Delta Faucet Company is an American manufacturer of faucets. It is a subsidiary of Masco Corporation. It manufactures and markets faucets under the Delta, Brizo and Peerless brand names.
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Delta Faucet Company was originally owned by Masco Screw Corporation, which was founded in Detroit in 1929 by Armenian immigrant Alex Manoogian. In 1952, an eager inventor brought Manoogian his latest invention, a one-handled faucet that mixed both hot and cold water with a ball-valve. Unfortunately it leaked, but Manoogian saw potential. He therefore bought the faucet and its rights, improved it, and released it. The faucet remains successful, although other companies soon designed other single-handle faucets that didn't infringe Delta's patents. Some people preferred the internal design of the Delta faucets, even though they had to adjust them periodically. Hardware stores still stock internal parts for these faucets, both the 1952 and the 1962 design, although they don't all carry the complete faucets.
The brand name Delta came about because the operating motion of the handle resembled the Greek letter of the same name.
The company was started in 1954 as a Masco subsidiary in the Detroit, Michigan region. In 1958, the company opened a manufacturing facility in Greensburg, Indiana. In 1976, another facility in Chickasha, Oklahoma was opened (The Chickasha facility closed in 2006), followed by Jackson, Tennessee in 1995. The company operates three more manufacturing facilities outside the United States, two in Ontario, Canada and one in Panyu, China. Delta Faucet Company is headquartered in Indianapolis, Indiana.