Electrolux

History

Elektromekaniska and Lux (1910–1919)

The Elektromekaniska company was founded in Stockholm on 19 January 1910 by engineer Sven Carlstedt (1847-1924), as a manufacturer of universal motors for vacuum cleaners, designed by him together with Eberhardt Seger.

In 1912, Carlstedt met Axel Wenner-Gren (1881-1961), a salesman, who proposed that he start a collaboration with Lux, a company producing kerosene lamps for outdoor use founded in 1901, whose owner was Carl G. Lindblom.

Carlsted and Lindblom, convinced by Wenner-Gren, started an important collaboration between their companies: Lux specialized in the production of vacuum cleaners under license from the American Keller Manufacturing Company of Philadelphia (producer of the Santo vacuum cleaners), on which the motors produced by Elektromekaniska were mounted.

In 1915, Wenner-Gren founded Svenska Elektron, with which he was able to market his vacuum cleaner model under the Elektron brand, produced on commission by another company, which recorded a significant commercial success.

The following year, in 1916, Svenska Elektron acquired the majority of shares in Elektromekaniska, of which Wenner-Gren took over the management, and two years later, in 1918, it acquired significant shares in Lux.

Elektrolux (1919–1957)

On August 29, 1919, the company name of Elektromekaniska was officially changed to Elektrolux, of which Wenner-Gren was the majority shareholder and president. The new name assigned to the company was in fact the combination of the previous name and that of Lux, for which it carried out commercial distribution abroad.

Vacuum cleaner designed by Lurelle Guild Brooklyn Museum]] Electrolux made an initial public offering on the London Stock Exchange in 1928 (it was delisted in 2010) and another on the Stockholm Stock Exchange in 1930.

, its shares trade on the NASDAQ OMX Nordic Market and over-the-counter. Electrolux is an OMX Nordic 40 constituent stock.

In 1923, the company acquired Arctic and subsequently added absorption refrigerators to its product line. Other appliances soon followed, including washing machines in 1951, dishwashers in 1959, and food service equipment in 1962.

Electrolux (1957–present)

In 1957 changed its name to Electrolux.

While Electrolux had bought several companies before the 1960s, that decade saw the beginnings of a new wave of M&A activity. The company bought ElektroHelios, Norwegian Elektra, Danish Atlas, Finnish Slev, and Flymo, et al., in the nine years from 1960 to 1969. It sold its American subsidiary to Consolidated Foods and exited the American market in 1968, only returning in 1974 when Electrolux acquired Eureka-Williams from National Union, one of the oldest names in the vacuum cleaner industry. Electrolux sold its vacuum cleaners using the Eureka brand name in North America until 2004.

This style of growth continued through the 1990s, seeing Electrolux purchase scores of companies including, for a time, Husqvarna.

, President and later chairman of the board, led the strategic core of an increasingly decentralized Electrolux—and was instrumental to its rapid growth.

While attempts to cut costs, centralise administration, and wring out economies of scale from Electrolux's operations were made in the 1960s and 1970s with the focus so firmly on growth, further company-wide restructuring efforts only began in the late 1990s.

In North America, the Electrolux name was long used by vacuum cleaner manufacturer Aerus, originally established to sell Swedish Electrolux products. In 2000, Aerus transferred trademark rights back to the Electrolux Group, and ceased using the Electrolux name in 2004.

Conversely, Electrolux-made vacuums carried the Eureka brand name, which Electrolux continued to use while also selling Electrolux branded vacuums after 2000. Electrolux USA customer service maintains a database of Electrolux made vacuums and provides a link to Aerus's website for the convenience of owners of Electrolux branded Aerus vacuums.

Keith McLoughlin took over as president and CEO on 1 January 2011, and became the company's first non Swedish chief executive.

In August 2011, Electrolux acquired from Sigdo Koppers the Chilean appliance manufacturer CTI obtaining several brands with the purchase including: Fensa, Gafa, Mademsa and Somela.

On 6 February 2017, Electrolux announced that it had agreed to acquire Anova Applied Electronics, the U.S.-based provider of the Anova Precision Cooker.

On 23 March 2020, Electrolux completed the spin-off of its professional division, which the separated company incorporated as Electrolux Professional.

In September 2023, it was announced Electrolux has sold its refrigerator manufacturing facility in Nyíregyháza to the Malmö-headquartered heat pump systems and technology company, Qvantum for €38 million.

Notable products

• 1919: The Lux vacuum is the first product Electrolux sells.
• 1925: D, Electrolux's first refrigerator, is an absorption model.
• 1937: Electrolux model 30 vacuum is unveiled.
• 1940: Assistent (Swedish for assistant), the company's only wartime consumer product,/food processor.
• 1941: Charlton automatic rifle, an automatic rifle developed to fill in for the Bren light machine gun and Lewis gun amid shortages in the Home Guard, developed from the Lee–Enfield.
• 1951: W 20, Electrolux's first home washing machine, is manufactured in Gothenburg, Sweden.
• 1959: D 10, the company's first dishwasher, is a counter top model nicknamed "round jar".
• 2001: Launch of the Electrolux Trilobite, a robotic vacuum cleaner.

Brands

Electrolux sells under a wide variety of brand names worldwide. Most of them were acquired through mergers and acquisitions and only do business in a single country or geographic area. The following is an incomplete list.

Americas

• Anova Applied Electronics, provider of the Anova Precision Cooker
• Electrolux ICON, premium consumer appliance brand sold in the U.S.
• Eureka, American consumer vacuum cleaner brand, Sold to Midea in 2016
• Fensa, Chilean consumer appliance brand, widely available in Latin America.
• Frigidaire, major appliance manufacturer.
• Gafa, Argentinean appliance manufacturer.
• Gibson, refrigerator and air conditioning manufacturer
• Mademsa, Chilean home appliance brand
• Philco, former U.S. consumer electronics and appliance manufacturer for appliances, though the brand name is also used separately for electronics by Philips
• Sanitaire, commercial product division of Eureka
• Somela, Chilean home appliance brand, available throughout Latin America
• Tappan, former U.S. appliance manufacturer
• White-Westinghouse, former U.S. appliance manufacturer

Europe

• Arthur Martin
• AEG
• Atlas (Denmark)
• Corberó (Spain)
• Elektro Helios, manufacturer of consumer appliances for the Swedish market
• Faure, French consumer appliance maker
• Lehel, consumer appliance brand sold in Hungary and elsewhere. Acquired in 1991, the brand has not been in use since 1999.
• Marynen/Marijnen, consumer product brand sold in the Netherlands
• Parkinson Cowan, cooking appliances (United Kingdom)
• Progress, vacuum cleaner brand sold throughout Europe
• Rex, Italian appliance manufacturer that became part of Electrolux in 1984
• Rosenlew, Finnish consumer product brand sold in Nordic countries
• Samus, Romanian producer of cooking stoves headquartered in Satu Mare
• Voss, premium consumer cooking appliance and equipment supplier in Denmark and elsewhere
• Zanker, consumer kitchen appliance brand sold in central Europe
• Zanussi, Italian appliance manufacturer that became part of Electrolux in 1984
• Zanussi Professional, professional kitchen equipment manufacturer
• Zoppas, Italian appliance manufacturer that became part of Electrolux in 1984

Oceania

• Dishlex, a budget-friendly dishwasher brand sold in Australia (discontinued in August 2021)
• Kelvinator, an air conditioning and fridge freezer brand sold in Australia, India and elsewhere
• Simpson, previously sold Kitchen and laundry appliances, now they only sell laundry appliances. They are a brand sold in Australia and New Zealand. (discontinued in July 2022)
• Westinghouse, a kitchen and laundry appliance brand in Australia.

Middle East

• King, Israeli kitchen appliance brand made by Rex, an Italian Electrolux subsidiary.
• Olympic Group, home appliance brand in Egypt

Global/other

• Arthur Martin-Electrolux
• Beam, Electrolux's central vacuum brand
• Castor
• Chef
• Dito, professional food processing equipment
• Electrolux Professional
• Frigidaire, full range major appliance brand sold globally
• Juno-Electrolux, premium consumer kitchen appliance brand
• Molteni, professional stoves
• Tornado, vacuum cleaners and other consumer products
• Therma
• Tricity Bendix
• Volta, vacuum cleaner brand sold in Australia, Sweden and elsewhere

This list does not include brands such as Kenmore, IKEA, and John Lewis, which may sell Electrolux produced appliances but are not owned by or affiliated with Electrolux, as Electrolux acts as an OEM for these brands.

Slogan

The company's international slogan is "Shape living for the better". In the past it was "Thinking of you".

In the 1960s, the company successfully marketed vacuums in the United Kingdom (UK) with the slogan "Nothing sucks like an Electrolux".*Nothing sucks like an ad myth |adland.tv

• Game over, here are the Ad Trivia Quiz answers |adland.tv
• Snark Hunting |Nothing sucks like an Electrolux In the United States, it was often assumed that this slogan was a brand blunder, but the informal American meaning of the word "sucks" was already well known in the UK, and the company selected it deliberately in the hopes that the slogan, with its double entendre, would gain attention.

In Indonesia, the Electrolux previous slogan was "Kalau saja semua seawet Electrolux" (English: If only all are as durable as Electrolux).

References

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