for other uses see electrolux disambiguation . ab electrolux type public aktiebolag traded as nasdaq stockholm elux b grey market eluxf industry home appliance founded 1919 ; 97 years ago 1919 headquarters stockholm sweden area served worldwide key people jonas samuelson president and ceo ronnie leten chairman products major appliances small appliances revenue sek 123.51 billion 2015 1 operating income sek 2.74 billion 2015 1 profit sek 1.56 billion 2015 1 total assets sek 83.47 billion end 2015 1 total equity sek 14.97 billion end 2015 1 number of employees 55 245 2015 1 parent investor ab 13.6 % website www.electrolux.com ab electrolux commonly known as electrolux is a swedish multinational home appliance manufacturer headquartered in stockholm . 2 it is consistently ranked the world s second largest appliance maker by units sold after whirlpool . 3 electrolux products sell under a variety of brand names including its own and are primarily major appliances and vacuum cleaners intended for consumer use . 4 the company also makes appliances for professional use . 5 electrolux has a primary listing on the stockholm stock exchange and is a constituent of the omx stockholm 30 index . contents 1 history 1.1 sales company to major manufacturer 1.2 mergers and acquisitions 1.2.1 hans werthen 1.2.2 restructuring 1.3 a public company 1.4 2000 to present 2 brands 3 notable products 4 slogan 5 controversy 6 see also 7 references 8 external links history edit the autoluxlamp a kerosene lamp manufactured by lux and used in railway stations around the world in the early 20th century . the company originates from a merger of two companies lux ab and svenska elektron ab . the former an established manufacturer and the latter a younger company founded by a former vacuum salesman who was also a former employee of the former firm . 6 the origins of electrolux are closely tied to the vacuum but today it also makes major appliances . sales company to major manufacturer edit in 1919 a svenska elektron ab acquisition 6 elektromekaniska ab became elektrolux . 7 the spelling was changed to electrolux in 1957 . 8 it initially sold lux branded vacuum cleaners in several european countries . 7 in 1923 the company acquired ab arctic and subsequently added absorption refrigerators to its product line . 9 10 other appliances soon followed including washing machines in 1951 11 dishwashers in 1959 11 and food service equipment in 1962 . 12 mergers and acquisitions edit the company has often and regularly expanded through mergers and acquisitions . while electrolux had bought several companies before the 1960s that decade saw the beginnings of a new wave of m & a activity . the company bought elektrohelios norwegian elektra danish atlas finnish slev and flymo et al. in the nine years from 1960 to 1969 . 12 this style of growth continued through the 1990s seeing electrolux purchase scores 13 of companies including for a time husqvarna . 13 14 hans werthen edit hans werthen a president and later chairman of the board led the strategic core of an increasingly decentralized electrolux and was instrumental to its rapid growth . restructuring edit while attempts to cut costs centralise administration and wring out economies of scale from electrolux s operations were made in the 1960s and 1970s 12 13 with the focus so firmly on growth 13 further company wide restructuring efforts only began in the late 1990s . 15 a public company edit electrolux made an initial public offering on the london stock exchange in 1928 it was delisted in 2010 16 and another on the stockholm stock exchange in 1930 . 10 17 currently its shares trade on the nasdaq omx nordic market and over the counter . 18 electrolux is an omx nordic 40 constituent stock . vacuum cleaner designed by lurelle guild ca. 1937 brooklyn museum 2000 to present edit in north america the electrolux name was long used by a vacuum cleaner manufacturer aerus llc originally established to sell swedish electrolux products . in 2000 aerus transferred trademark rights back to the electrolux group . aerus stopped using the electrolux brand in 2004 . 19 before 2000 electrolux made vacuums carried the eureka brand name and while electrolux continued to make eureka branded vacuums after it regained the right to use its own brand it also began selling electrolux branded vacuums too . electrolux usa customer service maintains a database of electrolux made vacuums and provides a link to aerus in case an electrolux branded vacuum cleaner was made by aerus . 20 keith mcloughlin took over as president and ceo on january 1 2011 and became the company s first non swedish chief executive . in august 2011 electrolux acquired from sigdo koppers the chilean appliance manufacturer cti obtaining several brands with the purchase including fensa gafa mademsa and somela . 21 brands edit an electrolux canister vacuum cleaner electrolux sells under a wide variety of brand names worldwide . most of them were acquired through mergers and acquisitions and only do business in a single country or geographic area . the following is an incomplete list . aeg arthur martin electrolux atlas beam electrolux s central vacuum brand 22 castor chef corber dishlex brand sold in australia 23 dito professional food processing equipment 24 dometic appliances for rv s also uses the electrolux logo electrolux icon premium consumer appliance brand sold in the us 25 elektro helios manufacturer of consumer appliances for the swedish market 26 electrolux laundry systems electrolux professional eureka american consumer vacuum cleaner brand 27 faure french consumer appliance maker 28 fensa chilean consumer appliance brand widely available in latin america . frigidaire full range major appliance brand sold globally 29 gafa argentinean appliance manufacturer . gibson refrigerator and air conditioning manufacturer 30 juno electrolux premium consumer kitchen appliance brand 31 kelvinator commercial refrigerator and freezer brand sold in australia and elsewhere 32 king israeli kitchen appliance brand made by rex electrolux an italian electrolux subsidiary citation needed . lehel consumer appliance brand sold in hungary and elsewhere mademsa chilean home appliance brand marynen marijnen consumer product brand sold in the netherlands 33 molteni professional stoves 34 olympic group home appliance brand parkinson cowan cooking appliances philco former u.s. consumer electronics manufacturer though brand name is also used separately by philips electronics progress vacuum cleaner brand sold throughout europe 35 prosd cimo refrigerator fridge and air conditioning brand sold in brazil rex electrolux italian appliance manufacturer 36 rosenlew consumer product brand sold in scandinavian countries 37 sanitaire commercial product division of eureka simpson consumer appliance brand sold in australia 38 somela chilean home appliance brand available throughout latin america 39 tornado vacuum cleaners and other consumer products 40 tappan former u.s. appliance manufacturer therma tricity bendix volta vacuum cleaner brand sold in australia sweden and elsewhere 41 voss premium consumer cooking appliance and equipment supplier in denmark and elsewhere 42 wascator white westinghouse former u.s. appliance manufacturer westinghouse a kitchen appliance brand in australia licensed from westinghouse electric corp to electrolux home products pty ltd. 43 zanker consumer kitchen appliance brand sold in central europe 44 zanussi italian appliance manufacturer that became part of electrolux in 1984 45 zanussi professional professional kitchen equipment manufacturer 46 zoppas consumer products brand sold in italy 47 please note this list does not include brands such as kenmore and john lewis which may sell electrolux produced appliances but are not owned by or affiliated with electrolux . electrolux acts as an oem for these brands . notable products edit electrolux assistent 1940 . 1919 the lux vacuum is the first product electrolux sells . 1925 d electrolux s first refrigerator is an absorption model . 10 1937 electrolux model 30 vacuum is unveiled . 1940 assistent swedish for assistant the company s only wartime consumer product 17 is a mixer 48 food processor . 49 1951 w 20 electrolux s first home washing machine is manufactured in post world war ii gothenburg sweden . 17 1959 d 10 the company s first dishwasher is a counter top model nicknamed round jar . 11 2001 launch of the electrolux trilobite a robotic vacuum cleaner . 50 slogan edit the company s current international slogan is thinking of you . 51 in the 1960s the company successfully marketed vacuums in the united kingdom with the slogan nothing sucks like an electrolux . 52 in the united states it was frequently assumed that using this slogan was a brand blunder . in fact the informal us meaning of the word was already well known in the uk at the time and the company hoped the slogan with its possible double entendre would gain attention . 53 controversy edit in 2003 the us equal employment opportunity commission resolved a complaint that muslim workers at the st. cloud factory were not allowed a sufficient number of breaks to observe their daily prayers . 54 in 2010 and again in 2011 complaints against the company were filed by muslim workers in electrolux s plant in st. cloud minnesota with the equal employment opportunity commission . the 2010 complaint that workers were not able to observe ramadan was resolved . 55 the 2011 complaint stems from the 30 minute breaks agreed to in 2010 being later reduced to 20 minutes by electrolux . 56 see also edit companies portal constructor group as a former electrolux subsidiary not involved in major appliance manufacture references edit a b c d e f annual results 2014 pdf . electrolux . retrieved 12 may 2015 . electrolux group headquarter . electrolux . retrieved 8 may 2014 . major appliances millionaires club new 2010 company rankings . euromonitor.com . euromonitor international . december 3 2010 . retrieved 9 may 2014 . national consumer brands ; electrolux group . electrolux.com . retrieved 2010 08 31 . about electrolux products . group.electrolux.com . 2013 03 26 . retrieved 2013 05 07 . a b gantz carroll 2012 . the vacuum cleaner a history . mcfarland . isbn 9780786465521 . a b founding an international company ; electrolux group . group.electrolux.com . retrieved 2010 08 31 . elektrolux becomes electrolux ; electrolux group . group.electrolux.com . retrieved 2010 08 31 . revolutionary products ; electrolux group . group.electrolux.com . retrieved 2010 08 31 . a b c history 1920 1929 electrolux group . group.electrolux.com . retrieved 2010 08 31 . a b c history 1950 1959 electrolux group . group.electrolux.com . retrieved 2010 08 31 . a b c history 1960 1969 electrolux group . group.electrolux.com . retrieved 2010 08 31 . a b c d a new president with new strategies electrolux group . group.electrolux.com . retrieved 2010 09 05 . history 1970 1979 electrolux group . group.electrolux.com . retrieved 2010 09 05 . history 1990 1999 electrolux group . group.electrolux.com . retrieved 2010 09 05 . electrolux delisted from the london stock exchange ; electrolux group . group.electrolux.com . retrieved 2010 08 31 . a b c growth and industrial design ; electrolux group . group.electrolux.com . retrieved 2010 08 31 . the electrolux share electrolux group . group.electrolux.com . retrieved 2010 09 02 . archived copy . archived from the original on july 25 2011 . retrieved january 8 2011 . kitchen appliances manufacturers best kitchen brand in india electrolux acquires chilean appliance company cti electrolux group . group.electrolux.com . retrieved 2013 05 07 . brand beam ; electrolux group . group.electrolux.com . retrieved 2010 08 31 . http dishlex.com.au aboutus brand dito electrolux ; electrolux group . group.electrolux.com . retrieved 2010 08 31 . official electrolux icon site electrolux icon appliances . electroluxicon.com . retrieved 2010 08 31 . brand elektro helios ; electrolux group . group.electrolux.com . retrieved 2010 08 31 . brand eureka ; electrolux group . group.electrolux.com . retrieved 2010 08 31 . brand faure ; electrolux group . group.electrolux.com . retrieved 2010 08 31 . brand frigidaire ; electrolux group . group.electrolux.com . retrieved 2010 08 31