Editing Hotpoint (section)

==History==

=== Pacific Electric Heating Company ===
The company name Hotpoint comes from the ''hot point'' of the innovative first [[Iron (appliance)|electric iron]].  Invented by American, Earl Richardson (''1871–1934'') in 1905, he subsequently formed his Pacific Electric Heating Co. in [[Ontario, California|Ontario]], California, in 1906.<ref>{{cite news|title=Earl H. Richardson|publisher=Harvard Business School|url=http://www.hbs.edu/leadership/database/leaders/earl_h_richardson.html|access-date=8 February 2011}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=First Hotpoint iron|publisher=Streamlined Irons|url=http://streamlinedirons.com/pages/Irons%2018.pdf|access-date=8 February 2011|archive-date=16 July 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110716153538/http://streamlinedirons.com/pages/Irons%2018.pdf|url-status=dead}}</ref> The device became known as the Hotpoint iron, with its hottest point at the front and not the center.

=== Hotpoint ===
Hotpoint was founded in 1911 by Earl Richardson.{{cn|date=May 2025}}

=== Hotpoint Electric Heating Company ===
In 1912, the company began making electric irons, and in 1919, [[electric cooker]]s in the United States. Earl Richardson also invented the first iron that switched off automatically when a maximum temperature was reached.[[File:Hotpointsign.JPG|right|thumb|Hotpoint sign in Great Barrington, Massachusetts]]

It is claimed to have developed one of the earliest electric toasters in 1908, known as the ''El Tosto'', and later, under GE, the Hotpoint brand name became one of the most popular brands of toasters in the United States in the 1920s and 1930s. Richardson founded his settlement, [[Adelanto, California|Adelanto]], California, in 1915.{{cn|date=May 2025}}

=== Edison Electric Appliance Company ===
In 1918, the company, known as the Hotpoint Electric Heating Co., merged with the Heating Device Section of [[General Electric]], becoming the Edison Electric Appliance Co.

=== Hotpoint Electric Appliance Company ===
In 1920, it established a joint venture with competitor [[General Electric]], forming the Hotpoint Electric Appliance Co. Limited (HEAC) to market GE (USA) branded goods in the United Kingdom.{{cn|date=May 2025}}

=== Edison General Electric Company ===
In 1927, GE bought the factory and entire company. It became known as the Edison General Electric Co. in 1931.

Most Hotpoint production moved to GE's mammoth Appliance Park manufacturing complex in [[Louisville, Kentucky]] in the beginning of the 1950s. To this day, many Hotpoint appliances are made at Louisville, and {{as of|2013|lc=y}} was the largest appliance plant in the world.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.plasticstoday.com/appliance-manufacturing-returns-us |title=Appliance manufacturing returns to the U.S. |last=Goldsberry |first=Clare |date=2013-12-24 |website=plasticstoday.com |access-date=2023-08-09}}</ref>

===GEC===
In 1929, HEAC joined the [[Associated Electrical Industries]] (AEI) group, itself bought by [[The General Electric Company]] in 1967. By the 1960s it was the market leader in household electrical appliances in the United Kingdom, followed by Sweden's [[Electrolux]].

=== GDA ===
Hotpoint continued as a subsidiary of GEC until 1989, when it was merged into a new division of GEC called General Domestic Appliances (GDA).  50% of GDA was purchased by General Electric (USA), with whom it owned the joint venture. In 1998, the Redring and Xpelair brands also joined GDA, and Hotpoint was categorized as part of GDA Applied Energy.

===Indesit===
GEC was restructured into [[Marconi plc]]. from which [[Indesit|Indesit Company]] (''then called Merloni Elettrodomestici'') took over and then Indesit was bought out by Hotpoint on 21 December 2001 for £121m.<ref name="Merloni GDA (Hotpoint) acquisition">{{cite news | url=http://www.indesitcompany.com/inst/en/press_room/press-releases-detail.action?id=213 | publisher=Indesit Company | title=Merloni Elettrodomestici completes GDA (Hotpoint) acquisition | date=8 March 2002 | access-date=9 December 2015 | archive-date=4 March 2016 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304104130/http://www.indesitcompany.com/inst/en/press_room/press-releases-detail.action?id=213 | url-status=dead }}</ref>  At this point, Hotpoint employed around 7,000 people at its four sites in the United Kingdom, three of which later closed. Indesit UK has been based at Hotpoint headquarters in [[Cambridgeshire|Peterborough]] since 1 June 2003.
In 2005, Merloni Elettrodomestici rebranded to become Indesit Company.

At the beginning of 2007, Indesit launched the group's new brand architecture, Hotpoint, and combined with Ariston to form the Hotpoint-Ariston brand.
 
In December 2008, Indesit acquired the final quota of shares from General Electric for US$57m.<ref>{{cite news | url=http://www.indesitcompany.com/inst/en/investor/comunicati_finanziari/comunicati-finanziari-detail.action?id=1199 | publisher=Indesit Company | title=Indesit Company acquires final GDA (Hotpoint) quota from General Electric | date=23 December 2008 | access-date=26 December 2008 | archive-date=1 December 2015 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151201211150/http://www.indesitcompany.com/inst/en/investor/comunicati_finanziari/comunicati-finanziari-detail.action?id=1199 | url-status=dead }}</ref> From the end of 2011, Indesit rolled out the Hotpoint brand name across Europe, replacing the names Ariston and Hotpoint Ariston.

=== Whirlpool ===
In October 2014, {{clarify span|Whirlpool paid 56% of the purchased by for UK only marketing whilst Haier bought out 44% for US. |explain=This is just word salad|date=December 2022}}<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.whirlpoolcorp.com/whirlpool-completes-purchase-of-majority-interest-in-indesit/ | publisher=Whirlpool Corporation | title=Whirlpool Completes Purchase of Majority Interest in Hotpoint and Indesit. | date=14 October 2014 | access-date=1 April 2015}}</ref> [[Whirlpool Corporation|Whirlpool]]'s had a turbulent ownership of Hotpoint and Indesit as in 2015, Indesit released a statement announcing a safety alert for certain models of tumble dryers produced between 2004 and 2015 due to a design flaw which caused large particles of lint to escape the fluff filter into the dryer and build up around the heating element bank which posed a risk of fire. In 2016, Whirlpool began sending out engineers to perform safety modifications to the recalled dryers. In July 2019, Whirlpool finally issued a recall for the appliances, stating that up to 800,000 machines would either be replaced or repaired.

In December 2019, Whirlpool announced a safety recall for certain models of Hotpoint and Indesit washing machines manufactured between 2014 and 2018, due to faulty door interlocks that could cause the machines to catch fire.<ref>{{Cite news |date=2019-12-17 |title=Whirlpool washing machine danger revealed as recall launched |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/business-50811686 |access-date=2025-05-13 |language=en-GB}}</ref>

=== Haier ===
In September 2014, [[Electrolux]] agreed to buy General Electric's household appliances business including the Hotpoint brand in North America for £2bn ($3.3bn). The deal was expected to close in 2015.<ref>{{cite news|date=8 September 2014|title=Electrolux buys General Electric's appliances unit for $3.3bn|publisher=[[BBC News]]|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-29106335|access-date=8 September 2014}}</ref>  Due to blockage by U.S. regulators, the Electrolux deal was terminated, and GE subsequently sold its appliance division to [[Haier]] of [[People's Republic of China|China]], to close in 2016.<ref>{{cite news|date=15 January 2016|title=Haier Buying GE Appliance Unit|work=[[USA Today]]|url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/money/business/2016/01/15/haier-buying-ge-appliance-unit/78836088/|access-date=4 March 2016}}</ref>

===Arcelik ===
In 2022, Turkish white goods manufacturer [[Arcelik]] agreed to buy Whirpool's Russian arm including use of the Hotpoint brand. The deal included Whirlpool's sales operations in Kazakhstan and selected countries in the [[Commonwealth of Independent States]]. <ref>{{Cite web |title=Whirlpool to exit Russia, take $300 mln-$400 mln hit in second quarter |website=[[Reuters]] |url=https://www.reuters.com/business/whirlpool-exit-russia-take-300-mln-400-mln-hit-second-quarter-2022-06-28/ |access-date=2024-02-19}}</ref> 

In January 2023, Arcelik and Whirlpool agreed to combine their European business with Arcelik owning a 75% share. The new entity will own rights to the Hotpoint brand in Europe.<ref>{{Cite news |date=2023-01-17 |title=Whirlpool partners Arcelik in Europe, quits MidEast and Africa |url=https://www.reuters.com/markets/deals/whirlpool-partners-arcelik-europe-quits-mideast-africa-2023-01-17/ |access-date=2024-02-19 |work=Reuters |language=en}}</ref>
In February 2024, Britain's antitrust regulator provisionally cleared the deal. This followed approved by EU antitrust regulators in October 2023.<ref>{{Cite news |date=2024-02-08 |title=UK competition watchdog clears Arcelik's European deal with Whirlpool |url=https://www.reuters.com/world/uk/uk-competition-watchdog-clears-arceliks-european-deal-with-whirlpool-2024-02-08/ |access-date=2024-02-19 |work=Reuters |language=en}}</ref>