The first Royal vacuum cleaners were made by
the P.A. Geier Company in 1905. This makes us one of the
world´s oldest vacuum cleaner manufacturing companies. Mr.
Geier started producing his metal cleaners by hand in a
backyard garage in Cleveland, Ohio. Soon the company grew
and moved to a four-story building on 105th Street where it
operated two divisions, a cleaner division and a machining
division. Besides vacuum cleaners, the company produced
mixers, hair dryers and washing machine units.Vacuum
cleaners, though, remained the key product, as the company
introduced the industry´s first hand-held vac, the "Royal
Prince," in 1937. Royal joined most manufacturing companies
across the country and switched over to military production
during World War II.
Vacuum cleaner shipments remained strong up to 1953 when
the P.A. Geier Company was bought by an investment group,
the Walter E. Schott Organization. The Schotts renamed the
company Royal Appliance Manufacturing. However, the new
owners were not wholly committed to the company and decided
to dissolve it soon after its acquisition. Royal was then
purchased by a group of employees, headed by Stan Erbor, in
1954. The company thrived under Erbor´s leadership, moving
to Highland Heights, Ohio in 1969 where it expanded and
refined all phases of operations. Erbor was active in the
company until his death in 1981 at age 80.
In 1981, a small group of investors saw an opportunity to
purchase the company and to bring a fresh sales and
marketing strategy. With this new leadership, our sales grew
from just under $5 million in 1981 to approximately $408
million in 2000.
Royal´s mission is to be a premier consumer products
company. We strive to recognize the needs of our customers
and supply them with quality products that solve their
cleaning problems. These philosophies have enabled Royal to
build brand loyalty derived from strong consumer
satisfaction.
