The name Fisher & Paykel should be quite familiar to anyone who has been shopping for any type of major appliances for their home or business. The company, based in East Tamaki in New Zealand, is one of the most popular manufacturing companies in the world. They have been building their brand and their reputation for more than eighty years now, having first started in 1934. Since that time, they've grown into a powerhouse that operates in countries all around the world. They have manufacturing facilities located in Italy, Mexico, Thailand, the United States, and New Zealand, of course.
The History of Fisher & Paykel
The company began in 1934 when Maurice Paykel and Sir Woolf Fisher founded it. When they first started though, they were not the manufacturers and innovators that they are today. Instead, they were importers of refrigerators for use in homes. They would import refrigerators and other appliances from companies such as Pilot and Maytag. They first started actually manufacturing appliances in 1938, when they were working under license to create Kelvinator washing machines.
They continued manufacturing in their first facility until the mid 1950s, when they moved to a facility in Mount Wellington, near Auckland, which was specifically meant for manufacturing. The new facility provided the company with more of what they needed to do a better job with the appliances they were making. Namely, they finally had better machinery and could implement better manufacturing techniques. This ultimately led to them increasing their productivity and quality, which helped them to boost their brand name.
It was also right around this time that Fisher & Paykel acquired H.E. Shacklock Ltd., a company that manufactured electric ovens in Dunedin. This greatly expanded the company's power and reach, making them perhaps the most important appliance company in the country at that time. They did not begin exporting the items they made until 1968. They started to export their appliances, as well as some other goods they were making at the time, including sparkplugs, televisions, and cabinets. Still, they were only exporting to East Asia and Australasia at this time. It was still a few years before they started to manufacture and export around the world.
By the time the 1980s rolled around, the company was starting to become more interested in the research and development side of things, which helped to put them on the map. In 1989, the created their first manufacturing facility outside of New Zealand. It was in Cleveland, Australia. They started selling to the European market in 1992, and today, they are exporting to more than 80 countries around the world.
In 2001, they split into two different companies: Fisher & Paykel Appliances Holdings Ltd. and Fisher & Paykel Healthcare Corporation
Over the years, they've also acquired a number of companies in addition to that first acquisition of H.E. Shacklock Ltd, including Dynamic Cooking Systems and Elba, an Italian cookware business. They have their hands in many different areas today.
What Types of Products Does Fisher & Paykel Make Today?
Today, the company is making a wide range of different types of appliances in the fields of laundry, refrigerators and freezers, dishwashers, and cooking equipment. One of the most important products to come from the company is their DishDrawer double drawer washer. They say this dishwasher will wash more effectively than washing by hand or with the current crop of standard dishwashers out there. Many of the products they make feature microprocessors and brushless DC electric motors, as they feel this helps them to improve the efficiency of the machines.
What's Happening with Fisher & Paykel Today?
Haier Group bought the company in 2012, and this has provided them with quite a few benefits. It has brought them to an even larger global stage, putting their name, their brand, and their products in front of more people than ever before. They are expanding faster than ever, and they are continuing to develop and strengthen their main company and brand, as well as all of the smaller and subsidiary companies associated with them. While they may not yet have the same brand recognition around the world as some other companies have, this could be changing very soon.
Resource: http://www.fisherpaykel.com/us/company/about/