Ronco Machine history

1945 Ron's father and uncle launch Popeil Brothers, Inc., in Chicago.

Sam Popeil was trained by his uncles to demonstrate and sell kitchen gadgets, and he and his sibling Raymond launched Popeil Brothers, Inc. in Chicago in 1947.

Featuring the Ronco Spray Gun, a hose spraying device that consumers could use to wash and wax their automobiles as well as to fertilize their lawns, the commercial made its debut in 1962.

Ron Popeil founded Ronco in 1964, and commercials for the company's products quickly made Ronco a household name.

By 1966, more than one million spray guns had been sold.

Under the name Ronco Teleproducts, the firm completed its initial public offering in 1969, selling 22 percent of its shares for $5.5 million.

The firm raised another $750,000 via an offering on the American Stock Exchange in 1970.

1974 Popeil releases his first invention, the "Smokeless Ashtray."

Ronco overbought the device for the 1983 Christmas season and was not up to competition from the likes of Norelco, Remington, and other leading housewares manufacturers, who initiated a price war in the category.

Heavy debt forced Ronco into bankruptcy in 1984.

1987 Trying to rebuild Ronco, Popeil tours the fair circuit and begins selling his food dehydrator.

1989 Popeil begins selling via infomercials.

The infomercial generated a total of $80 million in food dehydrator sales by 1993.

In 1994, Creative Technologies Corporation sued Popeil and the retailers affiliated with his pasta maker for patent infringement, false advertising, and unfair competition.

1997 Release of the New and Improved Popeil Automatic Pasta and Sausage Maker.

1998 Release of the Ron Popeil Showtime Rotisserie and Barbecue.

porter, thyra. "ron popeil ronco: he's a successful inventor and a savvy merchandiser. . .but wait, there's more." hfn: the weekly newspaper for the home furnishing network., 27 november 2000.

donoho, ron. "one-man show." sales & marketing management, june 2001.

In 2003 Allen approached Popeil, who later agreed to sell Ronco for $55 million.

Today Popeil is still going strong, even after selling Ronco in 2004.