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THE FLAME OF THE CENTURY
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The Ronson Company is established
more then 100 years ago. Over these years we have learned that Ronson is the inventor,
manufacturer, innovator and supplier of cigarette lighters. Over the decades
Ronson has proven to be the important party in the innovations, which finally
made the cigarette lighters that we use today. A few worth knowing facts about
Ronson: - Ronson is the inventor of the first mechanic cigarette
lighter - Ronson is the inventor of the multi-refillable
gas-lighter - Ronson is the inventor of the gas-lighter with adjustable
flame - Ronson is the patent holder of Worlds first gas valve. - Ronson is the inventor of the gas can, to refill
gas-lighters - In the ’60s the Ronson name was ranked on the 7th
place of Worlds best-known and recognised brand names. Above Ronson ware
names as, Coca Cola, Ford, General Motors etc. - The writer Ian Flamming describes the hero of his famous
‘Jams Bond‘ books with the Ronson Premier Varaflame. Unfortunately this was
never used in the James Bond movies. - The first man that crossed the Atlantic Ocean by rowing
boat ‘John Fairfax’ thanks his life to his Ronson lighter. We describes in
his letter ‘Where other products failed, the only thing I could rely on was
my Ronson Lighter’. - Ronson’s working is a conmen known fact, ‘Ronson lights
the first time’. Even in the war, the ‘Sherman tank’ got the nickname ‘The
Ronson’. The enemy had to shoot once on the tank, to bring is to fire. - Ronson is back,….
Stronger as ever!
In 1896, Louise V. Aronson starts to work on a new type of match. By then the
ignition of the matches’ ware made out of the highly poisoning Phosphor.
Aronson makes the match with a sulphur ignition and registered his invention
under the name “Safety Match” on 16 March 1897. That same year, the company
moves premises from New York to Newark, New Jersey. By then Art Metal Company
is not a one-man operation anymore and the name changes to ‘Art Metal Works’.
Louis V. Aronson is President of the company and Max Hecht vice-president. Art Metal Works manufactured various art
and home decoration products as, clocks, vases, desk sets, miniatures and
many other novelties useful for wedding- and holiday gifts. Louis V. Aronson
still interested with the new ways of ignitions. He meets Alexander Harris
who is born in New York and educated in London. Alexander Harris is also
inventor and shares Aronson’s passion for new ways of ignition. In 1908
Alexander Harris joins the company and together they start to work on the
development of lighters.
In 1910 Louis V. Aronson granted his first lighter patent. This spark
producing apparatus, is an ignition system without any fuel specification,
the name on the patent is Pist-o-Liter. This sparking apparatus is based on
the metal alloy “Ferro-Cerium” invented by the Austrian “Dr. Carl Auer von
Weisbach” two years before. The name Ferro-Cerium was named Auermetal
referring to the inventor Dr. Carl Auer von Weisbach. Now or days the
Auermetal is better known as “Flints” that still is used in the lighters. For
Aronson and Harris this was the start of their both passion to invent /
create a proper ‘flame lighter’.
In the ‘20’s a small part of Art Metal
Works makes cigarette lighters. In that time they make other products like
speaking telephones and toys like speaking dolls and a sparking machinegun
named ‘Repeater’. The Ronson name is use for the first time on these
products. Meanwhile in Europe the developments go
very fast, lighters ware made that work on the combination of flints and petrol.
However they are very elaborate and it always took at least three motions to
make them work. During a holiday in England, Aronson visits “Alfred Dunhill”
and becomes inspired by what he sees. Aronson combines all different ideas
and improves them and was driven to invent a one-motion-lighter.
Aronson’s dream came true, the lighters
ware very popular and decides to discontinue all other products then the
lighters and the development of lighters. Later these years a marketing and
sales force ware employed, advertisements came in the media. Ronson presented
itself as: “The Worlds Greatest Lighters” and “A flip and it
lites, release and it’s out”. By then also Louis V Aronsons’ son
Alexander H. Aronson joined the company.
The developments of the lighters go
quickly and in the year 1929. The more modern and streamlined shaped lighter
is introduced, the Standard and together the Junior Sport. Both based on the
‘Hammer action’ De-Light mechanism. In the years after lot’s of variations
ware introduced as the: Princess, Pet and Rondette, all available in
different finishes. Due to the success and extreme
growth of the company, it needed capital for product development and expands
business. At May 10th 1928, the company name
changes to Art Metal Inc and for the first time got listed at the American
stock exchange and offered it shares to the public. In that same year the
company achieved a sales turnover of 3 million Dollars, which was
tripled in the three years following. Late ‘20s and begin ‘30s Ronson
opens sales offices, showrooms and fabrics all over the World. Such as in
Canada, Mexico, Cuba, England and Austria. The English subsidiary is named:
Ronson Products Limited. The collection expended with more automatic
table-lighters and a number of novelty-luxury lighters, built into cigarette
cases and mechanical pencils. In 1935 Ronsons chief designer, Frederick
Kaupman, designs a new sort of lighter: The Touch-tip-tablelighter. Kaupmann
has joined the Art Metal Works Inc (USA) some years before and is responsible
for a lot of patents and designs for this period. The principle of the Touch-tip is simple:
The wand is lifted out of the fuel-compartment, the fuel-soaked wick on the
end is pressed on the automatic ignition system, this creating a spark and
igniting the wick. The Touch-tip is extremely successful. The first of very
many of this type is the T-T Octette. In the same year a second successful
touch-tip is brought on the market: the T-T Streamlined. Their designs are
beautiful combinations of enamel, gold-plating and chrome. Especially the Art
Deco –styled models are very popular. In 1940 Louis V Aronson dies. His right-hand
man Alexander Harris becomes president of the company and runs it together
with Louis’ son Alexander H. Aronson who worked in the business since 1910. During the Second World War, the
production of lighters becomes complicated due to shortness on copper. Though
the outside of the lighters was copper plated and with black enamel, the
lighters became rusty and it was impossible to continue the finish quality
for that time. The English government instructed Ronson to produce war
material like, fuses for bombs and torpedoes but also airplane parts as
hinges and other parts for wings. Heavy bombardments from the Germans on
London hit the Ronson factory and got 80% destroyed. Because the Ronson
factory was important as war-material supplier, the English government
relocated the factory in an old Royal boarding school in the south of London
and financed the machinery. Ronson could continue make the war-materials.
Ronson has been located in this premises till begin ‘50s. After the War, it was time to rebuild the
business the industries. In 1947 Alexander H. Aronsons son: Louis V. Aronson
II joins the company after completing the US Navel Academy. |
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UNDER CONSTRUCTION,...........
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After the War,
it was time to rebuild the business the industries. In 1947 Alexander H.
Aronsons son: Louis V. Aronson II joins the company after completing the US
Navel Academy. Gas lighters After World
War II the time was ripe for completely new inventions. On June 1947, the
first gas-lighter in the world is introduced in France. The worlds
introduction of this table lighter named Gentry is held in Hotel Crillion in
Paris by Flaminair. Marcel Quercia is the owner of Flaminair. The following
year the first pocket gas lighter is introduced again by Flaminair, the name
of this model is the Crillion, named after the Hotel from the previous year
and introduction. Both these gas-lighters are produced with a separate gas
reservoir. The first time
a Ronson patent mentioned gas as fuel was at 23 November 1948. It was a
patent for a removable gas reservoir, applied by Warren I. Nissen for Ronson.
Many variations ware made on this system till the patent applied by Ray L.
Burchett was raised for “a Fuel storing and Charging Cartridge” in April
1952. This patent mentions two inventions, an inlet-valve system and a
cartridge. This cartridge and the inlet-valve made it possible to refill, the
gas-tanks. Ronson decides
to convert all gas-lighters with the removable tank to a steady gas-tank. One
of the first refillable gas-lighter was the Vanguard. To identify the
refillable lighters Ronson gave them a blue oxidised filler-cap screw. The
gas-cartridge was also coloured bleu and hold enough for one refill. The
cartridge only had a one-time use; because it had just enough capacity to
refill the lighters once, after it was empty it became useless and had to be
thrown away. After 44 years
of loyalty to Ronson, Alexander Harris retires in the year 1952. Alexander H.
Aronson becomes president. That same year Ronson opens a gigantic large new
plant in south London, in Leatherhead, England. More then 2.500 people
working on the production of Ronson lighters in Leatherhead. Often whole
families got employed and already then Ronson had a children’s department,
for mothers that worked at Ronson. In 1957 a
breakthrough for Ronson on the gas-lighter development, is the introduction
of the Premier Varaflame. This lighter holds all newest novelties and
techniques made in co-operation of two top engineers of the Ronson. The
technical engineer is Conrad Zellweger, who invented a new multi refillable
inlet-valve. Plus a new burner-valve that made it possible to adjust the
flame-height by hand. All build in a lighter designed by Seymore Rappaport
who let himself inspire by the ‘streamline designs’. Not only invented
Zellweger the special gas-inlet-valve, he also invented a multi-fill
cartridge to refill the Premier Varaflame time after time. The success is
indescribable. Hundreds of thousands Ronson Premier Varaflame’s are produced
in England and later also in France and Woodbridge America. At the end of the
‘50s Ronson had a worldwide produced capacity of 15.000 Premier Varaflame’s a
day! Till then it was Ronson’s biggest success ever. Special plants ware
build to produce the Multifill® gas-cartridges to satisfy the demand.
Well-known English plants ware on Island of White and New Castle. In the
beginning Ronson supplied the Premier only in the chrome design with a golden
V on it. The V stands symbol for Varaflame (variable flame). But soon after
the first year of introduction, various designs and finishes ware lanced. In 1958 many
petrol lighters ware redesigned and became new in the Ronson collection as
Varaflame® gas-lighter. Another success was the Ronson Adonis Varaflame. This
ladies-lighter was a smaller version of the Premier Varaflame. Diversification
(1954-1964) In the period
from 1954 till 1964 decides to diversification more. The new slogan becomes:
‘Remember, Ronson does more then light
cigarettes’. Ronson offers a widely diversified range of consumer and
industrial products and services: Flame Products: Lighters, Butane candles,
Butane torches and a butane cooking appliances. Electronic appliances: Shavers for men and women,
toothbrushes, hairdryers, shoe polishers, blenders, carving knives, portable
can openers, food mixers, and a first of its kind kitchen appliance, that
will cook and stir as well as blend. Packaging products: Fuels for wick-type lighters and
butane lighters, flints, home lubricants and shoe polish. Aerospace products: Precision high temperature hydraulic
valves for supersonic flight, pneumatic and fuel valves; cylinders and
related products for the commercial aircraft, helicopters and aerospace
applications. Also helicopter charter, sales and maintenance. Rare earth metals and alloys: Flints for lighters and industrial applications;
mischmetal for stainless steel; ductile iron, magnesium, aluminium alloys,
didymium for certain magnesium alloys etc. etc. Much of these
activities have taken place in America, the European operations ware more
focussed on the flame products and electronic appliances. In 1965 Ronson
lanced a complete new lighter concept; the Ronson Comet. The comet is
designed in 1962 by Conrad Zellweger and William Retzler. This lighter is
completely made from plastic, which is then a new, very modish and popular
material. The lighter is very light and different from any other lighter.
With a popular price-level of US$ 6,00 and the trendy colours makes this
lighter Ronson biggest success. Within 15 years, Ronson sells more then 60
million Comets. Just as with the Premier lighter all credits for success goes
to Ronson Products Ltd – England. By the end of
the ‘60s more then 11.000 people ware employed by Ronson in their 17 plants
worldwide. Begin ‘70s Ronson
modernise the collection by lancing the Varaflame MK-II series, next to
original collection. The MK-II series have less visual moving parts, they are
snuffles. Where the snuffer extinguishes the flame in all previous lighters,
the work is now done by means of a fork-lift system on the burner-valve. Around 1970
Ronson introduces the electronic ignition system. The lighter has been known
for the lighter with the soft touch. There are two systems: a Crystal
ignition, working via a piëzo technique and a Battery operating ignition.
Ronson has lanced many lighters aswel with the piëzo as with the Battery
ignition system. The lighters are very popular because of the easy use. Ronson
research works on a new revolutionary ignition system, later known as the
“Varachem ignition cartridge”. The Varachem cartridge is a small canister,
filled with a pyrophoric fuel (rocket fuel) and when it comes into contact
with oxygen, instant combustion takes place. These canisters or cartridges as
they were known were installed in two known lighters: the Varachem
Pen-lighter and the Varachem Trend-setter. Both lighters were lanced in 1976.
Shortly after the introduction they ware taken out of production, because the
system is very delicate and dangerous. One of the problems is known as
“aching up”. This is a build-up of corrosion around the hole where the fuel
comes out, resulting in leakage and instant combustion. In 1976 the
sales figures overdrawn every expectation. This year was a very successful
year for the English department of Ronson. Despite this, the management of
the American head quarters acknowledged heavily cut in costs. The following
years several factories ware closed and brings along a lot of costs. In the
following years, the losses increase. Also the diversifications get the
business into trouble, because of competition from the Japanese and European
market, especially from Bic and Gillette. The losses keep increasing slowly.
Although the financial sources ware very limited Ronson develops the
electronic ignition system further into a “sensor-system”. In 1980, Ronson joins in the new
‘disposable trend’ with the Magnum disposable lighter. The US parent
company had long been in financial difficulties, caught with high overhead
costs, strong competition in the non-flame products. Desperate attempts by
Ronson UK to solve the corporations’ financial problems failed and Ronson USA
decided to liquidate all foreign Ronson companies. The company’s assets ware
been sold and financial stripped, to prevent the corporation for bankruptcy.
After that Ronson dissociated from all international rights and duties and
the thousands of people who worked for Ronson lost their jobs. In 1981
Jeffrey Port bought tools, parts and trademark rights out of the liquidation
of Ronson Products and continues business under the name Ronson
International. In the old plant in New Castle, the production of the
Multifill gas-cans and Ronsonol petrol was continued. Another old Ronson
engineer started up the production of the Ronson Premier Varaflame. In 1983
ownership changes hand to Geoffrey Richmond and the name of the company
changed to Ronson Export Limited. With a new approach to the market the
business continued and in 1986 the Ronson started to import lighters from the
Far East. The
international well-known “Ronson name” suffers, due to the weak economic
position of Britain mid ‘80s. Ronson’s export-division fails due to the high
value of the Pond Sterling and 80% of the products go to the domestic market.
Luckily this change at the end of ‘80s when the British currency value
dropped and the export picks up. Especially the Ronson Multifill® gas-cans
bring a big turn in the business. Because of the
age of the old machinery and new regulations and safety laws Ronson decides
to build a new plant. In 1992 Ronson moves to the brand new (aerosol)
gas-can-factory behind the old buildings. These high tech production lines
fill and rap 5.000 aerosols per hour. By then
Ronson’s business is more into the aerosols then in the lighter business. In
January 1994 the business and assets ware sold to Halkin Holdings plc, with
as chief executive Howard Hodgson. Howard Hodgson turns the business around
not only with a big investment, but also with lots of effort and passion for
the brand. It is within a year that Ronson presents an appealing lighter
collection of 19 different lighters. The top model is the original Ronson
Premier Varaflame. The new export
and marketing division manage to bring Ronson back in business where it was
near to dead the past 10 years. With the slogan: “We are delighted to be
back” Ronson is re-introduced in 50 countries, by a network of 40
distributors. In 1995 Ronson
introduced a new version of the famous Comet, named the Super-Comet with the
new techniques. Where the old Comet had a flint system as ignition has the
Super Comet a piëzo quartz ignition. The Super-Comet is available in 10
different finishes and again becomes a best-seller. In the night of
21 January 1996 a tragedy happened. On the business estate of Tyne & Wear
(New Castle) is a big fire. Although the fire appears to be 100meters away
from the Ronson premises, a fireball hit the open air aerosol storage, which
caught fire. After an explosion, one of the above the ground butane tanks got
into the flames and a gigantic explosion took place. The explosion made a
whole in the ground of 5 meters deep and the whole Ronson premises was on
fire. The whole building and everything in it got lost, the warehouses and
also the complete Ronson history, original tools, spare parts for historical
lighters and product blueprints and designs. With all the
effort of the Ronson employees, the company was operational shortly after a
month and within two months the dispatch of merchandise could be continued. The management
of Ronson looks for the ‘big expansion’ of the brand and make Ronson to a
lifestyle brand. Large diversifications of products are added to the
collection, such as watches, writing materials, sunglasses, luggage and
shavers. With sub-brands and lifestyle names as Rebel, Racer and Retro it is
the plan to appeal the crowd. Though the success is very disappointing. The
investments in these products are incredible and even bring Ronson in a weak
financial position. Ronson’s warehouse is filled with millions of pounds of
unsaleable merchandise. In 1997 Ronson
had to clear out the ‘lifestyle’ merchandise and devaluated most of the
products. A major reorganisation went throughout the company to cut down the
overhead costs. As soon the loss over 1997 was estimated, Howard Hodgson took
his responsibility and resigned. The total loss reached GBP 11 mil that year.
The company needed to find new funds to continue the reorganisation and find
a new investor. The American businessman Victor Kiam bought a large
percentage of the company’s shares. Together with the new elected management
they had the difficult task to trim down the Ronson organisation. After three years of making tough decisions the company is made to a efficient and up to date organisation. One of the toughest decisions was to close down the Premier production line. New investments and the increasing labour-costs made it impossible to continue the production in England. Under strictly
control the best lighter manufacturers of the world, make the new
Varaflame-2000. The ‘new Premier’ has some technical modifications and works,
as you would expect from a Ronson. The past two
years Ronson invested a lot in product development. The Ronson lighters are
different from others and become more recognisable by their own identity. Details as: -
- The V – marked ‘air-holes’ -
- The letter R on the lighter -
- The V- mark on the lighter will identify
a Ronson product. But also the
exclusive shaped products made out of the best quality parts and in new
materials, do make Ronson they fashionable lighter brand. End 1999 Ronson
introduced the V-2000 disposable piëzo-lighter. An unmistakable recognisable
Ronson lighter. A year later the V-2000 Colours is introduced as a new
concept lighter. A up to date design, smart looking semi-transparent design
in ‘freeze’ colours, is a refillable piëzo-lighter and costs a little more
then a disposable lighter. In this new
millennium Ronson presents itself in all price levels, up from the lowest
priced flint disposable to the high quality gift-lighters. But the British
safety consumer research institute ‘BSI’ tests each Ronson lighter, before
they will be presented to the public. On top of that, the Ronson lighters
also have an ISO-Certification. November 2000
the Classic collection is introduced. Nice classic designed lighters in three
different systems: with a piëzo ignition, with or without turbo burner; a
flint-ignition, as regular or pipe lighter. In 2001 the
new shaped contemporary collection lighters. These low priced products are
presented on display. These colourful collections hold refillable transparent
lighters, in the popular price-range. Ronson,… the brand that thanks to their innovation and
inventions history made,….. |
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