Kirby Vacuum Cleaners celebrates its 100th birthday in 2014

Kirby Vacuum Cleaners celebrates its 100th birthday in 2014 in conjunction with Quality Cleaning Equipment, Hamilton

2014 marks the 100th anniversary of Kirby Vacuum Cleaners, an important milestone for Kirby service providers Quality Cleaning Equipment, Hamilton.

1914 was an important year in world history.

The first colour film was shown in London, the first traffic lights were installed in Cleveland and Franz Ferdinand Archduke of Austria and his wife were assassinated precipitating the start of WW1.

And it also marked the year that Kirby Vacuum cleaners was born.

At the early age of 21, James Kirby developed his first vacuum cleaner.

It was powered by hand - the husband operated the bellows and the wife guided the nozzle over the carpet. Dust was separated by drawing dust-laden air through water. In the same period Albert Einstein introduced his Theory of Relativity.

James Kirby was quite an inventor of his time and was responsible for many advancements and improvements in home cleaning methods.

James Kirby joined the Scott and Fetzer (Machine) Company at the start of World War 1 when their combined engineering and production skills were in great demand for the war effort.

After the war, James Kirby continued with his cleaning designs and subsequently introduced many advancements over the next few decades such as the an electric motor, a detachable long handle, toe-touch height adjustment, an electric light on the front (now an LED), introduced vibration for more efficient cleaning, designed shampoo and spray guns, and a two-speed motor that automatically adjusted to either hose cleaning or carpet cleaning.

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Kirby Vacuum Cleaners celebrates its 100th birthday in 2014