Hotpoint

Hotpoint is a brand of domestic appliances. In Europe, the brand is part of the portfolio of Beko Europe, a joint venture between Arçelik and Whirlpool Corporation, while in the Americas it is used by GE Appliances, a subsidiary of Haier.

Hotpoint is a brand of domestic appliances. In Europe, the brand is part of the portfolio of Beko Europe, a joint venture between Arçelik and Whirlpool Corporation, while in the Americas it is used by GE Appliances, a subsidiary of Haier. ==History== ===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. ===Indesit=== Merloni Elettrodomestici finalized its acquisition of a 50% stake in GDA in 2002. This deal, authorized by the European Commission, made Merloni Europe's third-largest producer in the sector and the market leader in the UK At that 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 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. From the end of 2011, Indesit rolled out the Hotpoint brand name across Europe, replacing the names Ariston and Hotpoint Ariston. ==Products== Hotpoint was formed in 1911¹ in California and entered the British market in 1920. It is well known for its refrigerators and washing machines. The company, including sister brands Creda and Indesit, at one time produced the largest amount of kitchen appliances in the United Kingdom. The headquarters was in Woodston, Peterborough with about 1,500 people based there making fridges and freezers. The refrigeration plant closed in 2008. ==Grenfell Tower fire== In June 2017, a Hotpoint FF175BP fridge freezer was found to have triggered the Grenfell Tower fire in London that killed 72 people. A total of 64,000 units of the same model were manufactured between 2006 and 2009 by Indesit under the Hotpoint brand before moving over to Whirlpool. Customers who believed they own either the FF175BP or the FF175BG models have been advised to contact the company for further safety checks. According to the Hotpoint website: “We have been made aware that the recent fire at Grenfell Tower in West London may have originated in a Hotpoint branded fridge freezer, manufactured between March 2006 and July 2009, model numbers FF175BP (Polar White) and FF175BG (Graphite)". In October 2018, Whirlpool notified customers that they did not find anything that posed a risk to the customers, and claimed that the London Fire Brigade’s investigation into the cause of the fire had found that some electrical cabling behind the fridge freezer, or an incorrectly discarded cigarette on the kitchen window may have started the fire. In fact, the investigation found that the fire had been started by a fault with the wiring of the Hotpoint fridge-freezer itself. ==Manufacturing sites== The last remaining Hotpoint manufacturing site in operation in the UK, the Yate plant, was closed on 31 December 2024 after 104 years of operation. All appliances are now made in Italy and Poland as well as Turkey as opposed to the United Kingdom. Hotpoint washing machines were formerly manufactured at a plant in Llandudno Junction, in Conwy County Borough, North Wales, United Kingdom. The site made around 800,000 washing machines in 2007, with about 1,000 employees¹. It is now the North Wales base of the Senedd. Their refrigeration products, formerly manufactured at the Peterborough factory, now are made in Poland. It has a distribution centre at Raunds. ===Site closures=== Indesit UK's (former GDA) Creda plant in Blythe Bridge, Stoke-on-Trent closed in December 2007. Closure of the manufacturing facilities at Peterborough followed in the end of 2008. On 31 July 2009, Indesit closed its plant at Kinmel Park, in Bodelwyddan Denbighshire, Wales. The factory employed 305 workers. The company blamed "continuing decline" in the market. In October 2024, Beko Europe confirmed that the manufacturing site at Yate, the only one to still be producing tumble dryers in the UK was to cease manufacturing and close on 31 December that same year, after 104 years of operation, this resulted in a total of 142 people being made redundant. With the closure of this site, it brings an end to Tumble Dryer production in the UK. Beko Europe claimed that the site "had been operating at a loss for some time, despite continued investment." They blamed this on declining sales of tumble dryers in the UK, as well as people moving to using more efficient machines in an effort to reduce running costs. ===United States=== In the United States, Hotpoint-branded products are made by GE Appliances at the Appliance Park in Louisville, Kentucky. ==Marketing== In 2002, it had a 23% share of the white goods market in the United Kingdom. The Holby City actress Lisa Faulkner starred in their 2010 Campaign for Cooking Confidence. In 2009, it worked with Kelly Hoppen to produce its interior design Hot Style campaign. The company has also worked in conjunction with the P&G detergent brand Ariel. It currently recommends Ariel. Before 2004, Hotpoint recommended Unilever brands; Persil & Comfort. In the past it has also recommended Glist dishwasher tablets. Actress Mary Tyler Moore appeared in a series of 1950s television commercials for the company as a character called "Happy Hotpoint", prior to her fame in television comedy series during the next two decades. ==References== ==External links== Official website (Americas) Official website (Europe) Official website (France) Official website (Hotpoint Ariston) (Italy) Official website (UK) ===News items=== Closing Peterborough fridge plant in May 2008 Welsh factory in December 2007 ===Video clips=== Hotpoint YouTube channel Aquarius Ultra Persil advert

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