Sunbeam Products

Sunbeam Products is an American brand that has produced electric home appliances since 1910. Their products have included the Mixmaster mixer, the Sunbeam CG waffle iron, Coffeemaster (1938–1964) [http://coffeekid.com/coffee/vacpots/vacpotheyday] and the long-lived fully-automatic T20 toaster with no levers to push (see photo attesting to its legendary longevity) [http://www.sportsshooter.com/brianhill/two/pages/5.html] .

Sunbeam bought out the Rain King Sprinkler Company and produced one of the most popular sprinkler lines of the 1950s and 1960s. Meanwhile, Sunbeam continued to expand outside of Chicago. By the end of the 1970s, as the leading American manufacturer of small appliances, Sunbeam enjoyed about $1.3 billion in annual sales and employed nearly 30,000 people worldwide. In 1981, after Sunbeam was bought by Allegheny International Inc. of Pittsburgh, its Chicago-area factories were closed and the headquarters moved from the Chicago region.

Sunbeam went into decline through the 1990s and Albert J. Dunlap was recruited to turn the company around in 1996. In 1996 and 1997, Sunbeam reported massive increases in sales for its various backyard and kitchen items, but the sudden surge in demand for barbecues didn't hold up under scrutiny. The SEC said $60 million of Sunbeam's $189 million was the result of fraudulent accounting. The SEC suit also named a partner, Phillip Harlow, at Sunbeam's accounting firm, Arthur Andersen. Dunlap was fired, and under CEO Jerry W. Levin the company filed for bankruptcy protection in 2001. The next year it emerged as a private company under the name American Household, Inc. (AHI). Its former household products division became the subsidiary Sunbeam Products, Inc. [http://www.jardencs.com/history.aspx]

AHI was purchased in September 2004 by the Jarden Corporation, of which it is now a subsidiary [http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/04_48/b3910099.htm] .

External links

* [http://www.sunbeam.com Sunbeam Brand Appliances]
* [http://www.sunbeam.com.au Sunbeam Australia]
* [http://www.jardencs.com/ Jarden Consumer Solutions]
* [http://www.householdappliance.com/sunbeam.html Sunbeam Factory Authorized Parts]