Emerson Electric Company
Encyclopedia
Emerson Electric Company is a major multinational corporation
headquartered in Ferguson
, Missouri
, United States
. This Fortune 500
company manufactures products and provides engineering services for a wide range of industrial, commercial, and consumer markets.
Emerson is one of the largest conglomerate companies in the USA. As of 2010, it has a workforce of approximately 127,700 employees worldwide, with a global
presence spanning 150 countries.
to manufacture electric motor
s using a patent
owned by the Scottish-born brothers Charles and Alexander Meston. In 1892 it became the first to sell electric fans in the United States. It quickly expanded its product line to include electric sewing machine
s, electric dental drills
, and power tool
s.
During World War II under the leadership of Stuart Symington
, it became the world's largest manufacturer of airplane armament. Symington went on to become the first United States Secretary of the Air Force
from 1947-1950, a Democratic
U.S. Senator
from Missouri from 1953-1976, and a candidate for the Presidency of the United States
in 1960
.
In 1954 W.R. "Buck" Persons was named company president. Under his leadership, Emerson diversified its business portfolio by acquiring 36 companies. When he retired in 1973, the company had 82 plants, 31,000 employees and $800 million in sales.
Charles F. Knight
served as CEO from 1973 to 2000, and was chairman from 1974 to 2004. His tenure was marked by development of a rigorous planning process, new product and technology development, acquisitions and joint ventures, and international growth.
David N. Farr
has served as CEO since 2000 and as chairman since 2004.
On January 30, 2008, top executives from Emerson had meetings with the Costa Rican President and government authorities to open an operation for Latin America
based in Costa Rica. They are planning to hire more than 500 engineers in a period of 4 years.
On July 26th, 2011, Emerson announced it would locate its Latin America headquarters in Sunrise, Florida
.
’s Embedded Communications Computing (ECC) business for US$ 350 million, expected to be completed by the end of 2007.
Other acquisitions by Emerson include:
s, filed suit in federal court against NBC
regarding a scene that appeared in the pilot episode of the network's TV series Heroes
. The scene depicted Claire Bennet
reaching into an active garbage disposal to retrieve a ring, and severely injuring her hand in the process. Emerson's suit claims the scene "casts the disposer in an unsavory light, irreparably tarnishing the product" by suggesting that serious injuries will result "in the event consumers were to accidentally insert their hand into one."
Emerson asked for a ruling barring future broadcasts of the pilot, which is available on NBC's website and has already aired on NBC Universal-owned cable networks USA and Sci Fi. It also sought to block NBC from using any Emerson trademarks in the future. Emerson is an appliance market competitor with General Electric
, the owner of NBC.
On February 23, 2007, the case against NBC was dropped. NBC Universal and Emerson Electric reached an agreement to settle the lawsuit outside of court.
Multinational corporation
A multi national corporation or enterprise , is a corporation or an enterprise that manages production or delivers services in more than one country. It can also be referred to as an international corporation...
headquartered in Ferguson
Ferguson, Missouri
Ferguson is a city in St. Louis County, Missouri, United States. The population was 21,203 at the 2010 census.-Geography:Ferguson is located at ....
, Missouri
Missouri
Missouri is a US state located in the Midwestern United States, bordered by Iowa, Illinois, Kentucky, Tennessee, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Kansas and Nebraska. With a 2010 population of 5,988,927, Missouri is the 18th most populous state in the nation and the fifth most populous in the Midwest. It...
, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. This Fortune 500
Fortune 500
The Fortune 500 is an annual list compiled and published by Fortune magazine that ranks the top 500 U.S. closely held and public corporations as ranked by their gross revenue after adjustments made by Fortune to exclude the impact of excise taxes companies collect. The list includes publicly and...
company manufactures products and provides engineering services for a wide range of industrial, commercial, and consumer markets.
Emerson is one of the largest conglomerate companies in the USA. As of 2010, it has a workforce of approximately 127,700 employees worldwide, with a global
World
World is a common name for the whole of human civilization, specifically human experience, history, or the human condition in general, worldwide, i.e. anywhere on Earth....
presence spanning 150 countries.
History
Emerson was established in 1890 in St. Louis, Missouri (USA) as Emerson Electric Manufacturing Co. by Civil War Union veteran John Wesley EmersonJohn Wesley Emerson
John Wesley Emerson was an American lawyer, American Civil War commander, Missouri Circuit Court judge, and the founder and principal investor of the Emerson Electric Company.-Early life:...
to manufacture electric motor
Electric motor
An electric motor converts electrical energy into mechanical energy.Most electric motors operate through the interaction of magnetic fields and current-carrying conductors to generate force...
s using a patent
Patent
A patent is a form of intellectual property. It consists of a set of exclusive rights granted by a sovereign state to an inventor or their assignee for a limited period of time in exchange for the public disclosure of an invention....
owned by the Scottish-born brothers Charles and Alexander Meston. In 1892 it became the first to sell electric fans in the United States. It quickly expanded its product line to include electric sewing machine
Sewing machine
A sewing machine is a textile machine used to stitch fabric, cards and other material together with thread. Sewing machines were invented during the first Industrial Revolution to decrease the amount of manual sewing work performed in clothing companies...
s, electric dental drills
Dental drill
A dental drill is a small, high-speed drill used during dental procedures, usually to remove decay and shape tooth structure prior to the insertion of a filling or crown...
, and power tool
Power tool
A power tool is a tool that is actuated by an additional power source and mechanism other than the solely manual labour used with hand tools. The most common types of power tools use electric motors. Internal combustion engines and compressed air are also commonly used...
s.
During World War II under the leadership of Stuart Symington
Stuart Symington
William Stuart Symington was a businessman and political figure from Missouri. He served as the first Secretary of the Air Force from 1947 to 1950 and was a Democratic United States Senator from Missouri from 1953 to 1976.-Education and business career:...
, it became the world's largest manufacturer of airplane armament. Symington went on to become the first United States Secretary of the Air Force
United States Secretary of the Air Force
The Secretary of the Air Force is the Head of the Department of the Air Force, a component organization within the Department of Defense of the United States of America. The Secretary of the Air Force is appointed from civilian life by the President, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate...
from 1947-1950, a Democratic
Democratic Party (United States)
The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...
U.S. Senator
United States Senate
The United States Senate is the upper house of the bicameral legislature of the United States, and together with the United States House of Representatives comprises the United States Congress. The composition and powers of the Senate are established in Article One of the U.S. Constitution. Each...
from Missouri from 1953-1976, and a candidate for the Presidency of the United States
President of the United States
The President of the United States of America is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president leads the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States Armed Forces....
in 1960
United States presidential election, 1960
The United States presidential election of 1960 was the 44th American presidential election, held on November 8, 1960, for the term beginning January 20, 1961, and ending January 20, 1965. The incumbent president, Republican Dwight D. Eisenhower, was not eligible to run again. The Republican Party...
.
In 1954 W.R. "Buck" Persons was named company president. Under his leadership, Emerson diversified its business portfolio by acquiring 36 companies. When he retired in 1973, the company had 82 plants, 31,000 employees and $800 million in sales.
Charles F. Knight
Charles F. Knight
Charles F. Knight is chairman emeritus of Emerson Electric Co., a manufacturer of electrical, electromechanical and electronic products and systems. He served as chairman of Emerson Electric from 1974 to 2004 and as chief executive officer from 1973 to 2000. He also served as president from 1986 to...
served as CEO from 1973 to 2000, and was chairman from 1974 to 2004. His tenure was marked by development of a rigorous planning process, new product and technology development, acquisitions and joint ventures, and international growth.
David N. Farr
David Farr
David Nelson Farr is the Chairman & CEO of Emerson Electric Company, a Fortune 500 company. Mr. Farr has worked at the company since 1981. He is married with two children and is a resident of Ladue, Missouri....
has served as CEO since 2000 and as chairman since 2004.
On January 30, 2008, top executives from Emerson had meetings with the Costa Rican President and government authorities to open an operation for Latin America
Latin America
Latin America is a region of the Americas where Romance languages – particularly Spanish and Portuguese, and variably French – are primarily spoken. Latin America has an area of approximately 21,069,500 km² , almost 3.9% of the Earth's surface or 14.1% of its land surface area...
based in Costa Rica. They are planning to hire more than 500 engineers in a period of 4 years.
On July 26th, 2011, Emerson announced it would locate its Latin America headquarters in Sunrise, Florida
Sunrise, Florida
-Overview:Sunrise is a city in southwestern Broward County, Florida, United States. It was incorporated in 1961 by Norman Johnson – a developer whose World Famous Upside-Down House attracted buyers to what was then a remote area...
.
Business segments
Emerson products, solutions and services go to market under seven business platforms:- Emerson Process Management- product technology as well as engineering and project management services for precision control, monitoring and asset optimization of plants that produce power or that process such items as oil, natural gas and petrochemicals, food and beverage, pulp and paper, pharmaceuticals and municipal water and wastewater systems.
- Emerson Network Power- provides power backup systems, embedded power, precision cooling, and connectivity technologies for data centers, telecommunications networks, and other applications.
- Emerson Climate Technologies- global manufacturer of heating, ventilation, air conditioning and refrigeration solutions for residential, industrial and commercial applications, including Copeland Scroll compressors and White-Rodgers thermostats.
- Emerson Industrial Automation- global manufacturer of alternators, electric motors and drives, electrical distribution devices, mechanical power transmission, fluid automation and ultrasonic joining solutions.
- Emerson Appliance Solutions- manufacturer of food waste disposers (InSinkErator brand) and technology solutions used in washers and dryers.
- Emerson Storage Solutions- manufacturer of residential, healthcare, foodservice and commercial storage systems, including ClosetMaid and Metro brands.
- Emerson Professional Tools- power and hand tools, wet/dry vacs, and tool storage equipment for contractors and do-it-yourselfers, including RIDGIDRIDGIDRidgid is the brandname of the Ridge Tool Company of Elyria, Ohio. Founded in the 1920s as a manufacturer of professional plumbing and HVAC tools, it has branched out into more general-purpose hand tools and power tools. It is now a division of Emerson Electric Company.-External links:*...
brand. - Emerson Motor Technologies
- Emerson Innovation Center
Corporate achievements
- Emerson is ranked No. 120 on the Fortune 500 list of America's largest corporations, as ranked by revenues.
- Emerson is ranked No. 443 on FORTUNE's Global 500 list of the world's largest companies, as ranked by revenues.
- Emerson was awarded approximately 750 patents worldwide in 2010.
- Emerson is ranked No. 104 on the Information Week magazine's annual listing of the most innovative users of information technology in the United States (September 2010).
- Emerson has 240 manufacturing locations, of which approximately 160 are located outside the United States.
- Emerson was No. 44 on the Electronic Design magazine's ranking of the top 50 employers of electronic designers that have the most influence on today's engineering careers (June 2009).
- Emerson is ranked No. 5 in Electronics Industry of FORTUNE's World's Most Admired Companies 2011.
- Emerson is ranked No. 254 in Forbes World's Biggest Companies 2010.
Environmental record
Researchers at the University of Massachusetts Amherst have identified Emerson as the 97th largest corporate producer of air pollution in the United States, down from its previous rank of 56th. Major pollutants indicated by the study include nickel compounds, manganese, diisocyanate, and lead.Emerson's acquisitions
28 September 2007 - It was announced that Emerson will acquire MotorolaMotorola
Motorola, Inc. was an American multinational telecommunications company based in Schaumburg, Illinois, which was eventually divided into two independent public companies, Motorola Mobility and Motorola Solutions on January 4, 2011, after losing $4.3 billion from 2007 to 2009...
’s Embedded Communications Computing (ECC) business for US$ 350 million, expected to be completed by the end of 2007.
Other acquisitions by Emerson include:
- ASCO Valve
- Astec Power
- Artesyn Technologies Inc.
- AvocentAvocentAvocent, a business of Emerson Network Power, is an information technology products manufacturer headquartered in Huntsville, Alabama. Avocent was formed in 2000 from the merger of the world’s two largest KVM switch manufacturers: Apex and Cybex Computer Products Corporation...
- DACR
- Bristol Babcock
- Closetmaid
- Computer Power Systems Corp.
- Control Techniques
- Damcos A/S
- Daniel Measurement & Control
- Decision Management International, Inc. (DMI)
- EIM
- Ericsson Energy Systems
- Fisher Controls
- InSinkErator
- Intermetro
- Kenonic Controls (Calgary)
- Knaack Manufacturing Company
- Knurr AG
- Leroy-Somer
- Liebert CorporationLiebert (company)Liebert Corporation, a business of the Emerson Network Power platform of Emerson Electric, is a global manufacturer of power, precision cooling and infrastructure management systems for main-frame computer, server racks, and critical process systems...
- Lionville Systems Inc.
- Mobrey
- Micromotion Inc.
- NORPAC ControlsNORPAC ControlsPart of the Emerson Electric Company, established in 1890, NORPAC Controls distributes Emerson Process products and services to the province of British Columbia, Canada.- Description :...
- Numatics
- Orion CEM (Atlanta)
- PC&E, Inc. (St. Louis)
- RIDGIDRIDGIDRidgid is the brandname of the Ridge Tool Company of Elyria, Ohio. Founded in the 1920s as a manufacturer of professional plumbing and HVAC tools, it has branched out into more general-purpose hand tools and power tools. It is now a division of Emerson Electric Company.-External links:*...
- Rosemount Inc.Rosemount Inc.Rosemount Inc. is a subsidiary of Emerson Electric Company that manufactures and sells sensors that measure pressure, temperature, level, and flow. Its headquarters is located in Chanhassen, Minnesota. With over 1000 employees, it is the city's largest employer.- History :Rosemount Inc...
- Roxar ASA - acquisition announced 2-Mar-2009
- Saab Marine Electronics
- Shafer Valve CompanyShafer Valve CompanyShafer Valve Company is a Mansfield, Ohio-based manufacturer and distributor of piping products, specialising in the gas pipeline and water pumping industries. It is fully owned by Emerson Process Management Valve Automation, Inc., based in St. Louis, Missouri....
- SkilSkilSkil is a brand of power handtools produced by Robert Bosch GmbH. The line traces its heritage to the invention of the portable circular saw, marketed as a Skilsaw. The Model 77 which evolved from it set the industry standard for handheld worm-and-drive circular saws and remains in production...
(sold to BoschRobert Bosch GmbHRobert Bosch GmbH is a multinational engineering and electronics company headquartered in Gerlingen, near Stuttgart, Germany. It is the world's largest supplier of automotive components...
in 1996) - Stack-A-Shelf
- Stratos International, Inc.
- System Plast
- The Automation Group
- Therm-O-DiscTherm-O-DiscTherm-O-Disc, Inc. is the world's largest producer of bi-metal disc controls. Founded 1947 in Mansfield, Ohio, USA, Therm-O-Disc is a subsidiary of Emerson Electric Company and a part of Emerson Appliance Solutions and Emerson Climate Technologies...
- TopWorx
- Vilter
- Weatherguard
- Western ForgeWestern ForgeWestern Forge is an American manufacturing company. The company manufactures hand tools to be sold under other brands, including private-label brands such as Craftsman and Husky. It is a subsidiary of Ideal Industries.- History :...
(sold to Ideal IndustriesIdeal IndustriesIdeal Industries is an American company that produces connectors, hand tools, testers, and meters for the electrical and telecommunications industries.- History :...
in 2009)
North American distributors
- Control Southern Inc. - Atlanta, GA, Georgia, Alabama, Tennessee
- LAURENTIDE Controls - Kirkland, QuebecKirkland, QuebecKirkland is a town on the Island of Montreal in southwestern Quebec, Canada. As of 2006, the population was 20,491. It is named after Charles-Aimé Kirkland, a Quebec provincial politician....
, CanadaCanadaCanada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean... - NORPAC Controls - Burnaby, British ColumbiaBritish ColumbiaBritish Columbia is the westernmost of Canada's provinces and is known for its natural beauty, as reflected in its Latin motto, Splendor sine occasu . Its name was chosen by Queen Victoria in 1858...
, Canada - Spartan Controls - CalgaryCalgaryCalgary is a city in the Province of Alberta, Canada. It is located in the south of the province, in an area of foothills and prairie, approximately east of the front ranges of the Canadian Rockies...
, EdmontonEdmontonEdmonton is the capital of the Canadian province of Alberta and is the province's second-largest city. Edmonton is located on the North Saskatchewan River and is the centre of the Edmonton Capital Region, which is surrounded by the central region of the province.The city and its census...
, Fort McMurray, Grande Prairie, and LloydminsterLloydminsterLloydminster is a Canadian city which has the unusual geographic distinction of straddling the provincial border between Alberta and Saskatchewan...
, AlbertaAlbertaAlberta is a province of Canada. It had an estimated population of 3.7 million in 2010 making it the most populous of Canada's three prairie provinces...
. ReginaRegina, SaskatchewanRegina is the capital city of the Canadian province of Saskatchewan. The city is the second-largest in the province and a cultural and commercial centre for southern Saskatchewan. It is governed by Regina City Council. Regina is the cathedral city of the Roman Catholic and Romanian Orthodox...
and SaskatoonSaskatoonSaskatoon is a city in central Saskatchewan, Canada, on the South Saskatchewan River. Residents of the city of Saskatoon are called Saskatonians. The city is surrounded by the Rural Municipality of Corman Park No. 344....
, SaskatchewanSaskatchewanSaskatchewan is a prairie province in Canada, which has an area of . Saskatchewan is bordered on the west by Alberta, on the north by the Northwest Territories, on the east by Manitoba, and on the south by the U.S. states of Montana and North Dakota....
. Fort St. JohnFort St. John, British ColumbiaThe City of Fort St. John is a city in northeastern British Columbia, Canada. A member municipality of the Peace River Regional District, the city covers an area of about 22 km² with 22,000 residents . Located at Mile 47, it is one of the largest cities along the Alaska Highway. Originally...
, British ColumbiaBritish ColumbiaBritish Columbia is the westernmost of Canada's provinces and is known for its natural beauty, as reflected in its Latin motto, Splendor sine occasu . Its name was chosen by Queen Victoria in 1858...
. Northwest TerritoriesNorthwest TerritoriesThe Northwest Territories is a federal territory of Canada.Located in northern Canada, the territory borders Canada's two other territories, Yukon to the west and Nunavut to the east, and three provinces: British Columbia to the southwest, and Alberta and Saskatchewan to the south...
and NunavutNunavutNunavut is the largest and newest federal territory of Canada; it was separated officially from the Northwest Territories on April 1, 1999, via the Nunavut Act and the Nunavut Land Claims Agreement Act, though the actual boundaries had been established in 1993...
, CanadaCanadaCanada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean... - Lakeside Process Controls - Mississauga, OntarioOntarioOntario is a province of Canada, located in east-central Canada. It is Canada's most populous province and second largest in total area. It is home to the nation's most populous city, Toronto, and the nation's capital, Ottawa....
, Canada - Vinson Process Controls - Lewisville, TexasLewisville, TexasLewisville is a city in Denton County in the U.S. state of Texas. The 2010 United States Census placed the population at 95,290 within . The city also includes of Lewisville Lake....
- PCE Pacific, Inc. - Bothell, WashingtonBothell, WashingtonBothell is a city located in King and Snohomish Counties in the state of Washington. It is part of the Seattle metropolitan area. The population was 33,505 as of the 2010 census...
, Anchorage, AlaskaAnchorage, AlaskaAnchorage is a unified home rule municipality in the southcentral part of the U.S. state of Alaska. It is the northernmost major city in the United States...
, Vancouver, WashingtonVancouver, WashingtonVancouver is a city on the north bank of the Columbia River in the U.S. state of Washington. Incorporated in 1857, it is the fourth largest city in the state with a 2010 census population of 161,791 as of April 1, 2010...
, Sandy, UtahSandy, UtahSandy is a city in Salt Lake County, Utah, United States. It is a suburb of Salt Lake City. The population was 87,461 at the 2010 census, making it the sixth-largest city in Utah.... - Caltrol - Las Vegas, NevadaLas Vegas metropolitan areaThe Las Vegas Valley is the heart of the Las Vegas-Paradise, NV MSA also known as the Las Vegas–Paradise–Henderson MSA which includes all of Clark County, Nevada, and is a metropolitan area in the southern part of the U.S. state of Nevada. The Valley is defined by the Las Vegas Valley landform, a ...
- Applied Control Equipment - Centennial, ColoradoCentennial, ColoradoThe city of Centennial is a Home Rule City located in Arapahoe County, Colorado, United States, and part of the Denver-Aurora metropolitan area. The city was to have a total population of 100,377 in 2010 census. Centennial is the tenth-most populous municipality in the state of Colorado and its...
- Puffer-Sweiven - Stafford, TexasStafford, TexasStafford is a city in the U.S. state of Texas within the Houston–Sugar Land–Baytown metropolitan area. The city is mostly in Fort Bend County with a small portion in Harris County. As of the 2000 U.S. Census, Stafford's population was 15,681....
- Experitec - Chesterfield, MissouriChesterfield, MissouriChesterfield is a second-ring western suburb of St. Louis and is the largest city in west St. Louis County, Missouri, United States. As of the 2010 census the population is 47,484. Chesterfield also celebrated its 20th birthday in 2008.- Geography :...
, Decatur, IllinoisDecatur, IllinoisDecatur is the largest city and the county seat of Macon County in the U.S. state of Illinois. The city, sometimes called "the Soybean Capital of the World", was founded in 1823 and is located along the Sangamon River and Lake Decatur in Central Illinois. In 2000 the city population was 81,500,...
, Woodward, OklahomaWoodward, OklahomaWoodward is a city in and the county seat of Woodward County, Oklahoma, United States. It is the largest city in a nine-county area. The population was 12,051 at the 2010 census....
, Lenexa, KansasLenexa, KansasLenexa is a city in the central part of Johnson County, located in northeast Kansas, in the central United States of America. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 48,190. As a satellite city of Kansas City, Kansas, Lenexa is included in the Kansas City Metropolitan Area...
, Wichita, KansasWichita, KansasWichita is the largest city in the U.S. state of Kansas.As of the 2010 census, the city population was 382,368. Located in south-central Kansas on the Arkansas River, Wichita is the county seat of Sedgwick County and the principal city of the Wichita metropolitan area...
, Liberal, KansasLiberal, KansasLiberal is the county seat of Seward County, Kansas, United States. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 20,525.- History :S.S. Rogers built the first house in what would become Liberal in 1872. Rogers became famous in the region for giving water to weary travelers... - R.S. Stover Company - Marshalltown, IowaMarshalltown, IowaMarshalltown is a city in and the county seat of Marshall County, Iowa, United States. The population was 27,552 in the 2010 census, an increase from the 26,009 population in the 2000 census. -History:...
- John H. Carter Co., Inc. - New Orleans, LouisianaNew Orleans, LouisianaNew Orleans is a major United States port and the largest city and metropolitan area in the state of Louisiana. The New Orleans metropolitan area has a population of 1,235,650 as of 2009, the 46th largest in the USA. The New Orleans – Metairie – Bogalusa combined statistical area has a population...
, Baton Rouge, LouisianaBaton Rouge, LouisianaBaton Rouge is the capital of the U.S. state of Louisiana. It is located in East Baton Rouge Parish and is the second-largest city in the state.Baton Rouge is a major industrial, petrochemical, medical, and research center of the American South...
, Lafayette, LouisianaLafayette, LouisianaLafayette is a city in and the parish seat of Lafayette Parish, Louisiana, United States, on the Vermilion River. The population was 120,623 at the 2010 census...
, Lake Charles, LouisianaLake Charles, LouisianaLake Charles is the fifth-largest incorporated city in the U.S. state of Louisiana, located on Lake Charles, Prien Lake, and the Calcasieu River. Located in Calcasieu Parish, a major cultural, industrial, and educational center in the southwest region of the state, and one of the most important in...
, Monroe, LouisianaMonroe, LouisianaMonroe is a city in and the parish seat of Ouachita Parish, Louisiana, United States. As of the 2000 census, the city had a total population of 53,107, making it the eighth largest city in Louisiana. A July 1, 2007, United States Census Bureau estimate placed the population at 51,208, but 51,636...
, Mobile, AlabamaMobile, AlabamaMobile is the third most populous city in the Southern US state of Alabama and is the county seat of Mobile County. It is located on the Mobile River and the central Gulf Coast of the United States. The population within the city limits was 195,111 during the 2010 census. It is the largest... - Scallon Controls, Inc. - Beaumont, TexasBeaumont, TexasBeaumont is a city in and county seat of Jefferson County, Texas, United States, within the Beaumont–Port Arthur Metropolitan Statistical Area. The city's population was 118,296 at the 2010 census. With Port Arthur and Orange, it forms the Golden Triangle, a major industrial area on the...
- Novaspect
NBC Heroes lawsuit
On October 2, 2006, Emerson, the company that makes the popular InSinkErator garbage disposalGarbage disposal
A garbage disposal unit or waste disposal unit is a device, usually electrically powered, installed under a kitchen sink between the sink's drain and the trap which shreds food waste into pieces small enough—generally less than —to pass through plumbing.Garbage disposal units are widely used in...
s, filed suit in federal court against NBC
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
regarding a scene that appeared in the pilot episode of the network's TV series Heroes
Heroes (TV series)
Heroes is an American science fiction television drama series created by Tim Kring that appeared on NBC for four seasons from September 25, 2006 through February 8, 2010. The series tells the stories of ordinary people who discover superhuman abilities, and how these abilities take effect in the...
. The scene depicted Claire Bennet
Claire Bennet
Claire Bennet is a fictional character in the NBC science fiction drama series Heroes. She is portrayed by Hayden Panettiere and first appeared on television in the pilot episode of the series, "Genesis" on September 25, 2006...
reaching into an active garbage disposal to retrieve a ring, and severely injuring her hand in the process. Emerson's suit claims the scene "casts the disposer in an unsavory light, irreparably tarnishing the product" by suggesting that serious injuries will result "in the event consumers were to accidentally insert their hand into one."
Emerson asked for a ruling barring future broadcasts of the pilot, which is available on NBC's website and has already aired on NBC Universal-owned cable networks USA and Sci Fi. It also sought to block NBC from using any Emerson trademarks in the future. Emerson is an appliance market competitor with General Electric
General Electric
General Electric Company , or GE, is an American multinational conglomerate corporation incorporated in Schenectady, New York and headquartered in Fairfield, Connecticut, United States...
, the owner of NBC.
On February 23, 2007, the case against NBC was dropped. NBC Universal and Emerson Electric reached an agreement to settle the lawsuit outside of court.