The history of the Dirt Devil vacuum does not begin with the Dirt Devil brand name. The Dirt Devil history alone is fascinating, as the hard work of one entrepreneur working out of his own garage built what has become one of the most popular brands of vacuum cleaners today. The Dirt Devil Company was built on dreams and is now a house hold name, a brand recognized in 80% of all households, though little is known about the true history of the brand.
Back in 1905, the P.A. Geier Company started creating vacuum cleaners and they called them Royal vacuum cleaners. It was the company’s founder, Mr. Geier, who made metal vacuum cleaners by hand in his back yard. He started out building the machines in a garage in the back yard and soon the company grew enough to move his small one man factory into a four story building. It did not take long for Royal vacuum cleaners to become a popular household item.
Vacuum cleaners were not the only products produced by Mr. Geier. The Royal appliance company also made other household appliances like hair dryers and washing machines. The Royal brand became popular over the years. The vacuum cleaners always were the highlighted and most popular product. The company was actually the first to bring the hand held vacuum cleaner to the public. It was called the Royal Prince and it first became available in 1937.
During World War II, the entire country change. The United States companies transformed to create products for the military and the Geier Company was no different. This, however, did not stop the shipment of Royal vacuum cleaners. Up until the company was bought out in 1953, the Geier Company continued to rise. When the Walter E. Schott Organization bought it, they renamed the company. It was then called Royal Appliance Manufacturing.
Not long after it was purchased, the Scott Organization decided they did not have any faith in the company, so it was let go soon after they bought it. Strangely enough, the company was bought by its own employees. Stan Erbor headed the group to make the purchase in 1954.
It wasn’t until the 1980’s when a group of investors purchased the company. In nineteen years, the profits grew from five million to $408 million, and that is impressive growth. It was 1984 when the company released a new line of hand vacuums and called them Dirt Devils. The name stuck and the company has since developed the brand to cover a number of vacuum cleaner products.
The vacuum cleaner product line now includes the hand vacuums, carpet shampooers, the upright vacuum cleaner, canister vacuums and the stick vacuums. Most of the Dirt Devil products are sold through major retailers and with online vacuum cleaner retail websites online.
The Dirt Devil vacuum cleaner line did not grow to the multimillion dollar company for being mediocre. They have a top of the line set of products that are reasonably priced and are of value to any home.
