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Frigidaire

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Frigidaire Appliance Company
Company typesubsidiary
IndustryMajor appliances, small appliances
Founded1918; 106 years ago (1918) (as Guardian Frigerator Company)
Fort Wayne, Indiana, U.S.
HeadquartersCharlotte, North Carolina, U.S.
Key people
Keith McLoughlin (CEO)
ProductsClothes washers and dryers, refrigerators, freezers, dishwashers, ranges, room air conditioners, dehumidifiers, and microwave ovens
ParentElectrolux
Websitewww.frigidaire.com

Frigidaire Appliance Company is the American consumer and commercial home appliances brand subsidiary of multinational company Electrolux,[1][2][3][4] a Swedish multinational home appliance manufacturer, headquartered in Stockholm.

History

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Frigidaire was founded as the Guardian Frigerator Company in Fort Wayne, Indiana, and developed the first self-contained refrigerator, invented by Nathaniel B. Wales and Alfred Mellowes in 1916. In 1918, William C. Durant, a founder of General Motors, personally invested in the company and in 1919, it adopted the name Frigidaire[5], reminiscent of words like "legionnaire" and "millionaire" but encompassing the words "frigid" and "air".

The brand was so well known in the refrigeration field in the early-to-mid-1900s, that many Americans called any refrigerator a Frigidaire regardless of brand.[6] In France, Canada, and some other French-speaking countries or areas, the word Frigidaire is often in use as a synonym today, and in transcribed form in Serbo-Croatian also ("frižider", "фрижидер"). Although the alliterative names Frigidaire or its antecedent Frigerator suggest an origin of the widely used English word fridge, it is simply a contraction of refrigerator, a word in use since 1611.[7][8][9]

From 1919 to 1979, the company was owned by General Motors. During that period, it was first a subsidiary of Delco-Light[10] and was later an independent division based in Dayton, Ohio. The division also manufactured air conditioning compressors for GM cars. While the company was owned by General Motors, its logo featured the phrase "Product of General Motors", and later renamed to "Home Environment Division of General Motors".

Frigidaire was sold to the White Consolidated Industries in 1979, which in 1986 was purchased by Electrolux, its current parent.

The company claims firsts including:

Automatic washers

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Frigidaire dealer and Esso gas station, Arkansas, ca. 1930–1945

During the years that Frigidaire was owned by General Motors, it was very competitive in the automatic clothes-washing-machine business. Frigidaire engineer Kenneth Sisson, also credited with the design of the incrementing timer used on clothes washers and dishwashers for years to come, designed the Frigidaire automatic washer with the Unimatic mechanism in the late 1930s. Production of the first Frigidaire automatic clothes washers was halted due to World War II and therefore the machine was not formally introduced until 1947. The washing action of a Frigidaire automatic was unique in that the agitator pulsated up and down, a unique departure from the traditional oscillating type. The Frigidaire washers were commonly named for their mechanisms, which underwent frequent changes over the years. The Unimatic was in production the longest, for any single Frigidaire mechanism, from 1947 to 1958 for home automatic washers and through 1963 for coin-operated commercial washers for self-service laundromats. The Pulsamatic mechanism, unique in that it pulsated 630 times per minute, was introduced in 1955 for the lower-end models. This became the foundation for the Multimatic, introduced for the 1959 model year. The Multimatic lasted through 1964, as the Rollermatic was brought out for the 1965 lineup. The Rollermatic was unique in that instead of using an oil-filled gearcase, metal and urethane rollers transferred the power within the mechanism. This underwent a slight revision in 1970 for the new eighteen-pound capacity 1-18, which kept the same basic mechanism but differed in that it was belt-driven off of the motor and added a recirculating pump. Besides the unique action, another notable feature of these older washers was the final, high-speed spin cycle (nicknamed "Rapidry"), 1140 revolutions per minute in the Unimatic, 850 in the Multimatic, and 1010 in the high-end Rollermatic models.

When Frigidaire was acquired by White Consolidated Industries in 1979, it abandoned the General Motors design in favor of the Westinghouse-produced top-loading design, as White-Westinghouse was already among its house brands by this time.

Refrigerators

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Frigidaire refrigerator at the Hallwyl Museum
1922 Frigidaire "iceless" refrigerator newspaper ad.
Frigidaire oven with "Division of General Motors" on the front

Frigidaire also produces a wide variety of refrigerators and freezers for the consumer market. Their model line-up includes refrigerator freezer units of several different types. The selection they offer includes traditional Top Freezer models, as well as more modern Side-By-Side and French Door styles.[12]

In 2016, Frigidaire partnered with Ryder and Embark, an autonomous trucking firm, to deliver refrigerators from Texas to California. Level 2 autonomous trucks are used. They have a driver behind the wheel at all times. The reason for experimenting with autonomous vehicles is a looming shortage of drivers. In 2015, the American Trucking Association predicted that there would be a shortage of 175,000 drivers by 2024.[13]

Air conditioners

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This Frigidaire Air Conditioning Unit is located at the Churchill War Rooms

In addition to manufacturing room air conditioners, Frigidaire also provided the factory air conditioning systems for General Motors (GM) automobiles. From the 1950s through the 1970s, these units developed a reputation for providing powerful air conditioning systems on virtually all GM cars and trucks from the largest Cadillacs to the small Chevrolet Vega. GM also sold Frigidaire auto air conditioning compressors to British Leyland for Jaguar and to Rolls-Royce for Rolls-Royce and Bentley branded cars.[14]

Working AC unit

Manufacturing

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A new cooktop manufacturing facility opened in the Frank C. Pidgeon Industrial park, southwest of Memphis. The facility is built to LEED certification standards. Workers will manufacture the company's Electrolux ICON, Electrolux and Frigidaire product lines, including drop-in/slide-in ranges, wall ovens, specialty freestanding ranges and cooktops. The $190 million, 750,000 square foot Memphis manufacturing plant began production of stoves and ranges in 2013. The plant's research and development center includes the technology and machinery to simulate a stove's lifetime usage and performance expectations and can test more than 300 products at one time.[15]

Electrolux/Frigidaire also operates a manufacturing facility for free standing gas and electric ranges in Springfield, Tennessee. The Springfield facility currently employs about 2,900 people.[citation needed]

It also has operated a large manufacturing facility in Northern Mexico since 2005.[16]

As of 2022, air conditioning units are manufactured in China.[citation needed]

The Consumer Product Safety Commission, alerted by users on social media platforms like Twitter/X, Instagram, Facebook, and others, discovered quality issues with Frigidaire products and issued two recalls in 2024 alone.[17][18]

Recalls

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Frigidaire has had several recent recalls:

2024

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  • Frigidaire (Electrolux) Recalls Rear-Controlled Ranges Due to Electrical Shock and Electrocution Hazards. [19]
  • Frigidaire (Electrolux) Recalls Side by Side Refrigerators with Slim Ice Buckets Due to Choking and Laceration Hazards. [20]

2023

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  • Frigidaire (Electrolux) Recalls Gas Cooktops Due to Risk of Gas Leak, Fire Hazard.[21]
  • Frigidaire (Electrolux) Recalls Laundry units Due to Risk of Fire Hazard.[22]

See also

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Wikimedia Commons has media related to Frigidaire.

References

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  1. ^ "Google Maps". Google Maps. Retrieved 2024-05-17.
  2. ^ "Electrolux Group". Electrolux IT Solutions AB. Retrieved 2024-05-17.
  3. ^ "Electrolux · 10200 David Taylor Dr, Charlotte, NC 28262". Electrolux · 10200 David Taylor Dr, Charlotte, NC 28262. Retrieved 2024-05-17.
  4. ^ "Google Maps". Google Maps. Retrieved 2024-05-17.
  5. ^ Cross, Mary (2002). A Century of American Icons: 100 Products and Slogans from the 20th-Century Consumer Culture. Greenwood Press. pp. 54–55. ISBN 978-0313314810. Retrieved 4 September 2020.
  6. ^ [The Frigidaire Story, GM Heritage Center]
  7. ^ Merriam Webster Dictionary
  8. ^ Online Etymology Dictionary
  9. ^ Dictionary.com
  10. ^ "Delco Lofts". Crawford Hoying. Retrieved 2024-05-17.
  11. ^ "Wright State University" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2010-01-06. Retrieved 2009-07-14.
  12. ^ "Frigidaire Refrigerator Styles". Archived from the original on 2011-01-16. Retrieved 2010-12-31.
  13. ^ Seppala, Timothy (13 November 2017). "Embark's semi-autonomous trucks are hauling Frigidaire appliances". Engadget. Retrieved 4 December 2017.
  14. ^ 1969 Rolls Royce brochure
  15. ^ Hale, Eloise (26 November 2012). "First Electrolux Employees Move into New Memphis Manufacturing Plant" (Press release). Electrolux. Archived from the original on 2012-11-30. Retrieved July 2, 2015.
  16. ^ Lyne, Jack (2004-04-19). "Electrolux Picks Juarez for 3,000-Worker Plant; 885 Johnson Controls Workers Also Mexico-Bound". Site Selection. Archived from the original on 2024-05-19. Retrieved 2024-10-21.
  17. ^ "Electrolux Group Recalls Frigidaire Side by Side Refrigerators with Slim Ice Buckets Due to Choking and Laceration Hazards". U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission. Retrieved 2024-05-17.
  18. ^ "Electrolux Group Recalls Frigidaire Rear-Controlled Ranges Due to Electrical Shock and Electrocution Hazards". U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission. Retrieved 2024-05-17.
  19. ^ "Electrolux Group Recalls Frigidaire Rear-Controlled Ranges Due to Electrical Shock and Electrocution Hazards". U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission. Retrieved 2024-05-17.
  20. ^ "Electrolux Group Recalls Frigidaire Side by Side Refrigerators with Slim Ice Buckets Due to Choking and Laceration Hazards". U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission. Retrieved 2024-05-17.
  21. ^ "Electrolux Group Recalls Frigidaire Gas Cooktops Due to Risk of Gas Leak, Fire Hazard". U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission. Retrieved 2024-05-17.
  22. ^ "Electrolux Group Recalls Frigidaire Gas Laundry Centers Due to Fire Hazard". U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission. Retrieved 2024-07-18.
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