Whirlpool
Whirlpool is a brand of home appliances created by the Whirlpool Corporation. The corporation is listed as a Fortune 500 company with its approximate annual sales figure of $20 billion. As a global manufacturer and marketer of home appliances, the Whirlpool Corporation has around 70 centers all over the globe with over 70,000 employees.
The Whirlpool Corporation was first established as the Upton Machine Company in 1911 by Louis, Frederick, and Emory Upton. Its first product was the electric, motor-driven wringer washer. The company merged with the Nineteen Hundred Washer Company in 1929 and was then renamed to Nineteen Hundred Corporation. Finally, in 1950, the company changed its name to the Whirlpool Corporation where it marketed its first top-loading automatic washer under the Whirlpool brand.
Kenmore
The Kenmore brand refers to household appliances produced by several home appliance companies like the Whirlpool Corporation, Panasonic, Electrolux, and Mabe Mexico. Kenmore-branded appliances are being sold in the United States by the Sears Holdings Corporation. The brand was first released in 1927 on a sewing machine created under the Sears Corporation. Most Kenmore products now, though, are white goods.
Washing machines sold under the Kenmore name are mainly manufactured by the Whirlpool Corporation, Electrolux, and Mabe Mexico, among others. Kenmore white goods are branded into two: the "Elite" line, which features upscale appliances, and the “Kenmore Pro” line, its professional line of appliances.
Maytag
Maytag is a brand of major home appliances manufactured under the Maytag Corporation. The corporation was one of the three top home appliances in North America, specializing in a full line of washing machines and dryers, among other products.
The first washing machine under this brand was brought out in 1907. It was called the "Pastime" and consisted of a wooden tub, wooden pegs, and a hand-turned dolly. The turning action of the dolly pulled laundry through the water and rubbed the clothes along the corrugated sides of the tub. This machine is able to operate from an external power source through the aid of a pulley.
GE
GE is the brand of major home appliances of the General Electric Company. The brand is recognized as the fourth most well-known brand in the world, with assets of approximately $49 billion. The brand underwent changes in 2004 under the directive of CEO Jeffrey Immelt. Variations included a new color palette, logo modifications, a new font, and a new slogan—"imagination at work," which replaced "we bring good things to life."
General Electric was first known as Edison General Electric, which was founded by Thomas Edison in 1890. The company then went on through numerous changes but remained intact as a company. It has introduced competitive appliances like food mixers, vacuum cleaners, air conditioners, and washing machines to American homes.
Miele
The Miele brand is a group of high-end domestic appliances produced by the German manufacturer of the same name. Miele, the company, is a family-owned and -managed enterprise. It was established by Carl Miele and Reinhard Zinkann in 1899. It’s German motto is "Immer Besser," translated as "Always Better" and "Better and Better."
Miele’s first products included a tub washing machine under the brand name, "Meteor." The trademark, "Míele" (with a sloping dash for the dot on the "i"), was later used on the machines, marketing paraphernalia, and other printed materials. The simplified "i" was later on identified to be sufficient enough to represent the Miele company.
Bosch
Bosch stands as the trademark of a wide range of products manufactured by Robert Bosch GmbH, a German technology-based corporation. The corporation was founded by Robert Bosch in 1886 at Stuttgart, Germany. It manufactures products intended for the business fields of automotive and industrial technology, building technology, and household appliances.
Although majority of its products tend to automotives, the corporation has also delved into other markets such as in the laundry appliance industry. Bosch laundry washers are under the production of the BSH Bosch and Siemens Hausgeräte GmbH, one of the top three household appliance companies in the world. Its main manufacturing site in North American is a factory located near New Bern, North Carolina.
LG
LG is the trade name utilized by the Korean electronics conglomerate, the LG Group. The corporation is the third largest conglomerate in South Korea. It was founded by Koo In-Hwoi in 1947 as the Lak-Hui Chemical Industrial Corp. Due to the expansion of the Lak-Hui Corp. in the plastics industry, it set up GoldStar Co., Ltd. In 1958. The two names merged in 1995 to form the abbreviation, "LG," although the acronym also stands for the company tagline, "Life’s Good."
The GoldStar Co., Ltd introduced various consumer electronics and household products like laundry washers and dryers. Most of these products were sold under the trade name, "GoldStar," while others were branded as "Lucky." The Lucky products were famous for products like soaps and Hi-Ti laundry detergents.
Frigidaire
Frigidaire is a registered trademark of consumer and commercial appliances owned by General Motors. The brand was founded under the Guardian Frigerator Company in 1916, where it produced the first self-contained refrigerator. William C. Durant, the initiator of General Motors, invested in the company in 1918; Frigidaire was then adopted by General Motors the following year. The company was maintained by General Motors from 1919 to 1980 before becoming an independent division at Dayton, Ohio.
Frigidaire, under General Motors, produced one of the most competitive automatic laundry washing products. Its first product was the Unimatic, produced in the 1930s. This machine was the longest in production; succeeding products include: Pulsamatic, Multimatic, and Rollermatic. When Frigidaire was acquired by White Consolidated, it changed its machine designs to the top-loading outline of Westinghouse products.
Samsung
Samsung is a trade name under the care of the Samsung Group, a Korean conglomerate rated as the world’s largest based on revenue. The conglomerate has subsidiaries that cater to different portions of the market: Samsung Heavy Industries for the shipbuilding industry, Samsung C&T for construction, and Samsung Electronics for general electronics and home appliances. "Samsung" is the Korean term for "tristar" or "three stars."
The corporation started as a small business at Daegu, South Korea in 1938. Its founder, Lee Byung-Chull initiated various innovations into his business, making it grow into the conglomerate that it is today. In 1974, Samsung Heavy Industries merged with Samsung Petrochemical. At that same time, the company produced its first washing machine.
Haier
Haier is a name adopted by the Haier Group to label its product line of "white goods" and electronics products. Although the company is now penetrating other market areas, its core remains to the household appliances industry with products like air conditioners, washing machines, and refrigerators. The company headquarters is located in Qingdao, Shandong, People’s Republic of China.
The now state-owned enterprise started as a refrigerator factory in the 1920s to serve the Korean market. It was acquired by the government in 1949. As operations pushed forth, the company gradually fell into debt and closed due to bankruptcy. To salvage the company, the Qingdao government appointed Zhang Ruimin as managing director in 1984; it was also named as Qingdao Refrigerator Co. in the same year. The name was then changed to Qingdao Haier Group in 1991, and then settled for Haier Group in 1992.
AEG
Allgemeine Elektrizitäts-Gesellschaft (AEG) is a brand of diverse electrical products licensed to various companies, one of which is the Electrolux Group. The brand, which means "General Electricity Company," was conceived in 1887 by the Deutsche Edison Gesellschaft (DEG) company. DEG, meaning German Edison Company, first created electrical equipment like light bulbs, motors, and generator, among others. The company flourished until after the World War II, where it lost businesses from the eastern parts of Germany. It spiraled downward despite a merger and sales of assets. In 1996, the AEG manufacturing company closed operations.
The Electrolux Group bough the AEG brand name in 2005 and patents its products as AEG-Electrolux. The "AEG-Electrolux" brand represents white goods like washing machines and dishwashers.
Admiral
Admiral is a trade name utilized by Whirlpool Corporation to represent its appliances being sold at The Home Depot. The brand had its beginnings with the Continental Radio and Television Corp., established by Ross Siragusa in 1934. It was then a manufacturer of radios and phonographs. It eventually changed its name to Admiral Corp. and was then a major television manufacturer.
The company flourished in the consumer electronics industry up until the 1960s. By mid-1970s, Admiral sold several of its segments to other companies as a result of the market invasion of Japanese consumer electronics companies. Various companies acquired Admiral Corp., from Rockwell International, Magic Chef, Maytag, and then finally settling with the Whirlpool Corporation. Under the new manufacturer, the Admiral brand has since been used in various household appliances like dishwashers and washing machines.
Amana
Amana is a brand name of a range of household appliances currently owned by the Whirlpool Corporation. The first product to feature the trade name was a walk-in cooler. It has then branched out to other appliances including clothes washers and dryers, countertop ranges, dishwashers, furnaces, and ovens.
The brand started with the Amana Corporation, which was founded by George Foerstner in 1934 at Middle Amana, Iowa. The enterprise was then owned by the Amana Society, before being sold to a group of investors in 1950, becoming Amana Refrigeration, Inc. It was then acquired by Raytheon in 1965 and Goodman in 1997 before settling for the Whirlpool Corporation.
Asko
Asko is a trade name utilized by the Asko Appliances AB. The company was initiated by a Swedish farmer in 1950 at Vara, Sweden with a washing machine as its first product. Its foremost vision was then was to make an energy- and water-efficient machine that met household standards. The company is now an international corporation that branched into other wash-related industries like dishwashing and laundry drying.
Asko’s washing machines are made up of steel, instead of the standard plastic, in order to meet environment-friendly standards. Most of these machines are front-loading, and they use less detergent, energy, and water. They are also compact and designed to save on space.
Ariston
The Ariston brand name is used by the similarly-named company, now under the Indesit Company. Ariston produces their laundry washers based on the design initiated by M. Hasuike. Their machines’ wash systems are in a horizontal axis, allowing it to use less water and energy. Their drying features are sensor-controlled, thus avoiding high-heat exposure and over drying of clothes, which can be damaging. The machines come equipped with sound-absorbing materials and a tri-phase motor, both of which reduce operational noise levels.
The brand is granted the Woolmark Platinum Care, which is the highest certification awarded by The Woolmark Company. Ariston washing machines come in three distinctions: Silver, Platinum, and Premier Models.
Brandt
Brandt Appliance is a famous brand of home appliances in Europe, particularly in France. The company was built in 1902 in Paris, France. Brandt merged with Hotchkiss in 1956, thus being labeled as Hotchkiss-Brandt. This company was later renamed to Thomson-Brandt, then finally to the Brandt Group, also known as Groupe Brandt.
The washing machines of Brandt come in four models wherein two are in the front-load style and the other two are in the top-load style. Brandt washing machines are noted for its compact size. The machine models usually have an energy efficiency rating of A, which is the highest rating.
Beko
The Beko brand name and company is one of the fastest growing producers of white goods in the UK. It is the second largest brand in Turkey, which is its home market. The company has over 40 years of experience in the home appliances industry. In 2001, it formed an allegiance with Arçelik A.S. to improve its marketing and sales activities, thus having a more competitive production. Other brands associated with the company include Digifusion, Flavel, and Leisure.
Beko washing machines have been given an A+ energy rating, with a range of 1,000 to 1,600 rpm. The prominent features of each washer include a LED indicator that facilitates ease of operation. Each has five function buttons and come with automatic water temperature and spin speed settings.
Bendix
The Bendix brand under the Bendix Corporation refers to a line of products consisting of aeronautical hydraulics, avionics, brake systems, computers, radios, and televisions. The name is also licensed to be of use in a line of washing machines that are not manufactured by the corporation.
Vincent Bendix built the Bendix Corporation in 1924 at South Bend, Indiana, United States. Its first products, car and truck brake systems, were supplied to General Motors; the said partnership continued for many decades. In 1929, the enterprise delved into aeronautics, prompting a change in name to Bendix Aviation.
Bendix Corporation is not a manufacturer of washing machines. It did, however, allowed the use of its name for washing machines created by Bendix Home Appliances, a South Bend company not connected to Bendix Corporation. Bendix Home Appliances was later acquired by the Avco Manufacturing Corporation.
Blomberg
Blomberg is a trade name for white goods produced by the Turkish household appliances manufacturer, Arçelik A.S. The company distributes its products to over 100 countries made in 10 production plants. It has 4,500 branches in Turkey alone, and has 13 international subsidiaries. Arçelik A.S. is managed by Koç Holding, the third largest home appliances company in Europe. The company has announced a merger plan with Grundig Elektronik A.S. in February 2009.
Arçelik A.S. was built in 1955 and created its first product, a washing machine, in 1959. Since then, it delved into other appliance markets like refrigerators, vacuum cleaners, dishwashers, and cooking appliances.
Creda
The Creda brand is associated with Hotpoint, the largest producer of kitchen appliances in the UK. Originally, Creda was utilized by a UK manufacturer of washing machines, before being acquired by Hotpoint in 1987. Aside from laundry machines, Creda also produced other white goods like dishwashers and tumble dryers. The company ceased production of laundry washers in 2007 when succeeding washing machines were marketed under the Hotpoint brand.
Creda-branded laundry washers are noted for being compact and reasonably priced. Its latest models are mostly freestanding and front-loading. Unlike their competitors, Creda washers do not come with drying features, which accounts for the energy-efficiency of these machines.
Crosley
Crosley is an American brand of appliances produced by the Crosley Company. The company was started in the 1920s; its first product then was a radio. The company delved into the automotive industry in 1939 when Powel Crosley, Jr. introduced a compact racing car into the Indianapolis 500. Other appliances, like dishwashers, dryers, refrigerators, and washing machines, were produced later on.
Identified Crosley washing machines come in five models: three are front-loading and two are top-loading. One front-loading model is a washer and dryer combo. Notable features of Crosley washers include four to five wash presets, a quiet operation feature, and child safety measures.
Dyson
Dyson is a line of vacuum cleaners, utilizing cyclonic separation, manufactured by a company of the same name. This privately-owned British company was founded by James Dyson with initial operations in England; it the moved its production to Malaysia.
Although vacuum cleaners are the core products of the company, it has also probed into the washing machine industry by creating the CR01 Contrarotator. This product is the first of its kind with regard to its twin, counter-rotating drums. Each drum spins in opposite directions to provide a more thorough clean. The follow-up to the Contrarotator was the CR02, made available in the Flowcheck and Allergy models.
Electrolux
The Electrolux trade name embodies home and professional appliances crafted by the Sweden-based Electrolux Group. This enterprise is the second largest appliance manufacturer in the world with 40 million products sold to 150 countries annually. Aside from Electrolux, other brand names utilized by the company include AEG, Eureka, Frigidaire, Kelvinator, and Zanussi.
The Electrolux business area covers Consumer Durables and Professional Products. The Consumer Durables area consists of appliance products like washers and dryers intend for home use. The Professional Products segment, on the other hand, serves larger businesses and organizations by providing full-service equipment like laundry machines for healthcare institutions.
Fisher and Paykel
The Fisher and Paykel (F&P) brand of washing machines are designed to be top of the line washers. F&P washers are equipped with a sensor that detect the fabric of laundry and formulate a wash setting best suits the clothing type. The sensors also detect how soiled a piece of clothing is, to determine the wash setting. Most of the Fisher and Paykel washers are top-loaders with high capacity drums, which allow large quantities of laundry to be loaded. The machines also come with alerts, automatic balance, and water correction features.
Fisher and Paykel washers have been notable as efficient for handling delicate and "hand wash only" items. These also possess a feature that removes sand out of clothes, making it suitable for cleaning beach wear.
Hoover
The Hoover brand name refers to household electronic appliances manufactured by the UK company, Hoover Limited. It started formal operations in 1919; it was renamed to The Hoover European Appliance Group. The group was then acquired by Candy S.p.A. and has since been one of the most trusted brands in the home appliance industry.
Hoover laundry washers are noted for durability, performance, and sturdiness. The machines are encased in a hard and strong plastic case. Some machines have internal blocks of concrete for balance. Most Hoover machines are now available as front-loaders, making them energy- and water-savers. There are still models that are freestanding, top-loading, and have an accompanying dryer feature.
Hotpoint
The British brand Hotpoint describes a line of homes appliances and dental supplies manufactured by the Hotpoint Electric Heating Company. The company was procured by the Italian manufacturer, Indesit (Merloni Elettrodomestici) to come up with the brand, Hotpoint-Ariston. General Electric uses the name Hotpoint for its "value" brand.
Hotpoint was built in England in 1911, and has since been known to produce refrigerators and washing machines. The washing machine plant is located at Kinmel Park in Bodelwyddan town in Denbighshire, North Wales, UK. It had a joint venture with US manufacturer, General Electric, in 1920 to form the Hotpoint Electric Appliance Company Limited (HEAC). The company underwent other mergers with companies to form The General Electric Company (GEC Croup) and General Domestic Appliances (GDA) in 1929 and 1989, respectively. It settled for Indesit in 2007.
Hitachi
Hitachi is a brand of high-technology products and services offered by the Japanese corporation, Hitachi Ltd. The enterprise is the parent company of the Hitachi Group and is a part of the DKB Group of companies.
Hitachi was established in 1910 as an electrical repair shop. It is now a leading manufacturer of new technologies in various fields like electronics and home appliances, industrial machinery, information systems, and power plants. Its operations are segmented into seven industries, one of which is in Digital Media and Consumer Products. This division accounts for 13% of company operations with products like air conditioning equipment, refrigerators, and washing machines.
Magic Chef
Magic Chef is a trade name of appliances under Magic Chef, Inc., now owned by the Whirlpool Corporation. Magic Chef, Inc. started as a tinshop in St. Louis, Missouri founded by John Ringen in the 1850s. The success of Ringen’s enterprise in 1870 brought in a partner—George August Kahle. Together, they retailed cooking stoves, house wares, and washing machines. Kahle brought in his brothers-in-law, Charles and Louis in 1881 to help establish a stove factory. This brought about the Ringen Stove Company and the Quick Meal Stove Company.
The two aforementioned companies became so successful in the 1880s and 1890s that it merged with eight other St. Louis, Chicago, and Cleveland companies in 1901. The result of this merger was the American Stove Company with the trade name, "Magic Chef." The company then changed its name to Magic Chef, Inc. and has since undergone different ownerships until finally settling for the Whirlpool Corporation in 2006.
Indesit
The Indesit Company is an Italian company specializing in home appliances. It utilizes three brand names: Hotpoint-Ariston, Scholtès, and the more popular, Indesit.
Indesit was first known as Industrie Merloni, a balance manufacturer, founded by Aristide Merloni in 1930. The enterprise gradually penetrated the home appliances market, specializing in major and minor home products. When Merloni (the founder) died in 1970, the company split into three independent businesses: Merloni Elettrodomestici, Merloni Termosanitari, and an unidentified engineering division. The Elettrodomestici division acquired its rival, Indesit, in 1985 and was then renamed to Indesit Company in 2005. It has since been one of the top producers of white goods like dishwashers, hobs, and washing machines.
Roper
Roper is a brand name that represents white goods (dishwashers, washing machines, etc.) produced by the Whirlpool Corporation. The corporation, first known as the Upton Machine Company, was founded in 1911 by Louis, Frederick, and Emory Upton. It cashed in on the laundry washing industry by introducing its electric, motor-driven wringer washer. It was renamed several times, from the Nineteen Hundred Washer Company to the Nineteen Hundred Corporation, then finally, the Whirlpool Corporation.
The corporation has acquired various home appliance businesses and trade names since its success in the industry. In 1989, it acquired the German brands, Roper and Bauknecht; in the same year, the corporation surpassed $6 billion in yearly revenue. Whirlpool Corporation is now a Fortune 500 company with annual sales of approximately $20 billion to boast.
Staber
Staber is the brand of laundry home appliances manufactured by Staber Industries, which is based in Groveport, Ohio. The enterprise currently produces clothes dryers, clothes drying cabinets, and high-efficiency, top loading, horizontal axis washing machines.
Staber Industries was established in 1976 by James E. Staber. Its initial operation covered remanufacturing of washing machine transmissions for General Electric, Maytag, and the Whirlpool Corporation. In 1990, the company started to produce its own line of home laundry appliances.
Staber washing machines are the only top-loading, horizontal axis washing machines being manufactured in the United States. The wash tub is made of stainless steel with laser-induced perforations, and is hexagonal in shape. The horizontal-axis orientation saves up to 60% of wash water, giving it an Energy Star rating for high efficiency.
Siemens
The Siemens brand refers to a diverse range of products and services offered by Europe’s largest engineering conglomerate, Siemens AG. The company covers three areas, namely: Industry, Energy, and Healthcare.
Siemens started as an establishment by Werner von Siemens in 1847, which was then called Telegraphen-Bauanstalt von Siemens & Halske. It operated as a European long-distance telegraph line. The company went into other industries like manufacturing electric trains and light bulbs in 1881, and electron microscopes, radios, and television sets in the 1920s and 30s. After World War II, specifically in the 1650s, Siemens started to produce computers, pacemakers, semiconductor devices, and washing machines in their new headquarters in Bavaria.
Zanussi
Zanussi is a brand of household appliances once produced by an Italian manufacturer of the same name. The Zanussi enterprise was bought by Electrolux in 1984, initiating the Zanussi-Electrolux line of home products.
The Zanussi Company started as a minute workshop in 1916 handled by Antonio Zanussi. The entrepreneur’s first operation was the production of home stoves and wood-burning ovens. In 1970, the company penetrated the UK market, selling stoves and ovens under the name, Zoppas. It also embraced the washing machine industry as a maker of laundry washers for Hotpoint. At this time, the washers produced rated excellently among users and engineers. From the 1970s to the 1980s, the company produced washing machines that had induction motors with clutch pulley systems. The company introduced the Jetsystem washing machine range in the early 1980s. It later released the Nexus Tub design, which describes a split tank design.
