Thermos history

In 1906, the company Thermos GmbH was formed by Burger with Albert Aschenbrenner and Gustav Robert Paalen.

On January 31, 1907 Walker founded The American Thermos Bottle Company incorporated in Portland, Maine.

1909 Grand Prize Award Praised around the world for its revolutionary design, Thermos won the ‘Grand Prize Award’ at the Alaska Yukon Pacific Exposition and went on to be honoured at seven more world expositions.

By 1910, the company could claim in its catalog that Thermos had become a "household word," using the word Thermos not as an adjective for the company's vacuum bottles, but as a noun signifying the vacuum bottle itself.

1911 World leader in glass vacuum technology Thermos Limited, located in England produced the first machine-made glass filler, a critical industrial breakthrough for speeding up production.

1912 Demand exceeds production! The popularity of Thermos products grew tremendously – so much so that The American Thermos Bottle Company had to move to a new site in Norwich, CT to increase output.

By 1917, the company could assure its retailers that the public's use of the word Thermos when referring to vacuum bottles was worth three to four million dollars in free advertising.

As early as 1922, the company brought suit against W. T. Grant Co. for using the word Thermos to describe the latter company's own vacuum bottles.

With sales nearing $1.5 million by 1923, American Thermos set out to protect its trademark, including registering its logo, adding the words "vacuum bottles" or "vacuum jugs" to its advertising, and raising the prominence of the trademark symbol beside its name.

1928 Technology developments Advancements led to new uses for vacuum-insulated technology.

In a 1940 memorandum, company officials raised concerns about the addition of the word "thermos" to many dictionaries, arguing that "this undoubtedly would be cited against us in a lawsuit to defend the trademark.

1952 The Plastene Corporation Thermos acquired the Plastene Corporation of Indiana, giving Thermos two injection moulding facilities in the US and greater expertise in this emerging technology.

1953 2,000,000 units Improving on their lunch kits, Thermos released the first fully lithographed steel lunch box with the image of Roy Rogers, which sold over 2,000,000 units in the first year.

In 1955, The American Thermos Bottle Company acquired control of Hemp and Company, Inc. of Macomb, Illinois, manufacturers of the "Little Brown Jug" and other insulated jugs and chests as well as Duncan Hines outdoor grills.

To reflect the growing diversity of products, the names of the North American companies were changed in 1956.

In 1958, Aladdin announced its intention to market a line of vacuum bottles as "thermos bottles." American Thermos sued Aladdin for trademark infringement in that year.

1960 Merger with King-Steeley Corporation Thermos merged with the King-Seeley Corporation, thus entering the tent, camp stove, and lantern field.

1966 Stainless steel Thermos introduced the world to their first stainless steel vacuum bottle.

In 1969, King-Seeley Thermos acquired the Halsey Taylor Company, a maker of drinking fountains and water coolers.

1978 Thermos created the world's first stainless steel high vacuum insulated bottle AF-850/1100/AS-550/750

1982 Launch of Shuttle Mini, first vacuum insulated bottle designed for infant/child use HSC-350/500

1985 The Thermos Coffee Butler Successfully introduced onto the market was the Thermos Coffee Butler, a vacuum-insulated glass carafe, becoming one of the top household products in North America that year.

The combined companies would reach $188 million in sales by 1988.

Thermos was sold to Nippon Sanso Corp. of Japan for $134 million in 1989.

In 1990, Monte Peterson, formerly with Coleman Co., was named president and CEO of the new subsidiary.

Growth at Thermos, however, seemed to be slow over the past decade, with sales in 1995 estimated to have reached only around $200 million.

1996 New UK Offices In 1996 the UK Thermos plant moved from Brentwood to a new site in Thetford, adjacent to the glass plant.

1998 Launch of industry's first vacuum insulated sports bottle FBE-500/700

2002 IsoTec™ The high-performance IceBound line of soft coolers is introduced.

2004 100 Years! Thermos celebrated 100 years of designing and developing vacuum insulated products.

2011 Set up of second Thermos® China manufacturing plant, Thermos (Jiangsu) Housewares Co., Ltd

2012 Launch of best-selling ultra-light one-push tumbler JNL series

2013 Launch of market's lightest weight in class tumbler JNO series

2014 Thermos acquires Alfi Thermos Parent companies acquire alfi GmbH, 100-year old German company specialising in premium carafes.

2016 Thermos Singapore launched second edition of exclusive local design Peranakan inspired One-Push Tumbler.

2017 Thermos acquires Lifefactory Thermos LLC acquires Lifefactory Inc., leader in glass hydration and baby products featuring silicone sleeves

2018 Launch of new Sports Bottle Series with light-reflecting feature.

2019 Thermos Singapore first launched and specially designed a product series for Hello Kitty Lovers