Steam Irons - Which Brand?
There are dozens of steam irons and steam generator irons available from a wide range of different companies. Unlike some other sectors of electronics manufacturing, many of the companies are British or European rather than Japanese. Here is a short who's who of the main players in the small home appliance market.
Morphy Richards
As you might expect, the name derives from the two founders, Donal Morphy and Charles Richards who formed the company in 1936. Their aim was to produce modern household appliances that were affordable to the average housewife. Their first product was a 2 kilowatt electric fire and their first iron was released a year later and retailed for 15 shillings less than the average iron. In 1985 it became part of the Glen Dimplex group who still own it today.
Russell Hobbs
Formed in 1952 by two former Morphy Richards employees, Bill Russell and Peter Hobbs who continued the Morphy tradition of naming a company after it's founders. They created clever and innovative designs; their launch product was the world's first automatic coffee percolator, closely followed by the first automatic electric kettle. The company has had a more chequered history than Morphy, having gone through several ownerships and mergers, and is now owned by Salton who are based in the USA.
Bosch
This large German based group was founded in 1886 by Robert Bosch manufacturing components for the motor industry - this still forms 60% of their business today. The UK office was established just 12 years after the company was formed and was their first overseas office. They offer many consumer products including power tools, lawnmowers and of course white goods and other small appliances. Bosch is unusual in that it is still a private company despite its size, and is 92% owned by a charitable foundation that ensures some of the profits are devoted to humanitarian causes.
Tefal
Tefal is a French cookware and small appliance manufacturer and its name is a corruption of the words TEFlon and ALuminium. Tefal is known for creating non-stick cookware. It was founded in 1954 but it wasn't until the 1970's that they diversified away from cookware. In 1981 they launched the world's first iron with an electronic thermostat and in 1990 the first iron with built-in anti-scale protection.
Breville
More name mix-ups here when Bill O'Brien and Harry Norville formed the Breville company in Australia in 1932, originally to make radios. As a result of setting up the Breville Research and Development centre, they launched many innovative food appliances such as food processors and sandwich toasters. They are still a big name in food preparation products but also design and manufacture kettles, toasters and irons.
Philips
Philips is a multinational Dutch electronics corporation and is one of the largest electronics companies in the world. It was founded in 1891 and originally produced light bulbs. In 1939 they launched the Philishave electric razor. They have designed many innovative products over the years particularly home electronics including the audio cassette, CD (with Sony) and the DVD.
Rowenta
Another German brand, founded in 1884 just ahead of Bosch, the company originally specialised in producing writing implements, toiletries and smoker's accessories. It wasn't until the 1920's that they brought out a range of household electrical goods that they are more famous for today. Rowenta is highly regarded as a quality brand and its prices tend to reflect that.
Steam Irons
