Wertheim is a brand of domestic
vacuum cleaner
A vacuum cleaner, also known simply as a vacuum or a hoover, is a device that causes suction in order to remove dirt from floors, upholstery, draperies, and other surfaces. It is generally electrically driven.
The dirt is collected by either a ...
s and floor care products.
The Wertheim brand name is now sold in
Australia
Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...
and
New Zealand
New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...
through
Godfreys
Godfreys is an Australian retailer in the domestic and commercial floorcare and cleaning industry, headquartered in Melbourne. The company was founded by Godfrey Cohen in 1931, and it has since grown to approximately 200 company- and franchise- ...
.
History
The Wertheim brand was established in Australia in the 1870s when
German
German(s) may refer to:
* Germany (of or related to)
**Germania (historical use)
* Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language
** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law
**Ger ...
Hugo Wertheim (1854 - 1919) moved to
Melbourne
Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...
and established a business as agent for his father's cousin Joseph Wertheim, a well-established manufacturer of sewing machines back in Germany.
[Andrew J. Ray, 'Wertheim, Hugo (1854–1919)']
Australian Dictionary of Biography, National Centre of Biography, Australian National University
published first in hardcopy 2005, accessed online 2 April 2022. Hugo Wertheim sold sewing machines, bicycles, pianos and other mechanical devices, under brands such as Wertheim, Electra, Planet, Griffin and Hapsburg.
[
In 1908 Wertheim diversified into manufacturing and opened a large piano factory at Richmond, Melbourne.][ The brand achieved considerable success selling ]sewing machine
A sewing machine is a machine used to sew fabric and materials together with thread. Sewing machines were invented during the first Industrial Revolution to decrease the amount of manual sewing work performed in clothing companies. Since the inv ...
s, piano
The piano is a stringed keyboard instrument in which the strings are struck by wooden hammers that are coated with a softer material (modern hammers are covered with dense wool felt; some early pianos used leather). It is played using a keyboa ...
s and other electrical goods constructed of mainly Australian materials.
The Australian Wertheim factory was closed in 1935 and was later turned into a Heinz
The H. J. Heinz Company is an American food processing company headquartered at One PPG Place in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The company was founded by Henry J. Heinz in 1869. Heinz manufactures thousands of food products in plants on six conti ...
factory and later re-purposed as a television studio for GTV Channel 9. Shortly after, the brand was acquired by Australian retail company Godfreys.
See also
* Wertheim Piano
* List of vacuum cleaners
References
External links
{{portal, Technology
Official WebsiteCommercial CleaningEnd Of Tenancy Cleaning
Vacuum cleaners
Australian brands