The first Royal vacuum cleaners were made by the P.A. Geier Company in 1905, establishing Royal as the oldest vacuum cleaner manufacturing company in the world. Mr. Geier started producing his metal cleaners by hand in a backyard garage in Cleveland, Ohio.

In 1937, Royal moved to a new location on East 105th Street and introduced the industry's first hand-held vac, the "Royal Prince." The company continued making vacuum cleaners until World War II, when it joined the war effort to make military goods.

Royal was then purchased by a group of employees, headed by Stan Erbor, in 1954. The company thrived under Erbor's leadership, and refined all phases of operations. Erbor was active in the company until his death in 1981 at age 80.

In 1981, a small group of investors saw an opportunity to purchase the company and to bring a fresh, new, sales and marketing strategy. With this new leadership, the new Royal Appliance Mfg. Co.'s sales grew from just under $5 million in 1981 to over $428 million in 2001.

The new marketing approach included an aggressive advertising strategy and new distribution into mass retail accounts such as Kmart and Wal-Mart. In 1984, Royal introduced an innovative new product -- the Dirt Devil® Hand Vac -- which has grown to become Royal's signature product and the largest selling hand-held vacuum cleaner in the United States.

Today, Royal enjoys more than 98 percent brand name awareness in the Dirt Devil brand name. Royal’s line of products with the Dirt Devil brand name include uprights, stick vacs, canister vacs, hand vacs, and carpet shampooers. These products are sold through major retailers nationwide.

In May of 2003, Royal Appliance Mfg. Co. was acquired by Techtronic Industries Co., Ltd though it is still headquartered in Ohio.

TTI’s principal areas of business are power tools, outdoor power equipment, floor care appliances, solar powered lighting and electronic measuring products. The industry giant is headquartered in Hong Kong, maintains a customer servicing network in North America, Europe and Australia and currently employs over 16,000 people worldwide.

Royal is dedicated to building brand loyalty through customer satisfaction by providing customers quality products that meet their cleaning needs. Continuous innovation and quality in its products, advertising and operations are the key drivers of Royal Appliance’s future growth.