time to celebrate!
2015 is an exciting year for Dualit as it marks 70 years since
the company was founded in 1945. Over the years we are proud to
have kept product innovation at the forefront of what we do,
providing safe, high quality products that make life in both
professional and domestic kitchens, much easier.
In celebration of this landmark we have launched an exciting
competition to win an array of Dualit prizes, as well as
fascinating facts and stories from our heritage.
Revealed - The oldest working Dualit toaster!
In celebration of #Dualit70 we launched a worldwide search to find the oldest working Dualit toaster. We received entries from all over the world, often accompanied with the story behind where the toaster came from and how it's been used.
Thank you to everyone who took the time to send in photos and tell us about their toasters. We hope to publish some of the fascinating stories and photos on our website very soon.
And the winner is....
The winning toaster was made in the Dualit factory in London, just off the Old Kent Road in 1973! Hand built by Dualit's Factory Foreman at the time, the 4 slot toaster with cream end panels was sold to a customer from Southampton on the south coast of England, who bought it to use in her busy bed and breakfast to make toast for the guests.
The toaster worked steadily for the next 16 years, then it was passed down to the owners' son in 1989. Then it was used in his home, where his teenage son, Andrew Ruddick used it regularly. Mr Ruddick inherited the toaster as his own in 1993 and these days it can be found making toast for himself, his wife Zoe and their four children at their home in Hampshire everyday.
That makes the winning toaster 42 years old!
LIMITED EDITION 70TH ANNIVERSARY TOASTER
To commemorate 70 years of product innovation, we have designed an exclusive, limited edition "Anniversary Toaster".
Dualit's in-house design and engineering team have selected key design features from toasters from the 1940's to today to create the 2 slot Anniversary Toaster.
Did you know? 70 FACTS ABOUT DUALIT
You'll probably know a little about Dualit, such as we are a family run business and that we know quite a lot about toast! But there is probably more that you don't know. Our team at Dualit have put our heads together to come up with 70 facts about our company, some of which may be surprising!
a few of our favourites...
- Dualit was founded on the 16 October 1945 under the name "Dualit Works"
- Rod Stewart, Eric Clapton, Goldie Hawn, Henry Winkler, Bob Marley, Tom Selleck, Bette Midler, Van Morrison and Helen Mirren were all born in the year that Dualit was founded, 1945
- After WWII, founder Max Gort-Barten bought original Bliss 2 ton power presses as army surplus. Made in 1938, some are still in use in the factory today
- Early company designs included a stainless steel fire screen, an onion top and tail machine, and a patented cocktail shaker and mixer for custards and puddings
- The Dualit Shake-Mixer was designed to mix hot or cold liquids with dry ingredients like gravy powder, dried egg, dried milk and blancmange powder. It promised to mix the ingredients in just four shakes!
- New products are often put to test by the staff at the factory and their feedback is used to finalise designs
- Dualit has also ranged a set of weighing scales, DAB radio, steam iron, gold plated corkscrew, pedestal fans and a 'hot air' dryer!
- Dualit appliances have featured in television programmes including The Naked Chef, Saturday Kitchen, Fawlty Towers, Absolutely Fabulous, Friends and Eastenders
want to learn more?
You'll find a lot more about about the history of Dualit and our products on our company timeline.