Fisher & Paykel

Infobox Company
name = Fisher & Paykel Appliances Holdings Limited

type = Public (nzx|FPA)
foundation = 2001
founder = Maurice Paykel, Sir Woolf Fisher
location_city = East Tamaki, Auckland
location_country =
NZ
area_served = NZ
AUS
USA
ITA
key_people = John Bongard, Managing Director and CEO
industry = Major appliance
products = Major appliances
revenue = increase NZ$1.412 billion (2007)
operating_income = decrease NZ$93.818 million (2007)
net_income = decrease NZ$61.180 million (2007)
num_employees = 4000 [http://www.fp.co.nz/global/about-us/parent-company.cfm Fisher & Paykel Appliances - Parent Company ] ]
parent =
subsid =
homepage = [http://www.fp.co.nz www.fp.co.nz]
footnotes =
intl = yes

Fisher & Paykel is a major appliance manufacturing company based in East Tamaki, New Zealand.

Originally an importer of domestic refrigerators,The University of Auckland Business History Project timeline [http://www.businesshistory.auckland.ac.nz/fisher_paykel/timeline.html] ] Fisher & Paykel now holds over 420 patentsGlobal F&P Appliances patents found in Delphion [http://www.delphion.com/fcgi-bin/patsearch] ] and bases its identity on innovative design, particularly in the areas of usability and environmental awareness.Better by Design NZ [http://www.betterbydesign.org.nz/casestudies/homegrown/fisherandpaykel/] ]

The company's trademarked appliances include Active Smart refrigerators, AeroTech ovens, DishDrawer dishwashers, Smart Drive washing machines and Smartload top loading dryers. The company also manufactures gas and electric cooktops and front loading dryers.Fisher & Paykel Appliances New Zealand Consumer site [http://www.fisherpaykel.co.nz/] ]

Fisher & Paykel products are available in more than 80 countries worldwide. The company has manufacturing plants at Auckland and Dunedin in New Zealand, Cleveland in Australia, Huntington Beach and Clyde, United States, and Treviso, Italy and Rayong, Thailand and Reynosa, Mexico.

In 2004, Fisher & Paykel Appliances purchased the United States based cookware manufacturer Dynamic Cooking Systems, and Italian cookware company Elba in 2006.

Fisher & Paykel Appliances announced the closure of three manufacturing facilities in Dunedin - New Zealand, Cleveland - Australia and Huntington Beach - USA on April 17th 2008. [ [http://www.nzx.com/market/market_announcements/by_company?id=163338 New Zealand Sharemarket, Share Prices, NZSX, NZAX, NZDX - NZX.com ] ]

History

Fisher & Paykel Appliances Ltd was listed publicly in 2001, following the separation of Fisher & Paykel Industries Ltd into Fisher & Paykel Healthcare Ltd and Fisher & Paykel Appliances Ltd that same year.

Fisher & Paykel Industries

Fisher & Paykel Industries Ltd was founded in 1934 by Sir Woolf Fisher and Maurice Paykel. The company publicly listed in 1979 with authorised capital of NZ$ 40 million.

Initially the company was an importer of Crosley appliances, Maytag and Pilot products; in 1938 the company began manufacturing Kelvinator washing machines under license. This followed the introduction of tariffs by the First Labour Government of New Zealand.The University of Auckland Business History Project profile [http://www.businesshistory.auckland.ac.nz/fisher_paykel/company_profile.html] ]

In 1956, manufacturing was moved to a purpose-built factory in Mount Wellington, Auckland. This facility included flexible machinery manufacturing techniques developed in tandem with the raw material suppliers, enabling Fisher & Paykel Industries to greatly increase production.

The company began exporting within Australasia and East Asia around 1968. At this time the company also manufactured cabinets, sparkplugs and televisions.

During the 1980s the company became more focussed on research and development, resulting in the development of the ECS direct drive mechanism washing machine and highly-automated production lines. In 1989, the company opened its first overseas manufacturing facility in Cleveland, Australia.

The company entered the European market in 1992, and by 1994 was exporting to over 80 countries.

Fisher & Paykel Appliances

On 12 November 2001, Fisher & Paykel Industries split into Fisher & Paykel Appliances Holdings Ltd and Fisher & Paykel Healthcare Corporation Ltd.

In October 2004, Fisher & Paykel Appliances acquired Dynamic Cooking Systems Inc, a United States manufacturer and distributor of cooking appliances. Dynamic Cooking Systems was acquired for US$33 million (NZ$49.3 million) in a debt-free state, allowing the company to leverage market presence while maintaining its quality of engineering.

In June 2006, the Italian cookware business Elba was acquired from DeLonghi for €78 million (NZ$158 million).Current.com.au [http://www.current.com.au/2007/04/23/article/PEOQKTZLTL.html] ] Elba has been since been renamed Fisher & Paykel Appliances Italy S.p.A.Fisher and Paykel Holdings Limited Annual Report 2006/07 [http://www.fisherpaykel.com/shadomx/apps/fms/fmsdownload.cfm?file_uuid=6A5B5D9F-99AE-E885-C178-394501800391&siteName=fpcom] ] and exports to over 54 countries, focusing on the UK market.

Current products

Fisher & Paykel Appliances currently manufactures cooking, laundry and whiteware appliances. The company's flagship product is the DishDrawer double drawer dishwasher which is claimed to wash dishes more efficiently than standard dishwashers or hand washing.

The current Fisher & Paykel-branded product range includes built-in ovens, electric cooktops, dishwashers, dryers, freezers, ranges, rangehoods, refrigerators and washing machines.

A large number of Fisher & Paykel products utilise microprocessor and brushless DC electric motor technology from production line equipment to improve efficiency. [http://www.fisherpaykel.co.nz/global/about-us/our-products.cfm Fisher & Paykel Appliances - Our Products ] ]

The company's trademarked brushless motor-based performance features include Smart Drive washing machines, SmartLoad Dryers and DishDrawer dishwashers. Microprocessor-based control systems form the basis of Active Smart refrigerators and AeroTech ovens.

References

External links

* [http://www.fisherpaykel.com Fisher & Paykel]
* [http://www.dcsappliances.com Dynamic Cooking Systems]