Dirt Devil is a brand name originally introduced (or debuted) in 1981 by the Royal Appliance Manufacturing Co, an American vacuum cleaner and floor care company. The company and the brand are now owned by TTI Floor Care North America, a subsidiary of Hong Kong–based Techtronic Industries, who also own Oreck, Vax, and Hoover North America.[1]
Royal Appliance Manufacturing Company
Advertisement for P.A.Geier Ltd Royal Electric Cleaner, from Woman's Home Companion, 1919
The origins of the Dirt Devil brand can be traced back to a company founded in 1905 as the Royal Appliance Manufacturing Company, selling the 'Royal Sweeper' from premises on Cochran Road in Solon, Ohio. At about the same time Philip Geier started the as "P. A. Geier Co" also in Cleveland, Ohio, and around 1910 when they started building vacuum cleaners he bought the rights to the Royal name. Their first hand-held vacuum cleaner the "Royal Prince" (Model 157) was introduced in 1937, and by 1953 the company was renamed the "Royal Appliance Manufacturing Co", producing vacuum cleaners, mixers, hair dryers, and washing machines. [2]
In 1984 Royal introduced the Dirt Devil Hand Vac, to compete as a lower-cost, mass-market alternative to the existing Royal Prince line of all-metal hand vacuums, as well to compete with the Black & Decker DustBuster. Originally bearing the name "Royal Dirt Devil", the company chose to make Dirt Devil the primary brand name, and as such the Dirt Devil line eventually evolved to include more models, including upright vacuum cleaners, most bearing distinctive red plastic cases.[3][4]
Dirt Devil products, adapted for UK mains voltage (240v AC), can still be found in limited quantities in some online marketplaces, and second-hand shops, but the Dirt Devil UK website currently (April 2024) offers no actual products for sale, no office telephone number, and displays an address now occupied by an unrelated company (Screwfix Ltd).[6] Dirt Devil UK was part of Pulse Home Products Ltd, registered as commission agents involved in the sale of furniture, household goods, hardware and ironmongery in the UK and Ireland. Pulse Home Products Ltd entered the voluntary liquidation process on 1 August 2023, and is scheduled for dissolution on 2 June 2024.[7]
