The Scott Fetzer Company began as a machine shop in 1914 in Cleveland, Ohio, founded by George Scott and Carl Fetzer. Inventor Jim Kirby, also from Cleveland, partnered with the businessmen to produce the first Kirby vacuum cleaner. Kirby vacuum cleaners remained the Company’s mainstay product until the 1960s, when it began a program of expansion and acquisition. Today, Scott Fetzer is a diversified manufacturer and marketer of high quality products for the home, family, and industry comprised of more than 20 businesses. In addition to Kirby, some of its best known businesses are World Book (encyclopedias and reference materials), GINSU Brands, Adalet (explosion-proof enclosures), United Consumer Financial Services (consumer financing), Meriam (instrumentation), Halex (electrical fittings), ScottCare (cardiovascular monitoring systems), Carefree (RV accessories), Wayne Water Systems (sump and utility pumps) and Western Enterprises (compression gas fittings).