Salter Housewares
Product brand
UnclaimedSalter is a long-established British housewares brand known particularly for kitchen and bathroom scales, alongside cookware, electrical appliances and countertop products.
Last updated November 4, 2026
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Overview
Salter Housewares is a British consumer housewares brand with roots in the precision-weighing trade. The business traces its origins to the late eighteenth century, when Richard Salter, a spring maker in Bilston in the English Midlands, began producing spring scales. These instruments were described as “pocket steelyards,” although their operating principle differed from a conventional steelyard balance. The early focus on accurate, practical measurement established the foundation for a brand that would later become strongly associated with domestic weighing products. By 1825, Richard Salter’s nephew George had taken control of the business, which became known as George Salter & Co. The company established a manufacturing site in West Bromwich, near Bilston, and expanded its product range beyond small spring scales. Its output included domestic and industrial weighing equipment, and the company is credited with producing some of the United Kingdom’s earliest bathroom scales. The West Bromwich works also became associated with the formation of West Bromwich Albion football club, which was founded by workers from the site. During the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, Salter diversified into a broad range of household and mechanical products. In addition to scales, the business made items such as irons, mincers, potato chippers, coin-operated machines and typewriters. The family-owned company remained based in the West Midlands for much of its history and grew substantially during the first half of the twentieth century. By 1950, it employed more than 2,000 people, reflecting the scale of its manufacturing operations and the breadth of its product portfolio. A major ownership transition occurred in 1972, when the company was acquired by Staveley Industries plc. Salter was subsequently divided into separate subsidiaries, including housewares and industrial operations. During the late 1980s and 1990s, Staveley expanded its international weighing interests, including through the acquisition of Weigh-Tronix in the United States. Following a management buyout in 1998, the resulting Weigh-Tronix Corporation increasingly concentrated on industrial and commercial weighing, while Salter Housewares remained part of the wider group. In February 2002, the management team of Salter Housewares Ltd acquired the business from the weighing group in a buyout backed by Barclays Private Equity. The transaction enabled the company to refocus on consumer products rather than industrial weighing. Salter was sold again in March 2004 to HoMedics, a United States-based personal-wellness products company. In 2006, Salter Housewares USA and Taylor Precision Products, another HoMedics-owned business, combined their sales, marketing and distribution operations. The brand’s historic British manufacturing base was later closed, and production shifted to China. This reflected the broader transformation of the housewares industry toward internationally sourced manufacturing and outsourced production. Salter nevertheless retained its British heritage and continued to market products under a name associated with precision, practicality and everyday household use. Product development broadened during the 2010s. In 2010, Salter partnered with chef Heston Blumenthal and his Fat Duck development team on precision weighing instruments. From 2011, Manchester-based consumer-products company Ultimate Products Global Sourcing licensed the Salter name for cookware, bakeware, food preparation products and small domestic electrical appliances. The licensing arrangement expanded Salter beyond scales and connected the historic brand with a wider modern kitchen assortment. Ultimate Products announced the acquisition of the Salter brand for £34 million in July 2021, completing the transition from licensee to owner. Under Ultimate Products, Salter operates as a consumer housewares brand spanning scales, electrical kitchen products, cookware and countertop appliances. Its strongest market association remains with kitchen and bathroom scales, while its broader assortment allows the brand to compete across everyday kitchen and home categories. Salter is active and is regarded as one of the United Kingdom’s oldest consumer brands.
History
Salter’s history began in the English Midlands in the late 1760s, when Richard Salter, a spring maker based in Bilston, began producing spring scales. He called the early products pocket steelyards, although they used a different mechanical principle from traditional steelyard balances. The enterprise developed as a specialist precision-measurement business and passed to Richard’s nephew George by 1825. It subsequently became known as George Salter & Co. George established manufacturing operations in West Bromwich, several miles from Bilston. The works produced a growing variety of weighing instruments, including domestic scales and some of the earliest bathroom scales made in Britain. Employees from the West Bromwich site were involved in founding West Bromwich Albion football club. The company also diversified into household and mechanical products, including irons, mincers, potato chippers, coin-operated machines and early British typewriters. The business remained family-owned and rooted in the West Midlands through much of its expansion. By 1950 it employed more than 2,000 people. In 1972, Staveley Industries plc acquired the company and reorganized it into separate activities, including housewares and industrial operations. Staveley later built a broader international weighing group, acquiring businesses such as the American company Weigh-Tronix. After a 1998 management buyout, this became the Weigh-Tronix Corporation, with Salter Housewares included in the group. As the group’s strategic emphasis moved toward industrial and commercial weighing, Salter Housewares was bought by its management in February 2002. Barclays Private Equity backed the transaction with £18 million. The business then concentrated on consumer products and was sold to HoMedics in March 2004. In 2006, its United States sales, marketing and distribution functions were combined with those of Taylor Precision Products, another HoMedics company. Salter later closed its historic West Bromwich factory and transferred manufacturing to China. The former site was sold for redevelopment, ending the brand’s long association with local manufacturing while its name continued to draw on British heritage. In 2010, Salter collaborated with Heston Blumenthal and the Fat Duck team on precision kitchen weighing products. Ultimate Products Global Sourcing began licensing the Salter brand in 2011. The license covered cookware, bakeware, food preparation and small domestic electrical appliances, broadening Salter’s consumer proposition beyond scales. Ultimate Products announced in July 2021 that it would acquire the Salter brand for £34 million. Salter now operates within Ultimate Products’ portfolio as an active housewares brand offering kitchen scales, bathroom scales, cookware, electrical kitchen products and countertop appliances.
- 2021
Acquisition by Ultimate Products
[1]Ultimate Products announced a £34 million acquisition of the Salter brand after a decade as its licensee.
- 2011
Ultimate Products licensing agreement
[1]Ultimate Products licensed Salter for cookware, bakeware, food preparation and small domestic electrical products.
- 2010
Heston Blumenthal collaboration
[1]Salter began a product-development partnership with Heston Blumenthal and the Fat Duck team focused on precision weighing.
- 2004
Sale to HoMedics
[1]HoMedics acquired Salter Housewares and incorporated it into its wider personal-wellness and precision-products activities.
- 2002
Consumer-focused management buyout
[1]Salter Housewares’ management bought the company from the weighing group, with Barclays Private Equity providing financial backing.
- 1998
Weigh-Tronix management buyout
[1]A management buyout created the Weigh-Tronix Corporation, with Salter Housewares remaining within the wider group.
- 1972
Acquisition by Staveley Industries
[1]Staveley Industries acquired the business and reorganized it into separate subsidiaries, including housewares and industrial operations.
- 1825
George Salter takes over
[1]Richard Salter’s nephew George assumed control, and the company became known as George Salter & Co.
- 1760
Origins in spring-scale manufacturing
[1]Richard Salter established the business in the Bilston area and began making spring scales, creating the foundation of the Salter brand.
Products and positioning
A heritage British housewares brand built around practical precision, especially domestic weighing, and extended into accessible cookware, kitchen electricals, food preparation and countertop products.
Food measurement
Kitchen scales
Kitchen scales are Salter’s most established consumer category. The brand’s heritage in spring-based precision weighing developed into domestic food scales for measuring ingredients during cooking and baking. Modern offerings associated with the brand include compact countertop formats and electronic weighing products, positioning Salter as a practical, measurement-led kitchen brand.
Personal weighing
Bathroom scales
Salter expanded from industrial and trade weighing into household bathroom scales and became strongly associated with personal weighing in the United Kingdom. The category reflects the brand’s wider application of measurement technology to everyday domestic use.
Kitchen equipment · 2011
Cookware and bakeware
Cookware and bakeware became important parts of Salter’s modern range, particularly after Ultimate Products began licensing the brand in 2011. These products extended Salter from weighing and measurement into food preparation and cooking, helping create a broader kitchen assortment under the heritage name.
Kitchen electricals · 2011
Small domestic electrical appliances
Salter’s electrical assortment includes small domestic appliances designed for routine kitchen and household tasks. The category was expanded through the Ultimate Products licensing arrangement and supports the brand’s position as a broad-accessibility housewares label rather than a specialist scales maker alone.
Historical products
Historical mechanical housewares
Earlier Salter manufacturing included irons, mincers, potato chippers, coin-operated machines and typewriters in addition to weighing equipment. These products demonstrate the company’s historic breadth and its evolution from a spring-scale manufacturer into a diversified household-goods business.
Marketing campaigns
- 2010Heston Blumenthal precision-weighing partnership
United Kingdom
Salter worked with chef Heston Blumenthal and the Fat Duck development team to create precision weighing instruments, linking the brand’s measurement heritage with professional culinary expertise.
Outcome. The partnership supported product development and reinforced Salter’s precision positioning.
Brand decisions
2021
Ultimate Products acquires the Salter brandM&ABackground
Ultimate Products had licensed Salter products since 2011 and already managed product categories beyond the brand’s traditional weighing business.
Action taken
Ultimate Products announced the acquisition of the Salter brand.
Aftermath
Ultimate Products became the brand owner, replacing its previous licensee position.
Acquisition price. £34 million (2021)
2011
Expansion into broader kitchen categoriesStrategyBackground
Salter had strong heritage in scales but sought broader participation in the consumer kitchen market.
Action taken
Ultimate Products licensed the Salter name for cookware, bakeware, food preparation and small domestic electrical appliances.
Aftermath
The brand developed a wider kitchen and countertop portfolio under the licensing relationship.
2002
Management buyout from the weighing groupM&ABackground
Salter Housewares was part of a group increasingly focused on industrial and commercial weighing.
Action taken
The Salter Housewares management team acquired the consumer business with backing from Barclays Private Equity.
Aftermath
The business refocused on consumer housewares before being sold to HoMedics in 2004.
Buyout financing. £18 million backing (2002)
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