Spartus Corporation was an American

consumer electronics Consumer electronics, also known as home electronics, are electronic devices intended for everyday household use. Consumer electronics include those used for entertainment, Communication, communications, and recreation. Historically, these prod ...

manufacturer originally based in

Chicago, Illinois Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

. Founded as the Utility Manufacturing Company in 1934, it produced a wide variety of products, including

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s, analog cameras, and more. It sold these through a medley of brands—including Falcon, Spartus, Galter, Regal, Monarch, Spencer, among others. It was founded in 1934 by Jack Galter (1904–1993) as a continuation of his father's manufacturing company. In 1951, Utility was purchased by its sales manager, Harold Rubin, who renamed the company Herold Manufacturing Company. In 1960, Rubin adopted the Spartus trademark for the company's name, and in 1963, Spartus moved its headquarters to

Louisville, Mississippi Louisville (pronounced LEW-iss-vill) is a city in and the county seat of Winston County, Mississippi. The population was 6,072 at the 2020 census. History Like Winston County, Louisville is named for Louis Winston (1784–1824), a colonel in ...

. It maintained a manufacturing presence in the town until the early 1990s. In 1970, Spartus was acquired by the Kidde & Company, and made a subsidiary. Kidde itself was purchased by a U.S. arm of the Hanson Trust, Spartus being acquired by extension. Manufacturing of Spartus products was permanently moved to mainland China in 1993. Salton, Inc., of Florida later acquired the rights to the Spartus trademark in 2001.

History

Spartus was founded as the Utility Manufacturing Company in

, in 1934 by Jack Galter (1904–1993). Galter was a Russian-born immigrant whose family first moved to Chicago, and, later, Sutton, Nebraska. In his 20s, Galter was a

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and

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drummer who played for such giants as

Benny Goodman Benjamin David Goodman (May 30, 1909 – June 13, 1986) was an American clarinetist and bandleader, known as the "King of Swing". His orchestra did well commercially. From 1936 until the mid-1940s, Goodman led one of the most popular swing bi ...

, David Rose, and Danny Alvin. In his early 30s, during the

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, he founded Utility as an extension of his father's manufacturing business. During the 1930s, Utility manufactured a wide array of analog camera equipment, selling them under a medley of trademarks, including Falcon, Galter, Monarch, Regal, Spartus, and Spencer, among others. Most notable was their Spartus Press Flash camera, a camera cast in

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. Historians consider the Spartus Press Flash the first camera with a built-in flash reflector. In 1951, Utility's sales manager Harold Rubin purchased the company from Galter and renamed it the Herold Manufacturing Company, still based in Chicago. Rubin changed the name to Herold Products Company, Inc., in 1956. In 1960, he changed the name again to Spartus Corporation, adopting the name of one its most popular trademarks. The company by this point was more well known for their

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and

s and

s than their camera equipment. In 1963, Spartus broke ground for a new headquarters and manufacturing complex in

, which was completed in 1964. Spartus remained an integral part of the Louisville's industrial community for decades, the company reaching the 1,000 employee mark in 1970, stabilizing at that number toward the end of the decade. Many of Spartus' employees were represented by the

International Union of Electrical Workers The International Union of Electrical Workers (IUE) was a North American Trade union, labor union representing workers in the electrical manufacturing industry. While consistently using the acronym IUE, it took on several full names during its h ...

. In 1970, Spartus was acquired by the Kidde & Company, then a diversified American manufacturing company (currently more well known for their fire safety products), for $24 million in a

stock swap In corporate finance, a stock swap is the exchange of one equity-based asset for another, where, during the merger or acquisition, the swap provides an opportunity to pay with stock rather than with cash; see . Overview The acquiring company ...

(equivalent to $ million in ). Spartus was then made a subsidiary of Kidde, continuing in this capacity for nearly two decades. In 1987 alone, Spartus manufactured 7 million clocks and generated between $75 million to $100 million in sales. In August that year, Kidde was purchased by Hanson Industries, the U.S. arm of Hanson Trust, a British holding company. Hanson acquired Spartus by extension. Under the auspices of Hanson, Spartus changed their trade name to Spartus Home Furnishings, Inc., and began moving manufacturing overseas, at first to Taiwan, later to mainland China. Later, in the mid-1990s, Spartus' clock manufacturing concern was acquired by the General Time Corporation, whose trademark roster included Westclox and Big Ben. After General Time went bankrupt in 2001, Salton, Inc., owners of the George Foreman Grill, purchased the rights to their trademarks—including Spartus—in August that year.

References

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External links

Entry for Spartus
at Camera-wiki.org 1934 establishments in Illinois 1963 disestablishments in Illinois 1963 establishments in Mississippi 2001 disestablishments in Mississippi American companies established in 1934 American companies disestablished in 2001 Clock manufacturing companies of the United States Manufacturing companies established in 1934 Manufacturing companies disestablished in 2001 Optics manufacturing companies