Jacuzzi
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Company type | Private |
---|---|
Founded | 1915 |
Founder | Jacuzzi family |
Headquarters | , United States |
Area served | Worldwide |
Products | Bath and spa products |
Owner | Investindustrial |
Website | www |
Jacuzzi is an American private company that manufactures and markets hot tubs, pools, and other bath products.[1] It is best known for the Jacuzzi hydrotherapy products.[2][1] The company is headquartered in Irvine, California. It is the largest hot tub manufacturer in Europe[1] with eight factories, the largest being in Italy.[3]
The company was founded in 1915 by seven brothers from the Jacuzzi family in Berkeley, California.[4] It developed a variety of products including pumps for agricultural use. In 1948, Jacuzzi created water pumps to treat a family member's rheumatoid arthritis.[5] The water pumps were a niche medical product until they were integrated into a recreational hot tub in 1968. As the popularity of hot tubs grew, Jacuzzi created more models that were more advanced. Jacuzzi was family-run until 1979, after which it then changed hands several times, before being bought by its current owner Investindustrial in 2019.
The
History
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/8/83/Historic_Jacuzzi_Bros._storefront.jpg/220px-Historic_Jacuzzi_Bros._storefront.jpg)
Beginnings
Jacuzzi was founded by seven brothers in the Jacuzzi family: Giocondo, Frank, Rachele, Candido, Joseph, Gelindo and Valeriano, who were from Casarsa della Delizia in northern Italy.[7] Their original last name was Iacuzzi, but when the first two brothers immigrated from Italy to the US in 1907, immigration staff misspelt their name as "Jacuzzi".[8] All seven brothers had immigrated by 1910.[8] More family members immigrated to the U.S. when the brothers won a contract to provide propellors to the U.S. for World War I planes.[9]
Jacuzzi began as a machining company.[10] The brothers worked on a citrus farm owned by an early aviation inventor.[8] They offered to help develop aviation products, creating an early wood propeller that was curved instead of flat[8] and was used in World War I.[11] One of the first propellers they made is now either in storage at or on loan from the Smithsonian Institution.[8] They also developed one of the first fully-enclosed cabins for airplanes, called the Jacuzzi J-7, which was used to transport mail.[8]
In 1921, a mail plane crashed, killing all of the passengers on board, including Giocondo Jacuzzi.[8] The brothers subsequently abandoned the aviation industry and experimented with several other products, the first successful one being a water pump created by Rachele Jacuzzi in 1926.[12] The product line expanded into a variety of pumps.[13]
Hydrotherapy
In 1948, Candido Jacuzzi developed an improved full body hydrotherapy pump, the J-300, to treat his son's (Ken Jacuzzi) rheumatoid arthritis between hospital visits, after noting his positive response the smaller Hubbard tank at the Herrick hospital in Berkeley.[14] He patented the pump in 1952[10] and began marketing it between 1955 and 1956 as a therapeutic aid.[14] The pump was a portable device that could turn any regular bathtub into a spa.[15]
From 1968, a whirlpool bath was produced, which included jets that mixed air and water. This product (called the Roman Bath) was developed by Roy Jacuzzi, a 3rd-generation member of the family.[16] This is considered the first whirlpool tub designed for relaxation, rather than for medical use.[17] Jacuzzi used celebrity Jayne Mansfield and others to market the tubs, which initially gained popularity among Hollywood movie stars.[14] In the 1970s, Jacuzzi products were featured on Queen for a Day and other TV shows and grew in popularity in California.[9] The company started developing larger models that could fit more than one person. They also added filters and heaters, so the tub didn't need to be drained with each use.[18] From 1970, family-sized spas were producted.[19]
By 1989, Jacuzzi had 2,200 employees.[13] Initially, Jacuzzi primarily sold through contractors and builders, but in 1993 it started selling through retailers.[20] In the 1990s Jacuzzi entered markets outside the US, especially in Italy and Spain. By the end of the 1990s, half of its sales were outside the US.[18]
Jacuzzi was influential in the trend towards larger and more luxurious bathrooms.[12]
Changes in ownership
By 1979,
Acquisitions since the 1990s have included Haugh Products
Gallery
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Historic whirlpool bath, circa 1969
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Historic Lowboy advertisement, circa 1970
References
- ^ a b c Giornalistica, Agenzia (15 January 2019). "Chi si è comprato Jacuzzi?". Agi (in Italian). Retrieved 12 October 2021.
- ^ a b "Private Equity-Backed Jacuzzi Brands Buying Hydropool and Liners Direct". The Wall Street Journal. 13 June 2017. Retrieved 12 October 2021.
- ISBN 978-1-4236-0254-5. Retrieved 10 October 2021.
- ^ Solomon, Saskia (14 August 2023). "The Frothy Saga of the Jacuzzi Family".
- ^ "The Frothy Saga of the Jacuzzi Family". nytimes.com. 11 August 2023. Retrieved 23 August 2023.
- ISBN 9780606373043.
- ISBN 978-0-02-864234-5. Retrieved 10 October 2021.
- ^ ISBN 978-1-59240-432-2. Retrieved 10 October 2021.
- ^ OCLC 11068215.
- ^ ISBN 978-1-61069-995-2. Retrieved 9 October 2021.
- ^ Johnson, Finos (8 March 1982). "Whirlpools only part of Jacuzzi business". UPI. Retrieved 9 October 2021.
- ^ a b Hupp, Susanne; Sentinel, Orlando (21 July 1985). "Before Hot Tubs Became Hot, There was Jacuzzi". The Chicago Tribune. Retrieved 10 October 2021.
- ^ ISBN 0-89781-289-1.
- ^ ISBN 978-1-63220-236-9. Retrieved 10 October 2021.
- ^ "History of Hot Tubs and Jacuzzi | Jacuzzi.com | Jacuzzi®". www.jacuzzi.com. Retrieved 6 January 2023.
- ISBN 978-1-78159-015-7. Retrieved 13 October 2021.
- ^ Professional Builder. Cahners Publishing Company. 1997. Retrieved 13 October 2021.
- ^ a b c d Grant, Tina; Derdak, Thomas (2006). "Jacuzzi Brands, Inc.". International Directory of Company Histories. Vol. 76. St. James Press. pp. 204–2010.
- ^ "Explore the History of Jacuzzi® Hot Tubs - Jacuzzi Ontario". 5 September 2019. Retrieved 6 January 2023.
- ^ a b c d e Emert, Carol (12 June 1999). "Hot Water, Cold Cash / How Roy Jacuzzi turned family business into global bath empire". The San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved 13 October 2021.
- ^ "BUSINESS PEOPLE; Jacuzzi Whirlpool Creator To Oversee Hanson Unit". The New York Times. 14 January 1988. Retrieved 14 October 2021.
- ^ "Hanson Trust to Acquire Kidde Inc. in $1.6-Billion Deal". The Los Angeles Times. 6 August 1987. Retrieved 12 October 2021.
- ^ Jackson, Ted (22 April 2003). "USI Will Become Jacuzzi Brands". Palm Beach Post. p. 5B.
- ^ Adrian-Diaz, Jenna (16 January 2019). "Investindustrial to Acquire Jacuzzi Brands". Interior Design. Retrieved 12 October 2021.
- ^ Kukec, Anna Marie (6 July 2017). "Jacuzzi buys Roselle's BathWraps". Daily Herald. Retrieved 14 October 2021.
- ^ Terlep, Sharon; Das, Anupreeta; Dezember, Ryan (13 December 2012). "Rexnord Explores Selling Unit". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 12 October 2021.
Further reading
- Jacuzzi, Ken (2005). Jacuzzi: A Father's Invention to Ease a Son's Pain. ISBN 978-0-59537-097-9. Self-published.
- Jacuzzi, Remo (2007). Spirit, Wind & Water: The Untold Story of the Jacuzzi Family. Welcome Rain Publishers. ISBN 978-1-56649-145-7.