Dyson
Dyson Ltd is a British technology company that designs and manufactures vacuum cleaners, hand dryers, bladeless fans, and heaters. It sells machines in over 70 countries and employs more than 5,000 people worldwide.
Founded by James Dyson
1968 Jeremy Fry set up Rotork Marine to make and sell the Sea Truck, developed with James Dyson; Dyson was put in charge of the new venture.
Subsequently Fry and Dyson set up Prototypes Ltd to develop new products and produce working prototypes which would then be manufactured elsewhere: joint projects included the Squirrel, an outdoor wheelchair with four-wheel drive and power steering, manufactured in collaboration with Lord Snowdon, which was never a commercial success, and a bagless vacuum cleaner, the Cyclon.
Later Dyson bought Fry out of Prototypes Ltd and set up his own company, the Air Power Vacuum Cleaner Co which very successfully developed the upright dual cyclone vacuum cleaner.
The name of the company was changed to Dyson Ltd
1974 Dyson developed a prototype of a fibreglass barrow with a ball instead of a wheel.
1979-84 Dyson developed 5,127 prototype designs of the prototype vacuum cleaner
1983 a Japanese company, Apex, licensed Dyson's design and built the G-Force, which appeared on the front cover of Design Magazine the same year.
1993 Opened a research centre and factory in Malmesbury, Wiltshire
2002 The company transferred vacuum cleaner production to Malaysia.
2002 Set up the Foundation to support design and engineering education
2006 Launched the Airblade, a fast hand dryer that uses a thin sheet of moving air as a squeegee to remove water, rather than attempting to evaporate it with heat.
Launched the Air Multiplier, a fan without external blades.
2016 Launched the Supersonic, a hair dryer with a smaller motor located in the handle to provide better balance, smaller size and quieter operation.
2016 Announced a second new multi million-pound research and development centre on a 517-acre former Ministry of Defence (MoD) site at Hullavington, Wiltshire.
See Also
Sources of Information
- Wikipedia
- Biography of Jeremy Fry, ODNB