Ewbank is a brand of mechanical

carpet sweeper A carpet sweeper is a mechanical device for the cleaning of carpets. They were popular before the introduction of the vacuum cleaner and have been largely superseded by them. However, they continue to be used in many home and commercial applicat ...

s sold in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

since the 19th century. Originally owned by Entwisle and Kenyon Ltd, it is now owned by Earlex Ltd.

History

Founded in Accrington,

Lancashire Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated Lancs) is the name of a historic county, ceremonial county, and non-metropolitan county in North West England. The boundaries of these three areas differ significantly. The non-metropolitan county of Lancash ...

, the company has its origins in an 1864 company founded by John Ramsbottom and George Hacking, which made

water meter Water metering is the practice of measuring water use. Water meters measure the volume of water used by residential and commercial building units that are supplied with water by a public water supply system. They are also used to determine flow ...

s.Crossley, Richard Shaw & Ainsworth, Richard (2013) ''Accrington Through the 19th Century'', Robert Cunliffe, , p. 110 They were joined by John Haworth, James Entwisle, and James Kenyon, and when the founders retired the company was renamed Entwisle and Kenyon Limited. Entwisle & Kenyon started making

washing machine A washing machine (laundry machine, clothes washer, washer, or simply wash) is a home appliance used to wash laundry. The term is mostly applied to machines that use water as opposed to dry cleaning (which uses alternative cleaning fluids and ...

s around 1875, and also manufactured mangles.Gantz, Carroll (2012) ''The Vacuum Cleaner: A History'', McFarland and Co Inc, , p. 33 While one of the company's representatives, Richard Walton Kenyon, was in the United States in 1882 to source wooden blocks for mangles, he visited a carpet sweeper factory in

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, and saw the potential for the product, which was already popular in the US, in the UK. Kenyon designed the first Ewbank branded carpet sweeper, which went on sale in 1889. It became the most popular product of its type in Britain, where carpet sweeping became known as "ewbanking". The 'Ewbank' name came from the Ewbank area of Accrington, where the factory was located. Sweepers were produced in several models including 'Standard', 'Parlour Queen', and even miniature versions for children. Ewbank became a major manufacturer of floor-care products after

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

, including carpet shampooers, selling both in the UK and via export internationally."Entwisle and Kenyon Limited", ''Statist'', Volume 179, p. 752, 1963 Originally using metal casing, the sweepers were made from Novodur in the mid-1970s."Ewbank Sweeps the Field with Novodur", ''Engineering Materials and Design'', Volume 19, p. 33 By the mid-1970s Ewbank was owned by Prestige. In 2003, the company was purchased by Earlex Ltd. In November 2013 the company became independent again and has since opened subsidiary companies in the US and Hong Kong. The company still produces carpet sweepers and shampooers but has now moved into cordless vacuum cleaners, 2 in 1 vacuum cleaners, steam cleaners, UVC bed cleaners and the number one selling product now is their floor polisher/scrubber.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Ewbank (Company) Companies established in 1864 Home appliance manufacturers of the United Kingdom Vacuum cleaner manufacturers British brands Companies based in Surrey Godalming