Hamilton Beach Brands, Inc. Executes Sub-License Agreement with Melitta North America, Inc. to Launch Full Line of Coffee and Hot Beverage Appliances
 
Hamilton Beach Brands, Inc., a leader in small kitchen appliances, has entered into a multi-year sub-license and distribution agreement with Melitta, North America, Inc., to create a unique line of coffee and hot beverage appliances.
Richmond, VA (Vocus) December 15, 2009 -- Hamilton Beach Brands, Inc. (http://www.hamiltonbeach.com), a leader in small kitchen appliances, has entered into a multi-year sub-license and distribution agreement with Melitta, North America, Inc., to create a unique line of coffee and hot beverage appliances. Melitta is well known for its premium line of coffee and coffee filters. The agreement will allow Hamilton Beach to develop, market and sell Melitta branded appliances throughout the United States, Mexico and the Caribbean. Product launch is currently planned for early 2010.
 
“We are pleased to have the Melitta brand as a license partner and believe our collaboration will leverage Melitta’s existing expertise and brand assets. Melitta has clearly established itself as a leader in premium coffee products, is the worlds largest supplier of coffee filters, and we are thrilled to be working closely with them to develop a line of coffee and hot beverage appliances,” said Scott Tidey, vice president, North America sales and marketing, Hamilton Beach Brands, Inc. “We look forward to offering appliances that match the quality, tradition and passion Melitta is known for around the world and see the partnership as a significant growth opportunity for Hamilton Beach.”
 
“Melitta has a long and rich history of providing consumers with premium coffees and coffee filters of the highest quality. As a company, quality is our number one objective,” said Chris Hillman, vice president of marketing, Melitta USA. “We chose Hamilton Beach to be our partner on our electrics business because they too have a strong focus on quality and the consumer. In addition, our corporate cultures are quite similar. We look forward to a long and fruitful relationship with Hamilton Beach.”
 
About Hamilton Beach Brands, Inc.
Hamilton Beach Brands, Inc. is a leading designer, marketer and distributor of small electric household appliances, as well as commercial products for restaurants, bars and hotels. Headquartered in Richmond, Virginia, Hamilton Beach Brands, Inc. is a wholly-owned subsidiary of NACCO Industries, Inc. (NYSE: NC). Information on innovative Hamilton Beach®, Proctor Silex®, TrueAir®, Hamilton Beach® Commercial, eclectrics®, and Traditions by Proctor Silex® products can continue to be found online at www.hamiltonbeach.com, www.proctorsilex.com and www.commercial.hamiltonbeach.com.
About Melitta
For over 100 years, Melitta has dedicated itself to providing the ultimate coffee experience with its premium line of coffee, coffee filters and high quality coffee makers, bringing European indulgence to life. The company was founded in 1908 by Melitta Bentz, after receiving a patent for her two-part coffee filtering system of a filter and filtration paper. The filter system was the first to successfully remove coffee residue in the brewing process revolutionizing the way coffee was brewed. Melitta USA, Inc., part of the privately held Melitta Group in Minden, Germany, is headquartered in Clearwater, Florida. For more information, visit www.melitta.com.
 
Media Contact:
Mary Beth Perreault
Hamilton Beach Brands, Inc.
804-418-8868
marybeth.dukes(at)hamiltonbeach(dot)com
 
Donna Gray
Melitta USA, Inc.
727-524-4816
dgray(at)melitta(dot)com

CAFÉ COLLECTION – A NEW PREMIUM LINE OF COFFEE FROM MELITTA
THE FLAVOR, QUALITY AND TASTE OF EUROPE IN EVERY CUP Melitta introduces the Café Collection, a line of premium bagged coffee that brings the European café experience to the home.  Based on the standard of Europe’s finest cafes, Café Collection is created for an American audience increasingly sophisticated about coffee.  The new line is the highest quality taste at a price so special that Café Collection can be enjoyed everyday. Suggested retail price for an 11-ounce bag (10-ounce for decaf) is $5.99. Melitta is sourcing the world’s top beans for the Café Collection - high-grown Arabica beans, which are the top 2% of the worldwide Arabica harvest, from growers in Kenya, Sumatra and Central and South America.   Batch roasted at Melitta’s own roasting facility, the beans are then ground extra fine to release their full essence.  The Café Collection is the only major everyday coffee line that is exclusively available as an extra fine grind, another indicator of its exceptional flavor and value.  The six varieties in the line represent top consumer preferences: dark and medium roasts, a decaf option, two flavored coffees and a unique blend of dark and light roasts, all available in both the extra fine grind and whole bean. The varieties, whose names are inspired by Europe's café culture, are:
- Vienna Roast - a dark roast with a deep, intense flavor and smooth, velvety finish 
- Blanc & Noir - an exotic harmony of dark and light roasts that is rich with a deep finish
- Classique Supreme - a medium roast that is delightfully smooth and balanced
- Parisian Vanilla - a rich and creamy vanilla flavor with a smooth and delicately sweet finish
- Hazelnut Crème Brulée - a sweet caramel and rich vanilla coffee infused with the flavor of wild hazelnuts
- Riviéra Sunset - naturally decaffeinated using the Swiss water process. It is full bodied with a distinctly rich and smooth flavor.
Package labels for the Melitta Café Collection also reflect the company's European heritage. The designs, one unique to each variety, recall the romantic era of European travel and discovery using a style reminiscent of vintage travel posters from the early 20th century. The visual imagery conveys the coffee as the transport to a great destination.
Café Collection will be available in August on www.melitta.com and www.amazon.com and at stores in the Philadelphia metro region. A national roll out is planned to follow, beginning first with other major markets in the Northeast. 

Melitta USA Celebrates 40 Years of Success, Commitment and Responsibility to the Community

Social Responsibility Profile:
Melitta USA is committed to the communities in which we work and live. We are continually supporting the organizations that have needs in our community. We also work closely with our employees on the groups that they also support.

Local Community Affiliations:
- Official Partner of the Tampa Bay Lightning and St. Petersburg Times Forum

- A supporter of Tampa General Hospital. In conjunction with the Tampa Bay Lighting Foundation, we have completed the Child life room at TGH. We are now working on a project benefitting the Tampa General Hospital Pediatric Intensive Care Unit

- Presenting sponsor of the Glitz and Sticks Fund Raiser in conjunction with the Tampa Bay Lightning Foundation to benefit Tampa General Hospital

- Official coffee of the PODs PGA golf tournament

Other Supported Community Organizations:
- Ruth Eckerd Hall - Five years of Support and Official Coffee

- High Point YMCA – Annual Thanksgiving Turkey giveaway

- Back to School Supply Drive to benefit both the High Point YMCA and High Point Elementary School led by Melitta USA. Provided 150 filled backpacks

- Various Cancer Events , both in Cherry Hill, NJ and Clearwater, FL

- Donations to Meals on Wheels

- Ronald McDonald House Annual Fundraiser

- Newspapers in Education

- MDA Annual Fundraiser

- Clothes for Kids - A local store that provides school age children clothes at no charge. This is both monetary and employee donations

- Metropolitan Ministries Food Drive

- Lowry Park Zoo - Annual fundraising sampling event - Zoofari

This is a partial listing of Melitta USA’s ongoing, non-profit organizational involvement

Melitta USA, Inc. is headquartered in Clearwater, Florida and is responsible for the sales and marketing of Melitta branded filter paper, coffee and non-electric coffee systems. MUSA is part of the Melitta Group, comprised of almost 50 companies with over three thousand employees worldwide