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Pelonis was originally a U.S. company that manufactured and sold products such as ceramic space heaters.
The American firm expanded through partnerships with other companies. The largest partner was with Midea, the giant Chinese appliance manufacturer.
The Midea Group eventually purchased the Pelonis brand.
The Pelonis Brand Originated In The United States
Sam Pelonis graduated from California State University with a major in Business Administration.
He moved to New York in search of opportunity and happened to meet a Canadian businessman in 1990.
The Canadian had patented a new form of ceramic home heater. Pelonis believed that the innovative heating technology would do well in the United States.
He formed a company to market, sell, and service a new line of small ceramic space heaters. The company was simply named after his own family surname, Pelonis. It was incorporated in 1993.
The Pelonis company expanded into wider heating products. We know the small Pelonis heaters, but Pelonis USA Ltd also manufactured heating components for industrial use.
The company secured a contract in 1996 to provide heating components to NASA for the space shuttle program.
Expanding Internationally With Joint Ventures
Sam Pelonis had an international vision for his company and heating products.
He didn’t just bring the brand into Canada.
Pelonis also formed early partnerships and joint ventures with companies in France, Greece, Australia, and Russia.
Partnership With Midea USA
We know from several consumer lawsuits over the years that Pelonis had partnered with the U.S. branch of Midea, a giant Chinese manufacturing company.
The court cases involved both Pelonis and Midea as the defendants. I’ve put the links and more details at the end of this article.
Midea Takes Ownership Of The Pelonis Brand
After the initial partnership, Midea eventually took ownership of the Pelonis brand name.
They filed for the “Pelonis” trademark in 2014.
The documentation shows that the Midea Group is named as the trademark owner.
The Midea Group actually owns a lot of trademarks in the United States, including well-known names like Master Kitchen and Arctic King.
What Is The Midea Group?
The Midea Group is a giant Chinese manufacturer of consumer and industrial appliances.
Their headquarters are in the Guangdong province of China, and the company is listed on the Shenzhen Stock Exchange.
Pelonis is just one of many brands that the company has acquired.
They also purchased Toshiba’s home appliance line in 2016 for over $470 million. They also purchased the Eureka line of vacuum cleaners.
Midea America
Midea America is the U.S. subsidiary of the Midea Group.
Their headquarters are in New Jersey, but they have offices throughout the United States.
Where Are Pelonis Heaters Manufactured?
The Pelonis space heaters were manufactured in the United States in the early years of the company.
However, like many other home appliances, manufacturing was moved offshore to reduce production costs.
It’s possible that some assembly still takes place in the United States.
Appliances from Pelonis are now mainly manufactured in Midea’s three factories in China:
- Hefei, the largest city in the Anhui Province
- Nanhai, a district in the Guangdong province (the HQ of Media is also here)
- Wuxi, a city in the Jiangsu province in eastern China
The companies bearing the name of Pelonis continue to provide maintenance and servicing of units sold in the United States.
Court Documents Involving Pelonis And Midea
In 2009, a New Orleans couple sued for damages arising from a fire in their home. Sadly, a death occurred.
The reports refer to the Pelonis/Midea space heater.
In Canada, the Midea company had to issue a recall notice for dehumidifiers sold under a long list of brand names. This is the list (Pelonis is in the middle in bold).
Airworks, Alen, Arctic King, Arcticaire, Beaumark, Comfort Star, ComfortAire, Continental Electric, Coolworks, Crosley, Daewoo, Danby, Danby Designer, Dayton, Degree, Diplomat, Edgestar, Excell, Fellini, Forest Air, Frigidaire, GE, Grunaire, Hanover, Homestyles, Honeywell, Hyundai, Ideal Air, Kenmore, Keystone, Kul, Midea, Nantucket, Ocean Breeze, Pelonis, Perfect Aire, Perfect Home, Polar Wind, Premiere, Professional Series, Royal Sovereign, Simplicity, SPT, Sunbeam, Sylvania, TGM, Touch Point, Trutemp, Uberhaus, Westpointe, Winix, and Winixl.
Recall notice
More recently, a case was filed in Missouri against several companies that included:
- Pelonis Appliances Inc
- Pelonis USA Ltd
- Pelonis Technologies, Inc
- Sam Pelonis
- Midea (U.S.A.), Inc
- Midea America Corp
Pelonis Appliances was described in the courts as a Texas corporation engaged in the business of designing, testing, manufacturing, marketing, and selling Pelonis space heaters.
Pelonis USA and Pelonis Technologies were both described as a New York Company engaged in similar.
Sam Pelonis was described as a resident of Pennsylvania.
Midea USA was described as a Texas corporation engaged in the business of designing, testing, manufacturing, marketing, and selling Pelonis heaters.
