Landers, Frary, and Clark

The company of Landers, Frary, and Clark was formed in 1862 when Landers and Smith Manufacturing Company acquired the Frary and Clark Company of Meriden, Connecticut. Over the years, the company made thousands of products, from kitchen utensils to mousetraps to ice skates. In the 1890s, LFC adopted the trade name "Universal" for their products. They introduced a revolutionary series of household products, including the Universal coffee percolator in 1905. In 1912, LFC introduced their first electric appliance, a "thermo cell" electric iron. After World War I the company was so strong that they claimed that six out of every ten homes in the United States had at least one Universal product.

By the 1950s, Landers, Frary, and Clark was weakening, and it sold off some of its divisions after 85 years of operation. LFC continued to make acquisitions, such as the Dazey Corporation in 1954, and the Handy-Hannah Products Corporation in 1956. Despite these acquisitions, LFC could not keep pace with competition. In 1965, Landers, Frary, and Clark was acquired by General Electric's Housewares Division, along with its Universal trade name.