Tappan is a brand of appliances, named after company founder W. J. Tappan. Tappan claimed several innovations: * 1930s all-

porcelain Porcelain () is a ceramic material made by heating substances, generally including materials such as kaolinite, in a kiln to temperatures between . The strength and translucence of porcelain, relative to other types of pottery, arises mainl ...

range available in various colors * 1955 the first compact (24")

microwave oven A microwave oven (commonly referred to as a microwave) is an electric oven that heats and cooks food by exposing it to electromagnetic radiation in the microwave frequency range. This induces polar molecules in the food to rotate and produce t ...

* 1960s electric ignition for gas ranges * 1965 single-unit conventional range and microwave oven

History

In 1881, Tappan appliances was founded by W.J. Tappan as the Ohio Valley Foundry Company in Bellaire, Ohio, initially selling cast-iron stoves door-to-door. In 1889, the company relocated to Mansfield, Ohio, and was renamed the Eclipse Stove Company, when Tappan's father, who was an amateur astronomer, suggested the name after traveling to Siberia to view a comet. However, due to the existence of another Eclipse Stove Company that was not affiliated with Tappan's company, the company was renamed the Tappan Stove Company in the 1920's. In 1950, Tappan acquired the Los Angeles-based O'Keefe & Merritt Stove Company and used the O'Keefe & Merritt name in the western

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

from then until the late 1980s. p. 127. In 1978, Carl Icahn in his first takeover attempt took a controlling stake in Tappan and forced the sale of the company to Electrolux In 1979, European-based AB Electrolux (which had purchased Eureka five years prior) purchased the Tappan Stove Company. Seven years later, AB Electrolux purchased

White Consolidated Industries The White Sewing Machine Company was a sewing machine company founded in 1858 in Templeton, Massachusetts, by Thomas H. White and based in Cleveland, Ohio, since 1866. History Founded as the White Manufacturing Company it took the White S ...

, which manufactured Frigidaire,

White-Westinghouse White-Westinghouse is an American home appliance brand currently used under license by trademark owner Westinghouse Licensing Corporation. It was created in 1975 when White Consolidated Industries bought the Westinghouse Electric Corporation's ma ...

Gibson Appliance Gibson was founded by Joshua Hall in Belding, Michigan, in 1877 as the Belding-Hall Company selling cabinets that housed blocks of ice (ice-boxes). The area around Belding, Michigan, had a skilled workforce of Danish craftsmen and a good supply o ...

, and

Kelvinator Kelvinator was an American home appliance manufacturer and a line of domestic refrigerators that was the namesake of the company. Although as a company it is now defunct, the name still exists as a brand name owned by Electrolux AB. It takes its ...

products, and combined its Tappan holdings with these new products to create the WCI Major Appliances Group. In 1991, the WCI Major Appliances Group simply became known as the Frigidaire Company, based in Dublin Ohio. In 1997, the North American division of Electrolux was reorganized as Electrolux Home Products of North America, consolidating American Yard Products, Frigidaire, and

Poulan Poulan is a brand name of the Swedish manufacturer Husqvarna AB. History Poulan was founded as Poulan Saw Co. in 1946 by chainsaw pioneer Claude Poulan in Shreveport, Louisiana. Purchased in late 1950s or early '60 by the Beaird Company, also o ...

/Weedeater. File:Taylor Rolling Kitchen, 1st Division Property, Camp du Bois de Brecourt, Meuse, France, 1918 (30624091385).jpg, Taylor Rolling Kitchen in France, 1918, which was manufactured by Eclipse Stove Company

References

External links

Tappan History home page on Internet Archive
Home appliance manufacturers of the United States 1979 mergers and acquisitions Manufacturing companies based in Ohio Electrolux brands American companies established in 1881 American companies disestablished in 1997 1881 establishments in Ohio 1997 disestablishments in Ohio {{US-company-stub