Kelvinator Home Appliance - The Global Tradition Of Appliance Excellence

Founded in 1914, in Detroit, Michigan, United States, by engineer Nathaniel B. Wales, a young inventor, began developing refrigerating mechanisms for home installation. In February 1916, the name of the company, "Electro-Automatic Refrigerating" was changed to "Kelvinator Company" in honor of British physicist, Lord Kelvin, the discoverer of absolute zero and for whom the Kelvin temperature scale is named. Kelvinator was among some two dozen home refrigerators introduced to the U.S. market in 1916. In 1918 Kelvinator introduced the first refrigerator with any type of automatic control.

By 1923, the Kelvinator Company held 80 percent of the market for electric refrigerators.

In 1926, Kelvinator acquired the Leonard Refridgerator Company, a Grand Rapids, Michigan, manufacturer of cleanable ice-box cabinets. 

That same year the company acquired Nizer Corporation, the largest maker of ice-cream cabinets. George W. Mason joined Kelvinator as president in 1928. 

In 1937, Kelvinator merged with Nash Motor Company, forming Nash-Kelvinator Corporation. Mason served as the president of the joint operation. As a division of Nash-Kelvinator, Kelvinator continued to grow, expanding into making condensers and compressors for manufacturers of other makes of refrigerators, freezers, and air conditioning units.

The company's household product line was supplemented by electrical appliance ranges, water heaters, home freezers, room air conditioners, kitchen cabinets, sinks, kitchen waste disposers, and in 1952 a complete line of home laundry equipment acquired through the purchase of Altorfer Bros. Company (ABC), of Peoria, Illinois.

Kelvinator was purchased by White Consolidated Industries in 1968, and subsequently became part of the Electrolux Group in 1986. Kelvinator has been in South Africa since 1945.

Kelvinator, a global name in home appliances, is a trusted brand synonymous with quality and unmatched performance. Known for its category-defining cooling technologies, Kelvinator has been credited with the inventions of many a “new technologies”. With its global foot-print, Kelvinator is expanding fast across various Small Domestic Appliances.