Whirlpool Corporation 100 Years At A Glance

1955 continuedRCA-Whirlpool is established as abrand name, and Whirlpool-SeegerCorporation as the company name.Whirlpool Corporation buys MotorProducts Corporation’s manufacturingfacilities in Marion, Ohio, which becomea dryer production plant.Whirlpool Corporation acquiresInternational Harvester’s refrigerationplant in Evansville, Indiana.1956First full line of RCA-Whirlpool brandhome appliances is introduced todistributors. The line covers 12 types ofappliances available in 150 models.Consul introduces its first electricrefrigerator using a new compressorsystem.1957Whirlpool-Seeger changes nameto Whirlpool Corporation. A newadministrative center is built on a100-acre site north of Benton Harbor,Michigan.Whirlpool Corporation establishespartnership with Brazilian appliance1958 Miracle Kitchen woman watching sweepertransportation, traveling throughoutthe United States, Italy, Germany, Polandand Russia during the 1960s.1956 Consul Refrigeratormanufacturer, Companhia Industriale Comercial Brasmotor (parent ofMultibrás S.A. Electrodomésticos. Thismarks Whirlpool Corporation’s first soloforay into international markets.Whirlpool merges with BirtmanElectronic Company of Chicago, addingvacuum cleaners to its product lines.Chicago facilities are phased out, andproduction transfers to the company’splant in St. Paul, Minnesota.Elisha “Bud” Gray’s marketing andbrand strategy goals culminate in thelaunch of the RCA-Whirlpool MiracleKitchen—a wildly imaginative, futuristicand customer-relevant full-line solutionfor the ultra-modern home. Theinnovative kitchen takes advantage ofmajor developments in television and1958Walter Seeger retires as the WhirlpoolCorporation’s chairman of the board,and Elisha “Bud” Gray is named the newchairman.6WhirlpoolCorporation acquiresthe domestic gas refrigeration andautomatic ice-maker facilities andpatents from the Evansville, Indiana,company Servel Refrigeration Company.Acquisition prepares the way for afull line of appliances under the RCAWhirlpool brand and marks “oneof the most important and effectivemerchandising undertakings in thehistory” of the company.Whirlpool sells a percentage of ABCCto Carrier Corporation of Syracuse,New York.

Whirlpool Corporation acquires the Norge1960Whirlpool introduces coin-operateddry-cleaning to the public andestablishes the Commercial Laundry andDry-Cleaning Equipment Division.Whirlpool Corporation wins NASAcontract to design and build America’sfirst experimental “space kitchen”; thecompany builds other food, waste andhygiene systems used in the Gemini,Apollo and Skylab space missions.1961Whirlpool Corporation celebrates itsIntensifyingconsumerism createspressure for better product qualityand service, so the company launchesthe 24-hour Cool Line customer servicehelp line. It is the first toll-free supportprogram in the United States.refrigeration plant in Fort Smith, Arkansas,adding in excess of 1 million square feetof manufacturing space for Whirlpool brand refrigeration products.Whirlpool Corporation acquires aRaytheon/Amanaintroduces thefirst countertop, domestic 100-voltmicrowave oven, which cost just under 500 and was smaller, safer and morereliable than previous models. Themarket expands, cooking becomes easierand under the Amana name, Amana Radarange becomes the dominantplayer in the home microwave ovenbusiness.majority stake in Warwick Electronics,Inc. (a major television supplier forSears), establishing the company as anew player in the consumer electronicsindustry. The Warwick acquisition includesThomas Organ Company, a wholly ownedsubsidiary of Warwick Electronics, Inc.(In 1976, Whirlpool exits this market.)1967The reliability of Maytag appliancesFor first time in company history,with no work to do. The character is oneof the most iconic advertising charactersin consumer goods history.Whirlpool Corporation’s first brand-new manufacturing facility is completedin Findlay, Ohio, further expandingproduction capacity.1968The Elisha Gray II Research & EngineeringCenter is completed in Benton Harbor,Michigan, giving the WhirlpoolCorporation the largest and mostcomprehensive applied research facilityin the home appliance industry.is showcased with introduction of “Ol’Lonely,” better known as the MaytagRepairman—a bored maintenance manWhirlpool Corporation crosses the 1 billion sales mark.50th anniversary. The company achieves 438 million in sales.1965The Raytheon Company acquires AmanaRefrigeration, Inc. With Amana’s wellestablished distribution channel, themicrowave oven becomes a fixture in U.S.households.1966The RCA-Whirlpool brand name changesto Whirlpool , establishing the Whirlpool brand as the company’s flagship brand.1960s NASA feeding tray with food71968 Elisha Gray

1970Elisha “Bud” Gray writes the 1969 “Letter1969Whirlpool Corporation acquires a33 percent stake in John Inglis Co. Ltd.,a major marketer and manufacturer ofhome appliances, giving the companya foothold into the Canadian market.In 1971, Whirlpool Corporation’s stakeincreases to 43 percent. WhirlpoolCorporation acquires 100 percent ofcompany in 1989.on Sustainability” to shareholders,articulating the company’s need toengage in social issues, includingreducing the human impact on theenvironment. Gray then defines a newsustainability-centered business model.WhirlpoolCorporation 1.2 billion in net sales.Consul also launches it first airreachesRecognizing the need for energyand material conservation, WhirlpoolCorporation establishes a new businessmodel focused on energy efficiencyand environmental sustainability. Thisnew focus becomes the industry’sgold standard. Progressive leadershipestablishes the Office of EnvironmentalControl—not only to develop moreefficient products for consumers andmethods of manufacturing, but to alsowork with government and civil societygroups on social and environmentalresponsibility.Whirlpool Corporation introduces theresidential trash compactor, the firsttotally new major home appliance toreach the marketplace in more than30 years.Plant construction in Danville, Kentucky,is completed. Danville plant beginsproducing trash compactors.1971John Platts, a 30-year WhirlpoolCorporation employee who started hiscareer on the factory floor, succeedsElisha “Bud” Gray as CEO and chairmanof the board.Total shift in technology—WhirlpoolCorporation ends production of allwringer washing machines in favor ofpopular automatic washing machines.Consul inaugurates Plant II—steppingup its exports to other Latin Americancountries, Africa and the Middle East.1973 Amana Commercial Microwave8conditioner and established Embraco—Empresa Brasileira de CompressoresS.S. The aim of the new project was toproduce refrigerator compressors, thuseliminating the company’s dependenceon component imports.1972Multibrás S.A. Household Applianceschanges its name to Brastemp S.A.Household Appliances.Philips Group acquires Ignis.1974Whirlpool purchases a 133-acrebuilding site in Ponca, Oklahoma, forfuture expansion.The Célaya, Mexico plant beginsproduction as National Stoves andRefrigerator (Estufas y RefrigeradoresNacionales, S.A.—ERNA).1975Whirlpool Corporation plays key rolein crafting U.S. Energy Policy andConservation Act.Embraco inaugurates Plant I—producing42,000 compressors per month workingonly one shift.

197719781982Corporation surpasses 2 billion in annual revenue.Brastemp S.A. Household AppliancesJohn Platts retires as chairman and CEO.Whirlpool1976With participation from the WhirlpoolCorporation, Brasmotor S.A. HouseholdAppliances acquires the Consul brandand, consequently, Embraco. The St. Paul Division completes CottageGrove Plant in a suburb of St. Paul,Minnesota. Begins production andassembly of floor-care equipment.Due to pricing competition fromJapanese competitors, WhirlpoolCorporation sells 57 percent majorityshare of Warwick Electronics (a majortelevision set supplier to Sears, Roebuck& Co.) to Sanyo Electronic Co., Ltd., ofOsaka, Japan, withdrawing from thetelevision business. Warwick stockholdersapprove changing the company’s namefrom Warwick Electronics, Inc., toThomas International Corporation, withthe change actually occurring in 1977.Whirlpool Corporation retains its 57percent interest in Thomas International,which in turn continues its electronicorgan business. Electronic technologiesunderpin company’s appliances in thecoming years.changes its name to Brastemp S.A. Inc.Whirlpool Corporation reenters the1979microwave oven market by introducingfour Whirlpool brand models. Thecompany had marketed a microwaveoven for a brief period in the late 1950s,but withdrew when it became apparentthat the marketplace was not ready forthis new concept in cooking.T otal Quality Assurance system isestablished to achieve maximumproduct quality by involving all companyfunctions.Whirlpool Corporation helps craftU.S. Federal Trade Commission EnergyLabeling Rules and every applianceefficiency standard test procedure in theUnited States since the late 1970s.WhirlpoolCorporationmovestoward vertical integration; to reducedependence on outside suppliers, itstarts producing its own hermiticmotors in Danville, Kentucky plant.Jack Sparks becomes chairman and CEO,and introduces five-year capital spendingplan to increase productivity and addressindustry needs. Herbert K. Anspach ispresident until 1983, when Sparks alsoassumes that role until 1987.Bauknecht is incorporated into PhilipsGroup, whose European home applianceportfolio Whirlpool Corporation acquiresin 1989.Manufacture of commercial ice makersis discontinued, and the business is sold.1981Marion,Ohio, Division beginsproduction of freestanding ranges.Whirlpool Corporation thus resumesmanufacture of virtually all rangesmarketed under the Whirlpoolbrand name.Freestanding range production movesfrom Marion, Ohio, plant to Findlay, Ohio.Electronics are added to refrigerationline with introduction of the SystemsSentinel 1 technology.Heil-Quaker, a leading producer ofheating equipment and air conditio

successful sewing machine motor to his electric motor business. 1925 Upton Machine Company becomes Sears’ sole supplier of electric- and gasoline-powered washing machines. 1929 Sears’ growing demand requires Upton Machine Company to merge with Nineteen Hundred Washer Company of Binghamton, New York.