Whirlpool Corporation is an American multinational manufacturer and marketer of home appliances headquartered in Benton Charter Township, Michigan, United States.[2] In 2023, the Fortune 500 company had an annual revenue of approximately $19 billion in sales, around 59,000 employees, and more than 55 manufacturing and technology research centers globally.[3]
The company's flagship brand, Whirlpool, is marketed alongside a range of other brands including Maytag, KitchenAid, JennAir, Amana, Gladiator GarageWorks, Inglis, Estate, Brastemp, Bauknecht, InSinkErator, and Consul.[4]
In its domestic U.S. market, Whirlpool has eleven manufacturing facilities which employs about 15,000 workers.[5]
History
Founding and first customers
On November 11, 1911, Louis Upton (1886–1952), who worked as an insurance salesman, and his uncle, Emory Upton, who owned a machine shop, founded the Upton Machine Company. Following a failed business venture, Lou acquired a patent to a manual clothes washer. He approached Emory to determine if he could add an electric motor to the design. With the aid of a $5,000 investment from retailing executive Lowell Bassford, they began producing electric motor-driven wringer washers.[6] Soon after its founding, Lou's younger brother Fred joined the company.
Their first customer, the Federal Electric division of Commonwealth Edison, ordered 100 machines, but a fault in the gear transmission led the customer to threaten their return.[7] After the machines were recalled and repaired, Federal Electric doubled the order.[8] They remained a customer for three years, then they began producing their own washers. The loss of Federal Electric forced Upton to diversify until, in 1916, they landed
Carbon footprint
Whirlpool Corporation reported Total CO2e emissions (Direct + Indirect) for the twelve months ending December 31, 2020 at 663 Kt (-21 /-3.1% y-o-y)[44] and is committed to reaching net zero emissions by 2030.[45]
NASA partnership
In 1962, the company's research laboratories won a contract from NASA to develop the food and waste management system for Project Gemini.[51] The company later developed freeze-dried ice cream in 1968 under contract to NASA for the Apollo missions.[52] Returning to work with NASA under the Johnson Space Center's Advanced Exploration Systems Logistics Reduction and Repurposing project in 2021, Whirlpool developed a zero-gravity refrigerator in partnership with Purdue University and Air Squared to investigate long term food storage for deep space exploration.[53]
Dryer fire scandal
According to The Guardian newspaper the Whirlpool Corporation was mired in controversy in the UK for its decision not to recall faulty items that have caused deadly fires.[54] In October 2014, two died following a fire at a flat in Llanrwst, North Wales. Coroner ruled that the cause of the fire was “on the balance of probabilities” an electrical fault with the door switch on the dryer. He described the evidence presented at the inquest by Whirlpool as “defensive and dismissive” and stated the company's approach was an “obstacle” to finding steps to prevent future fires.[55]
Safety warnings about tumble dryers published on the Indesit and Hotpoint websites in 2015 advised customers that “In some rare cases, excess fluff can come into contact with the heating element and present a risk of fire.”[56] Condensers and vented tumble dryers sold under the brands Hotpoint, Indesit
Major brands
• Acros (México)
• Affresh Washer Cleaners
• Amana
• Brastemp (Brazil)
• Challenger (Colombia)
• Consul (Brazil)
• Diqua (China)
• Estate
• EveryDrop
• Gladiator GarageWorks
• Hefei Sanyo (China)[31]
• Inglis (Canada and US)
• InSinkErator
• Jenn-Air
• KitchenAid
• Laden (marque) (France)
• Maytag
• Polar
External links
References
- Whirlpool Corporation 2024 Annual Report Results February 13, 2025, retrieved February 14, 2025^
- Contact Us Whirlpool Corporation, retrieved April 28, 2010^
- Whirlpool Fortune, retrieved 2018-11-18^