Across Australia and New Zealand offices.
Last week, Electrolux Home Products hosted a staff morning tea across all Australia and New Zealand sites to celebrate 130 years since the Westinghouse Electric Company was founded by George Westinghouse.
Westinghouse branded cupcakes, birthday balloons and posters were organised. There was also a quiz with multiple choice questions and employees with correct answers from each site went into the draw for a new Westinghouse 430 litre fridge. Eleven winners will have the prize delivered to them.
Answers to questions in the quiz revealed the following facts:
- Nasa and Westinghouse won an Emmy for technical achievement for TV coverage of the Apollo mission
- George Westinghouse was 19 when he received his first patent
- Westinghouse pioneered the first international shortwave radio broadcast in 1923
- Westinghouse can be found on the Hall of Fame for Great Americans with Lincoln and Washington
- The George Westinghouse Bridge opened in 1932 as the world’s longest concrete arch span structure
- By 1905, over 2 million railcars were equipped with Westinghouse Air Brakes
- In his lifetime, George Westinghouse received 361 patents for his work
“The Westinghouse brand has been a powerhouse brand since its introduction to Australian households in the late 1930s and it’s a tribute to the people and the companies who have had custody of the brand during its 130 years that it continues so strongly today in the face of enormous competition,” an Electrolux spokesperson said.
Westinghouse appliances have been manufactured and sold in Australia under license to the US-owned Westinghouse company from the late 1930s by the company now known as Electrolux Home Products (EHP) and formerly known as Email Limited.
Electrolux bought the Westinghouse appliances brand in 1986 and Email’s Major Appliances business in 2001.
The Westinghouse brand is regarded as an Australian icon because of its long history and many Westinghouse appliance designs were adapted by local engineers for Australian conditions, especially refrigerators that have to cope with both tropical (e.g. Darwin and North Queensland) and alpine (Snowy Mountains and Tasmania) environments.
In the household appliance brand stable, which includes AEG, Electrolux, Kelvinator, Simpson, Chef, Dishlex, BeefEater and Vintec as well as Westinghouse, it remains the company’s biggest selling brand.