Kaz Incorporated

Kaz, Incorporated

Industry| Healthcare and Home Environment Products
Founded| 1926; 99 years ago (1926)
Founder| Max Katzman
Headquarters| Marlborough, Massachusetts, U.S.

Area served

| 65 countries

Key people

| Jon Kosheff (president of Helen of Troy Health & Home (Kaz USA, Inc.))
Julien Mininberg (CEO of Helen of Troy)
Products| Air Purifiers
Blood Pressure Monitors
Dehumidifiers and Humidifiers
Fans
Heat/Cold Therapy
Heaters
Insect Control
Thermometers
Water Filtration
Brands| Braun, licensed
Chillout
Duracraft
Enviracaire
Febreze, licensed
Honeywell
Kaz
NOsquito
Protec
PUR
SmartTemp
SoftHeat
Stinger
Vicks (Vick, Wick),licensed
Parent| Helen of Troy
Website| www.kaz.com

Kaz, Inc. is a Marlborough, Massachusetts–based manufacturer and distributor of health care products.

## History

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Max Katzman[1] invented the first electric vaporizer (original U.S. patent no. 1,628,784, issued May 17, 1927) and, in 1926, he founded Kaz, Incorporated to manufacture and market it.[2][3]

The expansion of the company – from a family business to a company designing, developing and marketing hundreds of healthcare and home environment products worldwide – came through research and development, acquisitions and licensing agreements.[4]

For more than 80 years, members of the Katzman family owned and managed Kaz. In 1956, founder Lawrence (Larry) Katzman succeeded his father, founder Max Katzman.[5] In addition to serving as Kaz’ second CEO, Larry was also a Palma d’Oro winning cartoonist best known for drawing Nellie Nifty, RN for a series of books and greeting cards.[6][7] Richard Katzman succeeded his father, Larry, as CEO in 1997.[5][8]

In 2006, Julien Mininberg became Kaz, Inc.’s first President outside the Katzman family. He became CEO in 2010.[5][8] Helen of Troy acquired Kaz, Inc. in 2010, and it continues to operate as a subsidiary.[4] Julien Mininberg remained the company's CEO until 2014, when he was appointed CEO of Helen of Troy.[9]

## References

[edit]

1. ^ "About Helen of Troy - Helen of Troy". Helen of Troy. Retrieved 2017-04-10.
2. ^ "New York Times obituary of Max Katzman". New York Times. August 9, 1974. Retrieved April 10, 2017.
3. ^ "Patent Images". pdfpiw.uspto.gov. Retrieved 2017-04-10.
4. ^ a b Kingsbury, Kevin; Stynes, Tess (2010-12-09). "Helen of Troy to Buy Health-Care Products Maker Kaz". Wall Street Journal. ISSN 0099-9660. Retrieved 2017-04-10.
5. ^ a b c "Company Information - Kaz". www.kaz.com. Retrieved 2017-04-10.
6. ^ "Sunday Herald - Google News Archive Search". news.google.com. Retrieved 2017-04-10.
7. ^ "Longtime NCS stalwart Larry Katzman: 1922-2016". Retrieved 2017-04-10.
8. ^ a b "LinkedIn Profile of Richard Katzman". LinkedIn. Retrieved April 10, 2017.
9. ^ "LinkedIn Profile of Julien Mininberg". LinkedIn. Retrieved April 10, 2017.

## External links

[edit]

* Kaz.com
* HOTUS.com