Jacuzzi is an American private company that manufactures and markets hot tubs, pools, and other bath products. It is best known for the Jacuzzi hydrotherapy products. The company is headquartered in

Irvine, California Irvine () is a Planned community, planned city in central Orange County, California, United States, in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. It was named in 1888 for the landowner James Irvine. The Irvine Company started developing the area in the ...

. It is the largest hot tub manufacturer in

Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

with eight factories, the largest being in

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

. The company was founded in 1915 by seven Italian immigrant brothers from the Jacuzzi family in Berkeley, California. It developed a variety of products including pumps for agricultural use. In 1948, Jacuzzi created water pumps to treat a family member's

rheumatoid arthritis Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a long-term autoimmune disorder that primarily affects synovial joint, joints. It typically results in warm, swollen, and painful joints. Pain and stiffness often worsen following rest. Most commonly, the wrist and h ...

. The water pumps were a niche medical product until they were integrated into a recreational hot tub in 1968. As the popularity of hot tubs grew, Jacuzzi created more models that were more advanced. Jacuzzi was family-run until 1979, after which it then changed hands several times, before being bought by its current owner Investindustrial in 2019. Due to its popularity and market dominance among hot tub sales, the word ''Jacuzzi'' became akin to a

generic trademark A generic trademark, also known as a genericized trademark or proprietary eponym, is a trademark or brand name that, because of its popularity or significance, has become the generic term for, or synonymous with, a general class of products or ...

in advertising and product marketing, synonymous with "hot tub" itself in

American English American English, sometimes called United States English or U.S. English, is the set of variety (linguistics), varieties of the English language native to the United States. English is the Languages of the United States, most widely spoken lang ...

. However, the Associated Press Stylebook lists Jacuzzi as a

trademark A trademark (also written trade mark or trade-mark) is a form of intellectual property that consists of a word, phrase, symbol, design, or a combination that identifies a Good (economics and accounting), product or Service (economics), service f ...

brand for products such as hot tubs, whirlpool spas, and whirlpool baths, and not as a legally genericized trademark.

History

Beginnings

Jacuzzi was founded by seven siblings in the Jacuzzi family: Giocondo, Frank, Rachele, Candido, Joseph, Gelindo and Valeriano, who were from

Casarsa della Delizia Casarsa della Delizia or simply Casarsa (Standard Friulian: , Friulian language#Variants of Friulian, Western Friulian: ) is a (municipality) in the Province of Pordenone, Regional decentralization entity of Pordenone in the Italy, Italian region ...

in northern

. Their original last name was Iacuzzi, but when the first two brothers emigrated from

to the US in 1907, immigration staff misspelled their name as "Jacuzzi". All seven siblings had emigrated by 1910. More family members emigrated to the U.S. when the brothers won a contract to provide propellers to the U.S. for World War I planes. Jacuzzi began as a machining company. The brothers worked on a citrus farm owned by an early aviation inventor. They offered to help develop aviation products, creating an early wood propeller that was curved instead of flat and was used in

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

. One of the first propellers they made is now either in storage at or on loan from the

Smithsonian Institution The Smithsonian Institution ( ), or simply the Smithsonian, is a group of museums, Education center, education and Research institute, research centers, created by the Federal government of the United States, U.S. government "for the increase a ...

. They also developed one of the first fully-enclosed cabins for airplanes, called the Jacuzzi J-7, which was used to transport mail. In 1921, a mail plane crashed, killing all of the passengers on board, including Giocondo Jacuzzi. The siblings subsequently abandoned the aviation industry and experimented with several other products, the first successful one being a water pump created by Rachele Jacuzzi in 1926. The product line expanded into a variety of pumps.

Hydrotherapy

In 1948, Candido Jacuzzi developed an improved full body

hydrotherapy Hydrotherapy, formerly called hydropathy and also called water cure, is a branch of alternative medicine (particularly naturopathy), occupational therapy, and Physical therapy, physiotherapy, that involves the use of water for pain relief and ...

pump, the J-300, to treat his son's (Ken Jacuzzi)

between hospital visits, after noting his positive response the smaller Hubbard tank at the Herrick hospital in Berkeley. He patented the pump in 1952 and began marketing it between 1955 and 1956 as a therapeutic aid. The pump was a portable device that could turn any regular bathtub into a spa. From 1968, a whirlpool bath was produced, which included jets that mixed air and water. This product (called the Roman Bath) was developed by Roy Jacuzzi, a 3rd-generation member of the family. This is considered the first whirlpool tub designed for relaxation, rather than for medical use. Jacuzzi used celebrity

Jayne Mansfield Jayne Mansfield (born Vera Jayne Palmer; April 19, 1933 – June 29, 1967) was an American actress, ''Playboy'' Playmate, and sex symbol of the 1950s and early 1960s. She was known for her numerous publicity stunts and open personal life. He ...

and others to market the tubs, which initially gained popularity among Hollywood movie stars. In the 1970s, Jacuzzi products were featured on

Queen for a Day ''Queen for a Day'' is an American radio and television game show that helped to usher in American listeners' and viewers' fascination with big-prize giveaway shows. ''Queen for a Day'' originated on the Mutual Radio Network on April 30, 1945, ...

and other TV shows and grew in popularity in California. The company started developing larger models that could fit more than one person. They also added filters and heaters, so the tub didn't need to be drained with each use. From 1970, family-sized spas were producted. By 1989, Jacuzzi had 2,200 employees. Initially, Jacuzzi primarily sold through contractors and builders, but in 1993 it started selling through retailers. In the 1990s, Jacuzzi entered markets outside the US, especially in

and

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

. By the end of the 1990s, half of its sales were outside the US. Jacuzzi was influential in the trend towards larger and more luxurious bathrooms.

Changes in ownership

By 1979, there were 257 Jacuzzi family members involved in the Jacuzzi brand and there was a growing number of disputes among them. Then the business was acquired by Kidde for $70 million. Most of the Jacuzzi family members left the company, except Roy Jacuzzi, who stayed on as the head of the hot tub and bath division. In 1987, Kidde was acquired by Hanson PLC. In 1995, Hanson spun off Jacuzzi and other brands into a public company called U.S. Industries. USI renamed itself Jacuzzi Brands in 2003. This was in turn bought out by

Apollo Management Apollo Global Management, Inc. is an American Asset Management, asset management firm that primarily invests in alternative assets. , the company had $548 billion of assets under management, including $392 billion invested in credit, including ...

, and then by Investindustrial in 2019. Acquisitions since the 1990s have included Haugh Products (above-ground pools), Sundance Spas, Gatsby Spas, Zurn Industries (toilets, sinks), Hydropool (hot tubs), Liners Direct (bath products), BathWraps (shower and bathtub renovation). In the 1990s, Jacuzzi had taken on too much debt and sold more than $600 million worth of businesses. The business segment producing industrial, irrigation, well water, submersible, and centrifugal systems was sold to Franklin Electric in 2004. The plumbing division, Zurn Industries, was sold in 2007 for $950 million. Current brands include ThermoSpas, Sundance Spas, and Dimension One.

Gallery

File:HISTORIC picture of whirlpool bath.jpg, Historic whirlpool bath, circa 1969 File:Jacuzzi Lowboy Advert -historic.jpg, Historic Lowboy advertisement, circa 1970

References

External links

{{Portal, Companies
Jacuzzi corporate website (US)

Jacuzzi Spa and Bath Ltd (UK)
Apollo Global Management companies Bathing Brands that became generic Bathroom fixture companies Hydrotherapy Private equity portfolio companies American brands Manufacturing companies established in 1915 1915 establishments in California Manufacturing companies based in Greater Los Angeles Companies based in San Bernardino County, California Chino Hills, California 2006 mergers and acquisitions