THE DUALIT COMPANY
Max Gort-Barten the founder of Dualit was born in Germany in 1914. Max found himself in England as WWII broke out. After 5 years in the army, he bought a factory on Picton Street in Camberwell with the intention of manufacturing one of his many inventions, the first of which was a cocktail shaker. Next was a heater with a dual function element and a light, named the 'Dual Light heater' from which the company's name was born. His first successful product was the flip-sided toaster, patented in 1946.
In 1952 Max designed a new commercial six-slot toaster with a mechanical timer and manual eject lever to keep the toast warm until needed. The company is still famous for its retail and commercial toasters. Residents of Picton Street and the entire Gort-Barten family were involved in its production. In 1954 the Government compulsory-purchased the factory and gave Max money to build a new factory on the Old Kent Road, Bermondsey.
In 2003, the same year that Max Gort-Barten died, the company outgrew its original home in the Old Kent Road and moved to new premises in Crawley, West Sussex
- Original Dualit Factory on Picton Street