| Type | Public |
|---|---|
| Traded as | NYSE: WHR S&P 500 Component |
| Industry | Major appliances Small appliances |
| Founded | St. Joseph, Michigan (1911) |
| Founder(s) | Louis Upton Emory Upton |
| Headquarters | Benton Charter Township, Michigan, United States |
| Area served | Worldwide |
| Key people | Jeff M. Fettig (Chairman and CEO) |
| Products | Clothes washers and dryers, refrigerators, freezers, dishwashers, ranges, compactors, air conditioners, microwave ovens, counter top appliances. |
| Revenue | US$ 18.366 billion (FY 2010)[1] |
| Operating income | US$ 1.008 billion (FY 2010)[1] |
| Profit | US$ 619 million (FY 2010)[1] |
| Total assets | US$ 15.584 billion (FY 2010)[1] |
| Total equity | US$ 4.320 billion (FY 2010)[1] |
| Employees | 71,000 (FY 2010)[1] |
| Website | www.whirlpoolcorp.com |
The Whirlpool Corporation (NYSE: WHR) is an American multinational manufacturer of major home appliances headquartered in Benton Charter Township, Michigan, United States, near Benton Harbor, Michigan.[2][3] The company is listed in Fortune 500 and has annual revenue of approximately $18.4 billion, more than 70,000 employees, and more than 70 manufacturing and technology research centers around the world. The company markets Whirlpool, Maytag, KitchenAid, Jenn-Air, Amana, Gladiator GarageWorks, Inglis, Estate, Brastemp, Bauknecht, Consul, and other major brand names to consumers in nearly every country around the world.
After acquiring the Maytag Corporation on March 31, 2006, Whirlpool Corporation passed Electrolux to become "the largest home appliance maker in the world." Notably, almost all of Whirlpool's appliance line undergoes some manufacturing within the United States, as opposed other durable good manufacturers like General Electric, Electrolux, or LG.
Founded in 1911, Whirlpool is celebrating its 100th Anniversary in 2011.
In the U.S., Whirlpool has manufacturing facilities in Fort Smith, Arkansas; Amana, Iowa; Tulsa, Oklahoma; Cleveland, Tennessee; Ohio (Clyde, Findlay, Greenville, Marion and Ottawa).
Contents |
| Year | |
|---|---|
| 1911 | Louis and Emory Upton founded the Upton Machine Company on November 11, 1911. With the financial aid of Lowell Bassford, they began to produce electric, motor-driven wringer washers. Soon after its founding, Lou Upton's younger brother Fred joined the company and was an integral part of the business.
Federal Electric ordered 100 machines, but a gear failed in the transmission of them. Louis Upton immediately replaced them at no cost to Federal Electric, who was so impressed with Upton's ethics, they immediately doubled their order. |
| 1916 | Sears, Roebuck & Co. began selling Upton manufactured machines under the "Allen" brand, one for $54.75 and a deluxe model for $95. |
| 1929 | Upton merged with Nineteen Hundred Washer Company of Binghamton, New York, taking the name Nineteen Hundred Corporation. |
| 1942 | Nineteen Hundred Corporation began converting all of its factories for war production. |
| 1946 | Nineteen Hundred Corporation begins manufacturing appliances for John Inglis and Company of Canada. |
| 1949 | First top-loading automatic washer sold manufactured for sale under Sears' brand. |
| 1950 | The Nineteen Hundred Corporation was renamed as the Whirlpool Corporation, and sold its first top-loading automatic washer sold under the Whirlpool brand. |
| 1951 | Establishment of the Whirlpool Foundation, a philanthropic arm of Whirlpool Corporation. |
| 1955 | Acquires Seeger Refrigerator Company and RCA's air conditioner and cooking range lines including ownership of RCA's Estate brand name. Company changes its name to Whirlpool-Seeger Corporation and began using the RCA-Whirlpool brand name until the mid-1960s. Whirlpool acquires appliance division from International Harvester Company. |
| 1956 | Opened a 100-acre (0.40 km2) administrative center in Benton Harbor, Michigan. |
| 1957 | The RCA Whirlpool Miracle Kitchen was introduced with an estimated 15 million television viewers. The company changed its corporate name back to Whirlpool Corporation. |
| 1962 | Won NASA's contract for the development of the feeding and waste systems for Project Gemini. |
| 1966 | Whirlpool drops the RCA name so the brand name becomes Whirlpool. |
| 1967 | Introduced a 24-hour helpline. |
| 1968 | Surpassed $1 billion in annual revenues. |
| 1978 | Surpassed $2 billion in annual revenues. |
| 1986 | Acquired KitchenAid, a division of the Hobart Corporation. |
| 1987 | Began selling compact washers in India and acquired majority interest in Inglis of Canada. |
| 1988 | Begins a joint venture with Philips called Whirlpool International with Whirlpool owning 53% of the company. The joint venture was formerly Philips' major appliance subsidiary. |
| 1989 | Acquired the Roper brand and Bauknecht of Germany.
Surpassed $6 billion in annual revenue. |
| 1991 | Whirlpool becomes full owner of Whirlpool International by buying Philips' 47% stake. |
| 1997 | Acquired majority stake on Embraco, a Brazilian world-leading maker of compressors for refrigeration. |
| 2000 | Acquired Brazilian appliance maker Multibrás, owner of the brands Brastemp and Consul, including its stake on Embraco. |
| 2001 | Inglis Ltd. changes its name to Whirlpool Canada. Whirlpool continues to market Inglis appliances to this day. Surpassed $10 billion in annual revenues. |
| 2002 | Surpassed $11 billion in annual revenues. |
| 2003 | Surpassed $12 billion in annual revenues. |
| 2004 | Surpassed $13 billion in annual revenues. |
| 2005 | Maytag Corporation shareholders voted to accept Whirlpool Corporation's stock purchase. U.S. Justice Department began a review of the merger.
Surpassed $14 billion in annual revenues. |
| 2006 | Acquired the Maytag, including the Maytag, Jenn-Air, Amana, Jade, Magic Chef, Admiral, Hoover, and Dixie-Narco brands, after Justice Department approved the merger. Sold Dixie-Narco to Crane Co., and Amana Commercial to AGA.
Surpassed $18 billion in annual revenues. |
| 2007 | Sold Hoover to Techtronic Industries, TTI Floorcare.[4] and Jade Appliances to Middleby Corporation. Also closed plants in Newton, Iowa; Searcy, Arkansas; and Herrin, Illinois. This resulted in the sudden loss of 4500 jobs in the affected communities.
Surpassed $19 billion in annual revenues. |
| 2008 | Location closings in La Vergne, Tenn; Reynosa, Mexico; and Oxford, Miss. |
| 2009 | Whirlpool acquired WC Woods from Bankruptcy [5] and to keep Ottawa, OH plant open; Whirlpool to close Evansville plant;[6]Whirlpool has received $19.3 million in U.S. Department of Energy funding as part of its Smart Grid Investment Grant program [7] |
| 2010 | Whirlpool announced plans for its 100th Anniversary in 2011 and unveiled its 100th Anniversary logo as well as an updated corporate logo. The celebrations shall take place in Benton Harbor, Michigan on 11/11/11.[8][9].
Also, took over former KarstadtQuelle brand Privileg from Otto Group. [10]. |
Whirlpool Corporation has seven employee-run diversity networks that are involved with business, employee, and community projects to address the needs of the groups they represent. These diversity networks are The Women's Network (TWN), the Native American Network (NAN), the Whirlpool African American Network (WAAN), The Pride Network (PRIDE), the Whirlpool Asian Community (WAC), the Whirlpool Hispanic Network (WHN), and the Young Professionals Network (YP).
Whirlpool received a 100% rating on the Corporate Equality Index released by the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) equal rights organization Human Rights Campaign starting in 2004, the third year of the report.
Whirlpool Corporation is a principal supporter of Habitat for Humanity, a nonprofit organization dedicated to building low-cost, affordable housing. The company's commitment to Habitat for Humanity has exceeded $34 million and it has donated more than 73,000 appliances for Habitat homes. The company plans to support every Habitat home built globally by 2011, either through product donations, cash, or home sponsorship.[11]
In November 2006, Whirlpool started the annual Building Blocks program, designed to raise awareness and help eliminate substandard housing in the United States. Each year the program recognizes an outstanding U.S. Habitat for Humanity affiliate and its relationship with its local community by holding a week-long build in the affiliate’s community. The program kicked off in Nashville, Tennessee, in 2006 when Whirlpool united 100 local residents with 100 Whirlpool employees and volunteers from 100 Habitat affiliates. These 300 volunteers built 10 homes on one block from Nov. 5-10, 2006. Whirlpool built nine homes near Phoenix, Arizona, in May 2007,[12] and nine more homes in Dallas, Texas in October 2008. The 2009 build is set to begin August 31 in Atlanta, Georgia.[13]
In 2006, more than 20 Whirlpool India employees participated in the week-long Jimmy Carter Work Project (JCWP) in India, which resulted in the completion of 100 homes in a village near Mumbai. In 2005, Whirlpool India began a partnership with Habitat for Humanity India. Volunteers from Whirlpool participated in the build organized by Habitat for Tsunami victims in the southern part of India.
In June 2005, Habitat for Humanity held its annual Jimmy Carter Work Project in Benton Harbor, Michigan. This week-long effort culminating in the completion of more than 230 houses in Michigan. Whirlpool was the lead sponsor for the build and 270 Whirlpool employees from 19 nations worked together to build 10 houses during the week.
To facilitate Hurricane Katrina relief efforts, Whirlpool worked with Habitat to support “Operation Home Delivery.” Whirlpool employees helped construct approximately 50 pre-built homes in New York’s Rockefeller Center that were boxed and shipped to Louisiana and Mississippi and later erected with the help of Whirlpool employees in St. Tamany Parrish, Louisiana. In January 2007, Whirlpool chose to hold its annual sales meeting in New Orleans. As part of that meeting, more than 1,000 Whirlpool employees spent one day volunteering with Habitat for Humanity in an effort to continue rebuilding New Orleans’ residential areas.
Since 2004, Whirlpool has sponsored entertainment icon Reba McEntire’s music tours to raise awareness and more than $500,000 for Habitat for Humanity.
Cook for the Cure: Cook for the Cure presented by KitchenAid, was created in 2001 to give passionate cooks a way to support the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation. Cook for the Cure has raised more than $4 million through donation-with-purchase programs, special fundraising events, auctions and grass roots initiatives. KitchenAid also supports breast cancer foundations in other countries including Canada, France, Germany, South Africa, Greece and Israel.
Freeze-dried ice cream was developed by Whirlpool Corporation under contract to NASA for the Apollo missions.[14]
Whirlpool also manufactures certain appliances under the Kenmore label, (manufactured for Sears Holdings Corporation). Whirlpool has expanded the marketing of Inglis appliances which are sold in the United States at Best Buy stores. Whirlpool also manufactures IKEA brand appliances for IKEA and Admiral appliances for Home Depot.