Frigidaire

History

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. The popularity of Frigidaire may have influenced the English word fridge, an unusual contraction of refrigerator.

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 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".

On January 31, 1979, General Motors sold the Frigidaire appliance division to White Consolidated Industries for approximately $120 million after the unit suffered a $40 million loss in 1978. In 1986, WCI was purchased by Electrolux for $742 million, its current parent.

The company claims firsts including:

Electric self-contained refrigerator (September, 1918 in Detroit)

Home food freezer

Room air conditioner

As of 2026, Electrolux has 3 home appliance manufacturing plants in the United States.

It also has operated a large manufacturing facility in Juarez, Mexico since 2005.

In the 1970s, Frigidaire manufacturing operations in the United States were located in the Dayton, Ohio area, including its historic Plant No. 1 and headquarters at 300 Taylor Street in downtown Dayton, and the massive sprawling complex in suburban Moraine, south of Dayton.

As of 2022, air conditioning units are manufactured in China.