KitchenAid history

Sales of Upton's washers through the Sears catalog (under the Allen trade name) grew rapidly during and after World War I. In order to avoid total dependence on the Sears account, however, Upton also launched a washer under its own brand name in the early 1920s.

In 1924 Hobart's Troy Metals subsidiary was renamed the KitchenAid Manufacturing Company, and its headquarters were set up in Dayton, Ohio.

The firm's good fortune continued through the first World War, and in 1925, it launched its own brand name of washers.

In 1926 Hobart acquired another appliance manufacturer that would figure prominently in KitchenAid's future.

Research and development were curtailed during World War II, but finally, in 1949, Hobart introduced a new home dishwasher, the KD-10, featuring a patented washing mechanism and the KitchenAid brand name.

In 1950 the company changed its name to Whirlpool Corporation.

In 1951, Whirlpool purchased Clyde Porcelain Steel of Ohio, gaining access to one of the largest washing machines plants in the world.

The company also began to make air conditioners and cooking-range products in 1955.

A subsidiary called Appliance Buyers Credit Corporation was formed in 1957 to provide financing to these distributors and to help strengthen Whirlpool's position as an industry leader.

1958: In its first move outside the United States, Whirlpool buys a stake in Brasmotor S.A., a major Brazilian appliance maker.

The company's purchase of Heil-Quaker Corporation in 1964 enlarged Whirlpool's scope beyond consumer appliances to central heating and cooling equipment.

To close out the decade, the company penetrated the Canadian market for the first time with its 1969 purchase of a 33 percent stake in John Inglis Co. Its 1966 entry into the consumer electronics market with the acquisition of Warwick Electronics ended in failure ten years later, at which time the business was sold to Sanyo Electric Company.

Benefiting from the expertise of this division, the company developed a KitchenAid food waste disposer, which it began to market in 1968.

To close out the decade, the company penetrated the Canadian market for the first time with its 1969 purchase of a 33 percent stake in John Inglis Co.

In 1976, the firm acquired Consul S.A. and Embraco S.A.

In 1977 it introduced the first automatic clothes washer with solid-state electronic controls and a line of microwave ovens.

Revenues climbed to $2 billion in 1978.

In 1980 Whirlpool was found guilty of discrimination in a suit brought by the Department of Labor, alleging that Whirlpool had taken inappropriate disciplinary action against two employees who had refused to perform what they considered to be hazardous work in the company's Marion, Ohio, plant.

Upon Platts's retirement in November 1982, Vice-Chairman Jack D. Sparks became chairman and CEO, and set about broadening the company's focus.

Sparks also emphasized growth in the company's international markets and formed Whirlpool Trading Company in 1984, to explore overseas opportunities.

In 1985 Whirlpool entered the lucrative kitchen-cabinet market by acquiring Mastercraft Industries Corporation, followed by the purchase of another cabinet manufacturer, St Charles Manufacturing Company, the next year.

Growth continued in 1986 with the purchase of the KitchenAid division of Hobart Corp.

KitchenAid first exhibited the entire line at the National Association of Home Builders Show in Dallas in early January 1987.

In 1988 Whirlpool reorganized its activities into seven units in order to maximize efficiency and market responsiveness.

The cabinet business did not produce the hoped for results--Whirlpool was unable to capture a satisfactory share of the residential-construction market--and the cabinet operation was sold in 1989.

Boosting its advertising budget by ten percent in 1990, KitchenAid also developed a television advertising campaign that proved profitable.

1991: Whirlpool buys out its European partner, taking full control of Whirlpool Europe.

Whirlpool, however, was pinning its hopes for greatest growth on Asia, to which it shipped 700,000 units in 1994.

During the same year, though, Whirlpool’s total revenues jumped more than eight percent and profits were growing at record levels in 1995.

Asia nonetheless accounted for only 6 percent of the 1996 revenues of $8.5 billion, and the ventures in this region were yet to be profitable.

Certain dishwasher models were recalled in 2000 because some had been catching fire.

The firm's stock ranged from a low of $45.87 per share to a high of $74.20 per share over a 52-week period. Its annual dividend in 2001 was $1.36 per share and its operating profit margin was three percent.

New products in 2002 also included the company's first line of jetted baths as well as the Gladiator GarageWorks line of organizing products for the garage.

In August 2003 Whirlpool entered into a global strategic alliance with Fisher & Paykel Appliances, a major New Zealand-based home appliance maker.

In the year 2007, it sold Hoover to Techtronic Industries and Jade Appliances to Middleby Corporation.