Frigidaire

rdf:langString Frigidaire

rdf:langString Frigidaire Appliance Company

rdf:langString Frigidaire Appliance Company

rdf:langString Fort Wayne, Indiana, U.S.

rdf:langString Major appliances, small appliances

rdf:langString Charlotte, North Carolina, U.S.

rdf:langString Frigidaire.svg

rdf:langString Clothes washers and dryers, refrigerators, freezers, dishwashers, ranges, room air conditioners, dehumidifiers, and microwave ovens

rdf:langString Frigidaire Appliance Company is the American consumer and commercial home appliances brand subsidiary of multinational company Electrolux. 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. 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. In France, Canada, and some other French-speaking countries or areas, the word Frigidaire is often in use as a synonym today. The name Frigidaire or its antecedent Frigerator may be the origin of the widely used English word fridge, although more likely simply an abbreviation of refrigerator which is a word known to have been used as early as 1611. 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. The division also manufactured the compressors for GM's cars that were equipped with air conditioning. 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 Sewing Machine Company in 1979, which in 1986 was purchased by Electrolux, its current parent. The company claims firsts including: * Electric self-contained refrigerator (September, 1918 in Detroit) * Home food freezer * Room air conditioner * 30" electric range * Coordinated colors for home appliances