frigidaire

Frigidaire was founded as the Guardian Frigerator Company in Ft. Wayne, Indiana, and developed the first self-contained refrigerator (invented by 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.[1] From 1919 to 1979 the company was owned by General Motors. During that period it was first a subsidiary of Delco-Light, and was later an independent division, based in Dayton, Ohio. In 1979 it was acquired by White Consolidated Industries which also owned Westinghouse appliances. Since 1986 it has been a unit of Electrolux.

The company claims firsts including:

• electric self-contained refrigerator,
• home food freezer,
• room air conditioner,
• 30" electric range,
• coordinated colors for home appliances

Brands now operated by Frigidaire include Kelvinator, White-Westinghouse, Tappan and Gibson.

Trivia

Some older Americans, especially in the South, refer to the refrigerator as "The Frigidaire," regardless of the brand-name (while others use the phrase "icebox") . This usage is also seen abroad, for example in Québec, France, Romania and Peru.

External links

• Corporate home page
• Video of a Frigidaire commercial 1956
• Frigidaire repair parts are available from Easy Appliance Parts.