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Dualit Celebrates its 75-Year Anniversary

On the 16 October 2020, we celebrated our 75-year anniversary. Founded by Max Gort-Barten (CBE) in 1945, we continue to nurture Max's inventive and entrepreneurial spirit and are well-known for our popular Classic Toaster collection. Each Dualit Classic Toaster is hand built by the same person from start to finish in our factory in West Sussex and features the name of the assembler on the base plate. Most are hand sprayed by Brian, who has worked for the company for over 25 years and if you were to take the end casting off a Classic Toaster, you would likely see Brian's handprints! To commemorate our anniversary, Dualit is introducing a Classic Toaster-inspired toast rack, which mirrors the design of the four slots and helps complete the breakfast setting. Made from FSC® certified Beech, its functional and durable design will see many a morning's toast displayed with pride.

Dualit Celebrates its 75-Year Anniversary

NEW SHADES

Recent years have seen Dualit's well-loved product designs remain the same, but a bigger emphasis on colours and shades has been introduced in response to the emotional connection between our customers and products. In 2017, we appointed colour trend forecaster, Anna Starmer, to develop a palette of 'New Neutral' shades for the Classic Toaster and Kettle. Months of research and development resulted in four new colours inspired by the world we live in, organic materials and treasured items. These colours replaced some of the original shades to breathe new life into Dualit's hero products. 2019 saw a second collaboration explore the growing desire for our homes to be calming sanctuaries away from our busy everyday lives, resulting in 'The Naturals' collection.

New colours were also introduced to the Lite and Domus ranges, including grey and gloss white to cater to the popularity for neutral colour schemes in the kitchen. 

SUSTAINABILITY

We have remained consistently committed to sustainability as a business, and over the past few years have implemented a number of new initiatives, products and changes in packaging to remain focused on this. The introduction of a range of Compostable Capsules led the way for the industry in 2016, whereby the pod, lid and protective bag can be placed in authorised collection scheme food waste bins* for industrial composting**. Dualit's Aluminium Capsules are infinitely recyclable, but without proper preparation can end up in landfill. This prompted the development and launch of our EcoPress in 2019 to assist in successful recycling.

 

With customers placing increasing emphasis on buying quality that lasts, Dualit's Classic Toaster has always featured fully repairable and replaceable parts to help prevent the need to discard a toaster if parts break or wear. We also provide customers with a full servicing offer for Classic Toasters in need of some TLC and to ensure they are in tip top condition. In addition to our toasters, the Classic Kettle features a ground-breaking replaceable element - the part which usually deems a kettle unusable - to lengthen the lifespan considerably.

SALES SUCCESS

Classic Toaster sales continue to rise, and as of September 2020, our factory is at full production capacity. With 2020 bringing an unprecedented pandemic, demand for Dualit's coffee capsules also sky rocketed, with sales on Dualit.com jumping 90% in April and demand remaining high throughout the year as customers shifted their spending from cafes to home. In response to the nationwide call-out to companies able to help produce PPE for NHS staff, we used our 3D printing facility to produce protective face visors. The visors were designed to ensure a comfortable fit for staff who would be wearing them for long periods. The visors were donated to several healthcare providers local to our West Sussex headquarters.

DUALIT: A HISTORY

Max Gort-Barten, the founder of Dualit, was born in Germany in 1914 and found himself in England as WWII broke out. After five years in the British army he bought a factory in Camberwell along with original 1938 two-ton, Bliss Power Presses as army surplus (some of which are still in use in the factory today) with the intention of manufacturing one of his many inventions for the commercial market. One of Max's early ideas; the Dual-Light electric fire, so named as it could deflect heat to two parts of a room is where the company name is derived from. Further initial inventions included a stainless steel fire screen, an onion top and tail machine and a patented cocktail shaker and mixer for custards and puddings. Dualit's first successful product was a patented flip-sided toaster, which launched in 1946.

In 1952, Dualit designed and engineered a commercial six-slice toaster with a built-in mechanical timer, which was the first of its kind and bears a striking resemblance to today's model. Residents of Picton Street, where the Camberwell factory was located and the entire Gort-Barten family were involved in its production. In 1954 the Government compulsory-purchased the factory and gave Max money to build a new factory on the Old Kent Road. The Dualit Classic Toaster became a ubiquitous part of commercial kitchens all over the UK, even making it on-board the QE2 in 1968. In 2003, the same year that Max Gort-Barten died, the company outgrew its factory in the Old Kent Road and moved to new premises in Crawley, West Sussex where today more than 2000 Classic Toasters are made every week and are sold in 54 countries. Lovingly used in homes, restaurants, cafes, hotels and even on a nuclear submarine as well as first class aircraft cabins, Dualit Classic Toasters have a dedicated following and have been known to be passed down through generations with a few spare parts to keep them ticking!

Now with 75 years' experience manufacturing thoughtfully designed, well-engineered products, our Classic Toasters lead the way in innovation. Made from 141 components for the two slice and 168 for the four slice, they feature unique ProHeat® Elements, which benefit from a protective natural mineral layer (Mica) that covers the filaments making them virtually unbreakable and easy to keep clean. The extra 'winds per square cm' on the ProHeat® Elements ensure that the bread is toasted more evenly. Designed to be tough enough to cope with commercial kitchens, Dualit Classic Toasters contain fully repairable or replaceable parts (including the ProHeat® Elements) for great longevity and are quality checked three times before leaving the factory.

Added benefits include a manual ejector for complete control, concealed crumb tray for easy cleaning, high lift mechanism to remove smaller items and a mechanical timer to control the browning process. The extra-wide 28mm slots are suitable for use with Dualit's Sandwich Cages and thanks to an efficient slot selector, it is possible to toast only what is needed, helping to save energy and reduce wasting food. A patented adjustable rear foot also compensates for uneven surfaces. During the last 75 years the Classic Toaster has been available in a rainbow of colour choices, currently standing at 20.

PRICE AND AVAILABILITY

As part of the 75th Anniversary celebrations, the new Dualit Toast Rack will be available as a free gift alongside the purchase of Classic NewGen and AWS Toasters between November 1st to January 8th 2020. Excludes Vario, Origins and Combi models. It will be available for individual sale priced at £19.75 from December 2020 from www.dualit.com . Full terms apply, see website for details.

*Customers are advised to check with their local authority for collections

**Dualit Compostable capsules are not suitable for home composting or for inclusion in garden waste collections

Dualit Products

We've been producing high quality products since 1945 - although our journey began with the Classic Toaster, click below to see some of the products in our range now!