LG

The LG Group is South Korea's third largest conglomerate that produces electronics, chemicals, and telecommucations products and operates subsidiaries like LG Electronics, LG Telecom, and LG Chem in over 80 countries. LG is the world's leading producer of mobile handsets, flat panel TVs, air conditioners, front-loading washing machines, optical storage products, DVD players and home theater systems. LG Electronics Mobile Communication Company (LG) is a leading producer of mobile handsets. LG creates handsets that provide optimized mobile experience to customers around the world with its cutting-edge technology and innovative handset design capabilities. With advanced wireless solutions, LG is rapidly expanding its presence and market share globally.

LG Groupfounder Koo In-Hwoi established LG Chemical Industrial Corp. in 1947. In 1952, LG Chem became the first Korean company to enter the plastics industry. As the company expanded its plastics business, it established Gold Star Co., Ltd., (currently LG Electronics Inc.) in 1958.

In 1959, Goldstar produced South Korea's first radio. Many consumer electronics were sold under the brand name GoldStar, while some other household products (not available outside South Korea) were sold under the brand name of Lucky.

In 1995, so as to better compete in the Western market, the company was renamed "LG", the abbreviation of "Lucky GoldStar". More recently, the company associates its tagline "Life's Good", with the letters LG. Since 2009, LG also owns the domain name LG.com. It is now in the VB.com Internet Hall of Fame among 59 large corporations to own a two letter domain name.

Since 2001, LG has two joint ventures with Royal Philips Electronics: LG Philips Display, and LG Philips LCD, but Philips sold off its shares in late 2008. . LG has a joint venture with Hitachi, Hitachi-LG Data Storage, which manufactures optical data storage products like DVD-ROM drives, CD writers etc. LG has owned the LG Twins baseball club since 1989. LG acquired American television manufacturing company, Zenith in 1999
Click here for some LG products.

Lenox

Lenox is a manufacturer of porcelain and collectibles, and the only manufacturer of bone china based in the United States.

Lenox was founded in 1889 by Walter Scott Lenox as Lenox's Ceramic Art Company, Trenton, New Jersey. From the start it was organized as an art studio and not as a factory. It did not have full lines of ceramics but rather one-of-a-kind artwares. The company at first had just eighteen employees. Their products were carried in exclusive shops specializing in high quality pottery. Lenox's work showed up at Smithsonian Institution as early as 1897. Lenox china became popular in the early 20th century when separate dining rooms and hostess parties became the new trend.

Lenox then started making custom designed elaborately decorated dining plates. He had European competition but had his plates decorated artfully by such American artists as William Morley. He gained success at this and eventually turned his attention to complete sets of dinnerware. In 1906 he changed his firm's name from the Ceramic Art Company to Lenox Incorporated to show the widing scope of his products.

Two of the first patterns Lenox produced came out in 1917, the Ming and Mandarin, which were eventually manufactured for over fifty years. Lenox products also became well known thanks to Frank Graham Holmes, chief designer from 1905 to 1954 and who won several artistic awards such as the 1927 Craftsmanship Medal of the American Institute of Architects and the 1943 silver medal of the American Designers Institute. Of the afore mentioned, 34 Lenox pieces were chosen for display in 1928 by the elite National Museum of Ceramics in Sevres, France-the only American porcelain to receive this honor.

The traditional European system of selling fine china is the purchase of an entire service set at significant cost. The Lenox company broke away from this tradition in the 1950s. They could then reach the budget of the average family which expanded their marketplace worldwide. Lenox offered for sale to the average family five-piece complete place settings, three-piece-buffet/place settings and individual tableware pieces. Lenox was the first company to develop a bridal registry.

Lenox company initiated an acquisitions program in the 1960s to diversify. They first purchased work of America's oldest and best-known crystal glassblowing firm, Bryce Brothers. During the 1970s they continued by purchasing Hartmann Luggage and Athalon Products. In 1983, Lenox was acquired by Brown Forman company. Brown-Forman acquired Dansk International Designs and its Gorham Manufacturing Company division in 1991, which were incorporated as part of Lenox. James E. Solomon, then 36 years old, was appointed as president of the newly-combined company, having previously been a general manager of a company that manufactured children's athletic shoes. Solomon succeeded Richard Ryan, who had presided for five years in a period in which the company expanded significantly.

Brown-Forman later sold its Lenox division as part of a plan to refocus the company on its wine and spirits production. The income generated by the sale was distributed to the shareholders in the form of a one time special dividend. In 2005, Lenox was acquired by Department 56 for about $204 million. Department 56, which has since changed its corporate name to Lenox, took on substantial debt at the time.

On November 24, 2008 Lenox filed for Chapter 11 Bankruptcy Protection.
Click here for some products of Lenox Company.

KitchenAid

KitchenAid is a home appliance brand owned by Whirlpool Corporation. The company was started in 1919 by The Hobart Corporation to give restaurants a countertop alternative to their industrial sized mixers. The first model weighed 69 lbs. Each unit is still assembled by hand in Greenville, Ohio. The mixer is one of the only consumer appliances trademarked specifically for its unique shape.

The company was acquired by Whirlpool Corporation in 1986. Kitchen Aid is now upscale division of the Whirlpool Corporation. Kitchen Aid major appliances competes against products from GE Monogram, Fagor, Bosch, and Electrolux.
There is also a line of KitchenAid-branded cookware manufactured under license by Meyer Corporation.
Click here for some KitchenAid products

Kenmore

Kenmore Appliances is a brand name of household appliances produced mainly by Whirlpool Corp (and various other manufacturers, such as Panasonic for vacuum cleaners, Electrolux and Mabe Mexico for white goods), sold mainly by Sears, and since 2005 also at Kmart after Sears Holdings Corporation became the parent of Sears and Kmart in the United States.

Recently, more refrigerators are being made by foreign manufacturers Electrolux and LG Electronics. The Kenmore name first appeared in 1927 on a Sears product, the sewing machine.
Kenmore's upscale line of appliances is known as the "Elite" line. Kenmore also has a professional line of appliances called "Kenmore Pro".

Click here for some Kenmore appliances.

Honeywell

Honeywell is a major conglomerate company that produces a variety of consumer products, engineering services, and aerospace systems for a wide variety of customers, from private consumers to major corporations and
governments.

Honeywell is a Fortune 500 company with a workforce of approximately 128,000, of which approximately 58,000 are employed in the United States. The company is headquartered in Morristown, New Jersey. Its current chief executive officer is David M. Cote. The company and its corporate predecessors were part of the Dow Jones Industrial Average Index from December 7, 1925 until February 9, 2008.

The current "Honeywell International Inc." is the product of a merger in which Honeywell Inc. was acquired by the much larger AlliedSignal in 1999. The company headquarters were consolidated to AlliedSignal's headquarters in Morristown, New Jersey; however the combined company chose the name "Honeywell" because of its superior brand recognition.
Honeywell has many brands that consumers may recognize. Some of the most recognizable products are its line of home thermostats.

Click here for some of the products of Honewell Corporation, Inc.

Hoover

The Hoover Company started out as an American floor care manufacturer based in North Canton, Ohio. It also established a major base in the United Kingdom and for most of the early-and-mid-20th century, it dominated the electric vacuum cleaner industry, to the point where the "hoover" brand name became synonymous for vacuum cleaners and vacuuming in the United Kingdom and Ireland. The Hoover Company in the United States was part of the Whirlpool Corporation but sold in 2006 to Techtronic Industries for $107 million. Hoover UK/Europe split from Hoover U.S. in 1993 and was acquired by Candy, a company based in Brugherio Italy. It currently uses the original Hoover logo with the slogan "Generation Future".
In addition to floorcare products Hoover is also an iconic domestic appliance brand in Europe particularly well known for its washing machines and tumble dryers in the UK and Ireland and, also had significant sales in many parts of Europe. Today, the Hoover Europe Brand, as part of the portfolio of brands owned by Candy Group, remains a major player in the European white goods and floor care sectors in a number of countries.

The first upright vacuum was invented in 1908 by a Canton, Ohio department store janitor and occasional inventor named James Murray Spangler. Spangler suffered from asthma attacks, and he suspected the carpet sweeper he was using at work was the cause of his ailment. He created a basic suction-sweeper, first by adapting his existing carpet-sweeper with an electric fan motor, then creating his own prototype from a soap box, electric motor, broom handle, and pillow case. After refining the design and being granted a patent, he set about producing the 'Electric Suction Sweeper' himself.

The products sold under the Hoover brand vary greatly from one market to the next. For example in the United States the Hoover brand is used exclusively to sell floorcare products produced by TTI. Meanwhile in the UK and much of Europe Hoover branding appears on Candy Group products including white goods such as washing machines, dishwashers and refrigerators as well as floorcare products. Current details of the product range available to consumers can be found by visiting the Hoover website for the market of interest

Click here for some Hoover products.

Hamilton Beach

The Hamilton Beach Company, headquartered in Richmond, Virginia, is a manufacturer of home appliances, air purifiers and commercial restaurant equipments marketed primarily in the United States, Canada and Mexico.

Until sometime in the 1980s the company's products were marketed under the brand name "Hamilton Beach Scovill", reflecting a merger that occurred in the 1940s. In 1990, the company merged with Proctor Silex, another household appliance manufacturer. Key market competitors

include Cuisinart, Black & Decker, Salton and Sunbeam.

Founded in 1910, the Hamilton Beach Manufacturing Company resulted from the partnership of Chester Beach, a mechanical inventor, and L. H. Hamilton, a business man in Racine, Wisconsine in the early part of the 20th century. Their noted product, the Hamilton Beach drink mixer, was used to produce milk shakes with malt powder from the neighboring Horlick Malted Milk Company. The Hamilton Beach drink mixer, with its characteristic spindle and metal container, was found at soda fountains of drug stores throughout North America. Other products included stand mixers (for making batter), fans, and hair dryers. The spindle drink mixer was expanded in the 1930s to enable multiple milk shakes to be processed at once.
The original company continues as the Hamilton Beach side of Hamilton Beach/Proctor Silex, Inc.Click here for some Hamilton Beach product.