Whirlpool’s story 100 years of Whirlpool
Juliana Saldo
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The Whirlpool Corporation will be celebrating its centenary on 11 November 2011. Anna Ryland spoke to Juliana Saldo, Whirlpool brand marketing manager, about the most significant developments in the company’s history, its guiding principles and most recent achievements that have made Whirlpool the global domestic appliance leader.
hen Lou and Fred Upton founded the Upton Machine Company in Benton Harbour, Michigan, in 1911 they couldn’t have imagined that they were laying the foundations of a global industrial giant. Borrowing much needed capital, they set about producing electric, motor-driven wringer washers and hoped for the best. Today Whirlpool Corporation is the
world’s number one white goods manufacturer, with a workforce of 71,000, operating in 170 countries worldwide. The company’s portfolio embraces 11 brand names (including the leading brands of Whirlpool, Maytag and KitchenAid). With turnover of 18.4 billion US dollars, annual sales of 54 million units and 67 factories and research and development centres across the globe, Whirlpool is one of the best known names in the world. Product innovation has always been one of the leading principles of the company’s
development. Today innovation accounts for 20% of Whirlpool’s European turnover. The company has invested over 1.1 billion dollars in research and development and introduced a raft of new technology, design and performance innovations. Many of its products have become categories in their own right.
Innovation has been incorporated into
the ‘three pillars’ of the Whirlpool brand, explains Julian Saldo, Whirlpool brand marketing manager. They include: 1. Leading edge design; 2. Intuitive functionality; 3. Outstanding performance while saving resources, with 6th Sense technology being instrumental in achieving this. To maintain its leadership in technology
and product innovation, Whirlpool created five design studios on four continents; in USA, Mexico, Italy, China and India that employ 160 people.
26 The Independent Electrical Retailer October 2011
1911: Upton Machine Company is founded by Lou and Fred Upton in Benton Harbour, Michigan 1929: Upton Machine Company merged with the Nineteen Hundred Washer Company to become the Nineteen Hundred Corporation 1941: Nineteen Hundred Corporation becomes the world’s number one washing machine manufacturer 1948: The Nineteen Hundred Corporation’s automatic washers are sold with the Whirlpool trademark signifying spin washing 1950: Nineteen Hundred Corporation becomes Whirlpool 1956: Whirlpool acquires the KitchenAid brand 1970: Whirlpool begins research into eco efficiency 1989: Whirlpool forms partnership with Philips in Europe 1991: Whirlpool becomes the number one home appliance manufacturer in the USA 1993: Philips Whirlpool brand becomes Whirlpool 1998: 6th Sense technology introduced on washing machines 1999: Whirlpool begins its support for Habitat for Humanity and has since made donations of over $34 million to support the charity’s global mission to eliminate housing poverty 2003: Whirlpool becomes first major appliance manufacturer to ratify the Kyoto Protocol 2006: Whirlpool acquires the Maytag brand 2012: Scheduled production of the Green Kitchen
The European Global Design Studio, situated near Milan is the hub of the Whirlpool design world. It analyses and explores future design trends and employs experts in a variety of fields from designers and ergonomists to anthropologists, sociologists and psychologists. They monitor the latest social trends and create new product and technological solutions to improve everyday lives of consumers. “They invite consumers to use the appliances and observe how they interact with them, and apply these insights to product design,” explains Juliana Saldo. “Other Whirlpool design centres develop products that match local requirements and specifications that differ greatly depending on local habits, weather and customs. For example, only in the UK do customers still demand double ovens and under counter fridges and freezers.”
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