Kelvinator

Kelvinator

Company type	Division
Industry	Appliances
Founded	1914(1914)
Defunct	1986(1986)
Products	Commercial refrigeration for food service applications air-conditioning
Owner	Electrolux AB,took over ownership in 1986

Kelvinatorwas an Americanhome appliancemanufacturer and a line ofdomestic refrigeratorsthat was the company's namesake. Although it is now defunct as a company, the name remains abrandowned byElectrolux AB.It takes its name fromWilliam Thomson, 1st Baron Kelvin,who developed the concept ofabsolute zeroand for whom theKelvintemperature scale is named. The name was thought appropriate for a company that manufacturedice-boxesand refrigerators.

History

Kelvinator ad from 1920

Kelvinator refrigerator, c. 1926

The enterprise was established on September 18, 1914, inDetroit,Michigan,United States, by engineerNathaniel B. Wales,who introduced his idea for a practical electric refrigeration unit for the home to Edmund Copeland and Arnold Goss.

Wales, a young inventor, secured financial backing from Arnold Goss, then secretary of theBuickAutomobile company, to develop the first household mechanical refrigerators to be marketed under the name "Electro-Automatic Refrigerating Company".After producing many experimental models, Wales selected one for manufacturing.

In February 1916, the name of the business was changed to "Kelvinator Company" in honor of the Irish-Scottish physicist, Lord Kelvin (William Thomson, 1st Baron Kelvin), the discoverer ofabsolute zero.Kelvinator was among two dozen home refrigerators introduced to the U.S. market in 1916. In 1918, Kelvinator introduced the first refrigerator with any type of automatic control.

Frustrated by iceboxes, the Grand Rapids Refrigerator Company introduced aporcelain-lined "Leonard Cleanable" ice cabinet.Kelvinator began buying Leonard's boxes for its electric refrigerated models. By 1923, the Kelvinator Company held 80% of the American market for electric refrigerators.

On July 3, 1925, Kelvinator boughtNizer Corporationin a tri-party merger valued at $20 million.

In 1926, the company acquiredLeonard,which had been founded in 1881. Kelvinator concentrated its entire appliance production at the Grand Rapids factory in 1928.That year,George W. Masonassumed control of Kelvinator. Under his leadership, the company lowered its costs while increasingmarket sharethrough 1936.

In 1936, Kelvinator introduced the "Kelvin Home", one of the earliest attempts to market in-home central air conditioning and heating to ordinary consumers. Customers could choose from several different home designs, all of which were equipped with climate control systems and the latest electric appliances, and were advertised to cost about $7,500 ($151,523 in 2022)for a six-room house.The first Kelvin Home shown to the public was located inLivonia, Michiganand attracted thousands of visitors.Several surviving homes are registered historic properties, including some in theRosedale Gardens Historic Districtin Livoniaand theKelvinator HouseinAlbuquerque, New Mexico.

British operations

In 1926, Kelvinator Limited,England,was started inLondon.From simple merchandising of the products of the American factories, it grew until it was producing much of its own equipment for theBritishmarket. In 1946, it was considered that the time was ripe for this unit to expand and be self-contained in its manufacture of Kelvinator Equipment, and the London manufacturing activities were moved toCreweand greatly expanded with a further 19,000 square metres (200,000 sq ft) of floor space. The Crewe factory was shared withRolls-Royce Motors,but burned down in the 1950s and was replaced by a new facility inBromborough,Cheshire.

Italian manufacturerCandybought the operation in 1979 together with the use of the Kelvinator brand name in the UK and produced both Candy and Kelvinator products until it closed around 2000.

Merger with Nash Motors

On October 27, 1936, it was announced thatNash Motorsand Kelvinator Corp. were merging.The merger took effect on January 4, 1937, to formNash-Kelvinator Corporationas part of a deal that placed George W. Mason at the helm of the combined company.

In 1952, it acquired theAltorfer Bros. Company,which made homelaundry equipmentunder the ABC brand name.

World War II

Sikorsky R-6A Hoverfly II helicopter

Between 1939 and 1945, the complete manufacturing facilities of the factories' group were turned over to the manufacturing of military supplies. With the exception of one-ton, two-wheeled truck cargo trailers and some refrigerators, Nash-Kelvinator did not manufacture products related to its pre-war operations.It became the largest producer of helicopters in the U.S. during the war by making theA Hoverfly II,the most advanced helicopter design of the war.Other wartime products included three- and four-blade propellers, optical equipment and binoculars as well asPratt & Whitney R-2800 Double Waspradial aircraft engines.The Kelvinator refrigerator facility in Grand Rapids, Michigan, had up to 5,000 employees when it produced airplane propellers and engine parts.Nash-Kelvinator placed 27th in the value of World War II production contracts that were awarded to U.S. firms.

In Britain, Kelvinator ofLondoncontributed to the field of testingairplanecomponents at ultra-low temperatures, and instruments under high altitude conditions, research that was credited as saving the lives of manyAlliedaircrews.

The company pledged to introduce the scientific discoveries gained during the war production into its appliances to make them more useful and efficient.

Kelvinator refrigerator ad from 1948

Integration into American Motors

Nash-Kelvinator became a division ofAmerican Motors(AMC) when Nash merged withHudsonin 1954. Kelvinator introduced the firstauto-defrostmodels.Kelvinator refrigerators included shelves on the inside of their doors and special compartments for frozen juice containers in the freezer.It also pioneered the side-by-side refrigerator freezer in the early 1950s.In the 1960s, Kelvinator refrigerators introduced "picture frame" doors on some models allowing owners to decorate their appliance to match décor of their kitchens.

Under the leadership ofRoy D. Chapin Jr.,AMC sold off its Kelvinator operations in 1968.(AMC then purchased theJeepbrand fromKaiser Industriesin 1970.) Kelvinator joinedWhite Consolidated Industries,a company that later acquired the rights toFrigidaire(originally owned byGeneral Motors),Gibson,andWhite-Westinghouseproduct lines.Electroluxof Sweden acquired White Consolidated Industries in 1986, and combined WCI brands with Electrolux-ownedTappanto become WCI Major Appliances Group.

In the early 1990s, the name of theDublin, Ohiobased holding company changed to Frigidaire Company.

In 1997, it was reorganized into Electrolux North America Products.

Legacy

In North America, Electrolux continues to sell (under the Kelvinator Commercial brand) a range of commercial refrigeration equipment.

The Kelvinator brand is used inArgentinafor a wide variety of appliances marketed by Radio Victoria Fueguina inTierra del Fuego.The factory is in this province.

In the Philippines, the Kelvinator brand was licensed in 1977 to Concepcion Industries Inc. (now Concepcion Industrial Corporation) who continues to sell whitegoods under this brand.

In Australia, Kelvinator Australia Ltd was formed in 1934, and manufactured and distributed products under licence from several US companies, including Kelvinator. The managing director was William Queale, while his father-in-law, F.H. Griffiths, was a co-director.In 1980, they became part of the Australian-owned Email Limited group of companies, whose appliance division was subsequently sold to the Swedish-owned Electrolux Group in 2001.Refrigerators and air conditioners continue to be sold under the Kelvinator brand by the Electrolux Group.

In India, the Kelvinator brand was revived in 2019, when the retail arm of Reliance Retail signed a licensing, manufacturing, marketing and distribution deal with Electrolux.They currently sell a range of appliances and whitegoods under the Kelvinator brand.

As late as 2014, residents ofRobeson County, North Carolinaused "Kelvinator" to generically refer to refrigerators, due to the former presence of a Kelvinator factory in their county.