Ewbank

Ewbank Products Ltd.
Industry Technology
Founded 1864
Headquarters Godalming, Surrey, England, UK
Key people
 Julian Baseley
(MD)
Products Vacuum cleaners,
Sweepers,
Steamers, Polishers, Consumables
Website www.ewbank.co.uk

Ewbank is a brand of mechanical carpet sweepers sold in the United Kingdom since the 19th century. Originally owned by Entwisle and Kenyon Ltd, it is now owned by Earlex Ltd.

History

Founded in Accrington, Lancashire, the company has its origins in a 1864 company founded by John Ramsbottom and George Hacking, which made water meters.[1] They were joined by John Haworth, James Entwisle, and James Kenyon, and when the founders retired the company was renamed Entwisle and Kenyon Limited.[1]

Entwisle & Kenyon started making washing machines around 1875, and also manufactured mangles.[2] While one of the company's representatives, Richard Walter Kenyon, was in the United States in 1882 to source wooden blocks for mangles, he visited a carpet sweeper factory in Chicago, and saw the potential for the product, which was already popular in the US, in the UK.[2] Kenyon designed the first Ewbank branded carpet sweeper, which went on sale in 1889.[2] It became the most popular product of its type in Britain, where carpet sweeping became known as "ewbanking".[2] The 'Ewbank' name came from the Ewbank area of Blackburn where the factory was located.[3]

Sweepers were produced in several models including 'Standard', 'Parlour Queen', and even miniature versions for children.[2]

Ewbank became a major manufacturer of floor-care products after World War II, including carpet shampooers, selling both in the UK and via export internationally.[2][4] Originally using metal casing, the sweepers were made from Novodur in the mid-1970s.[5]

By the mid-1970s Ewbank was owned by Prestige.[5] In 2003, the company was purchased by Earlex Ltd.[2]

References

  1. 1 2 Crossley, Richard Shaw & Ainsworth, Richard (2013) Accrington Through The 19th Century, Robert Cunliffe, 978-1300775966, p. 110
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Gantz, Carroll (2012) The Vacuum Cleaner: A History, McFarland and Co Inc, ISBN 978-0786465521, p. 33
  3. ↑ "10 great inventions from East Lancashire", Lancashire Telegraph, 4 March 2014. Retrieved 19 July 2015
  4. ↑ "Entwisle and Kenyon Limited", Statist, Volume 179, p. 752, 1963
  5. 1 2 "Ewbank Sweeps the Field with Novodur", Engineering Materials and Design, Volume 19, p. 33

External links

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