Russell Hobbs, Inc. (formerly Salton, Inc.) is a United States company based in Florida that manufactures home appliances, most notably the George Foreman grill and Russell Hobbs appliances. It is owned by Spectrum Brands.
Its headquarters is in Miramar, Florida. The company was founded in 1947 by Lou Salton, a Jewish immigrant from Poland.
In 2001, General Time Corporation, parent company of Westclox, a clock manufacturer, went bankrupt, and sold the Westclox trademarks to Salton.
Also in 2001, Salton bought the UK housewares and personal care company Pifco Group which included the brands of Russell Hobbs, Carmen and Tower. [1]
Salton was licensed to make small appliances such as vacuum cleaners under the Westinghouse name, from 2002 to 2008.[2]
On 6 August 2007, Salton was suspended from the NYSE. [3] It was subsequently listed on the OTC Bulletin Board, changing its symbol from SFP to SFPI.
In October 2007, Salton sold its entire time products business, including the Westclox and Ingraham trademarks, to NYL Holdings LLC.[4]
In December 2007, Salton merged with another small household appliance business, Applica Incorporated, which owned the LitterMaid brand and a license to the Black and Decker brand for home appliances. Applica then became a wholly owned subsidiary of Salton, Inc. In December 2009, the combined company (Salton, Inc.) changed its name to Russell Hobbs, Inc. [5] A company with the name Salton (1985), aka Salton Canada, continues as an independent entity in Canada as an importer (from China) of small appliances. The connection with the original US company is not clear. The web domain www.salton.com is owned by the Canada-based company and information is on their web site. Most of their products are sold at Canadian Tire and are frequently on sale.
Spectrum Brands bought Russell Hobbs in 2010, all its products are manufactured in China[6].