer in the United States. The company is headquartered in South Deerfield, Massachusetts.
Jarden was an American consumer products company. Formed by the spin out of Ball Corporation's canning business, the company became a wider conglomerate of consumer brands, particularly in the outdoors and home appliances market. Jarden was acquired in 2016 by Newell Rubbermaid, which renamed itself Newell Brands.
Rawlings Sporting Goods is an American sports equipment manufacturing company based in Town and Country, Missouri. Founded in 1887, Rawlings currently specializes in baseball clothing and equipment, producing gloves, bats, balls, protective gear, batting helmets, uniforms, bags. Footwear includes sneakers, and sandals. The company also sells other accessories such as belts, wallets, and sunglasses.
Graco is an American baby products company based in High Point, North Carolina. It is owned and operated by Newell Brands. Graco was founded in 1942 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, by Russell Gray and Robert Cone as Graco Metal Products, a company that fabricated machine and car parts. Rex Thomas watched his wife sitting on the porch, rocking their baby in a swing with a string tied to it, while she read a book. Rex went into work the next day and said "why don't we make an automatic baby swing." After 18 months of research and development, the Swyngomatic - the world's first wind-up, automatic baby swing was born in 1955, designed by company engineer Dave Saint. In 1987, the company pioneered the invention of the Pack N' Play Portable Playard, the world's first portable play yard.
ABU Garcia, originally AB Urfabriken, then ABU Svängsta, is a fishing reel and fishing equipment company founded in Sweden, and is now owned by Pure Fishing of the United States.
Elmer's Products, or simply Elmer's is an American-based company that has a line of adhesive, craft, home repair, and office supply products. It is best known as the manufacturer of Elmer's Glue-All, a popular PVA-based synthetic glue, in addition to other brands including Krazy Glue, ProBond adhesives, and X-Acto cutting tools.
Stanley Carleton Gault was an American businessman.
Jostens is an American manufacturer of memorabilia. The company is primarily known for its production of yearbooks and class rings for various high schools and colleges as well as championship rings for sports. Jostens also produced photobook products for Disney's PhotoPass photography service offered at Disney theme parks and resorts.
First Alert is the retail brand of American safety equipment manufacturer BRK Brands, Inc., established in 1976 and based in Aurora, Illinois, with a production plant in Juarez, Mexico. Products sold with the brand include carbon monoxide detectors, smoke alarms, fire extinguishers, and other safety products like flashlights and fire escape ladders. First Alert supports fire safety in partnership with Safe Kids USA and The United States Fire Administration, providing smoke alarms at reduced cost to low-income families in the United States.
LENOX Tools is an American brand of hand tools, power tool accessories, and industrial band saw blades. It largely produces saws, saw blades, utility knives, snips, and other cutting tools.
The Diamond Match Company has its roots in several nineteenth century companies. In the early 1850s, Edward Tatnall of Wilmington, Delaware was given an English recipe for making matches by a business acquaintance, William R. Smith. In 1853, Tatnall attempted to turn the recipe into a business at Market Street Bridge over Brandywine Creek in Wilmington. The first matches ignited with the slightest friction, a problem Tatnall solved by reducing the phosphorus content by 25 percent.
Little Tikes is an American-based manufacturer of children's toys, with headquarters and manufacturing located in Hudson, Ohio. The company also has other manufacturing and distribution facilities in Asia and Europe. Little Tikes' products are mostly low-tech molded plastic toys aimed primarily at infants and young children, for indoor and outdoor use, including its party kitchen and turtle sandbox.
The Rival Company is an American manufacturer of small appliances that produces products under the Bionaire, Crock-Pot, Fasco, Patton, Pollenex, Rival, Simer, and White Mountain brands. It became a wholly owned subsidiary of Holmes Products Corp. in 1999, and later became a brand of Sunbeam Products, a subsidiary of Jarden Corporation, which purchased Holmes in 2005. Jarden, in turn, merged with Newell Rubbermaid in 2016. It is now part of the Newell Brands company.
Rubbermaid Commercial Products, headquartered in Winchester, Virginia, is a manufacturer of commercial and institutional products. Since its founding in 1968, RCP has manufactured products in the categories of food services, sanitary maintenance, waste handling, material transport, away-from-home washroom, and safety products. RCP is part of Newell Brands.
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