NuTone
Encyclopedia
NuTone is an American company that manufactures products mainly for residential use, including doorbell
s, intercom systems
, indoor air quality products
, ventilation systems
, range hoods, ceiling fan
s, built-in electric heaters
, medicine cabinets, ironing equipment
, and home theater systems.
The company was founded in 1936 by J. Ralph Corbett in Cincinnati, Ohio
. Corbett backed an inventor from Dayton, Ohio
who was marketing a door chime that could replace door buzzers. The inventor defaulted on Corbett's loan, and Corbett marketed the product under the NuTone brand, reducing production costs enough to make door chimes affordable and creating the door chime market. NuTone became a publicly traded company in 1955. Other NuTone-created products included the residential kitchen ventilator hood and built-in kitchen countertop appliances. In 1967 when the Corbetts sold their interest in the company to the Scoville Manufacturing Company, NuTone was the largest American producer of home electrical products. The NuTone was purchased by the British home products manufacturer Valor for $460 million. Nortek, Inc. acquired NuTone from Williams plc in 1998, adding it to the Broan Group, for a purchase price of $242,5 million.
Doorbell
A doorbell is a signaling device typically placed near a door. Most doorbells emit a ringing sound to alert the occupant of the building to a visitor's presence, when the visitor presses a button. Many modern doorbells are electric — they are actuated by an electric switch...
s, intercom systems
Intercom
An intercom , talkback or doorphone is a stand-alone voice communications system for use within a building or small collection of buildings, functioning independently of the public telephone network. Intercoms are generally mounted permanently in buildings and vehicles...
, indoor air quality products
Indoor air quality
Indoor air quality is a term referring to the air quality within and around buildings and structures, especially as it relates to the health and comfort of building occupants....
, ventilation systems
Ventilation (architecture)
Ventilating is the process of "changing" or replacing air in any space to provide high indoor air quality...
, range hoods, ceiling fan
Ceiling fan
A ceiling fan is a fan, usually electrically powered, suspended from the ceiling of a room, that uses hub-mounted rotating paddles to circulate air....
s, built-in electric heaters
Electric heating
Electric heating is any process in which electrical energy is converted to heat. Common applications include space heating, cooking, water heating and industrial processes. An electric heater is an electrical appliance that converts electrical energy into heat...
, medicine cabinets, ironing equipment
Ironing
Ironing is the use of a heated tool to remove wrinkles from fabric. The heating is commonly done to a temperature of 180-220 °Celsius, depending on the fabric. Ironing works by loosening the bonds between the long-chain polymer molecules in the fibers of the material...
, and home theater systems.
The company was founded in 1936 by J. Ralph Corbett in Cincinnati, Ohio
Cincinnati, Ohio
Cincinnati is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio. Cincinnati is the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located to north of the Ohio River at the Ohio-Kentucky border, near Indiana. The population within city limits is 296,943 according to the 2010 census, making it Ohio's...
. Corbett backed an inventor from Dayton, Ohio
Dayton, Ohio
Dayton is the 6th largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Montgomery County, the fifth most populous county in the state. The population was 141,527 at the 2010 census. The Dayton Metropolitan Statistical Area had a population of 841,502 in the 2010 census...
who was marketing a door chime that could replace door buzzers. The inventor defaulted on Corbett's loan, and Corbett marketed the product under the NuTone brand, reducing production costs enough to make door chimes affordable and creating the door chime market. NuTone became a publicly traded company in 1955. Other NuTone-created products included the residential kitchen ventilator hood and built-in kitchen countertop appliances. In 1967 when the Corbetts sold their interest in the company to the Scoville Manufacturing Company, NuTone was the largest American producer of home electrical products. The NuTone was purchased by the British home products manufacturer Valor for $460 million. Nortek, Inc. acquired NuTone from Williams plc in 1998, adding it to the Broan Group, for a purchase price of $242,5 million.