Fisher & Paykel
Encyclopedia
Fisher & Paykel is a major appliance
manufacturing company based in East Tamaki
, New Zealand.
Originally an importer of domestic refrigerators, Fisher & Paykel now holds over 420 patents and bases its identity on innovative design, particularly in the areas of usability and environmental awareness.
The company's trademarked appliances include Active Smart refrigerator
s, AeroTech oven
s, DishDrawer
dishwasher
s, Smart Drive washing machine
s and Smartload top loading dryer
s. The company also manufactures gas and electric cooktops and top loading dryers.
Fisher & Paykel products are available in more than 80 countries worldwide. The company has manufacturing plants at Auckland
in New Zealand; Cleveland
in Australia; Huntington Beach
and Clyde
, United States; Treviso
, Italy; 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 17 April 2008.
Ltd and Fisher & Paykel Appliances Ltd that same year.
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 tariff
s by the First Labour Government of New Zealand
.
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.
In 1955, Fisher and Paykel acquired Dunedin electric oven manufacturer H. E. Shacklock Ltd
, which dominated the New Zealand domestic appliance market through the era of Government protectionism. Subsequently, the Shacklock brand was gradually withdrawn from the Fisher and Paykel product range.
The company began exporting within Australasia
and East Asia
around 1968. At this time the company also manufactured cabinets, sparkplugs and television
s.
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.
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). Elba has been since been renamed Fisher & Paykel Appliances Italy S.p.A. and exports to over 54 countries, focusing on the UK market.
Fisher Paykel's flagship Dishwashers get mixed reviews for reliability, but seem to have more problems than average, as commented in trade reviews
and consumer reviews
The poor reliability record of dishwashers is confirmed in a 2010 Appliance Reliability survey by Consumer New Zealand of nearly 19,000 customers. Other Fisher Paykel products fare better.
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.
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.
Major appliance
A major appliance, or domestic appliance, is usually defined as a large machine which accomplishes some routine housekeeping task, which includes purposes such as cooking, or food preservation, whether in a household, institutional, commercial or industrial setting...
manufacturing company based in East Tamaki
East Tamaki
East Tamaki is a suburb of Auckland, New Zealand. This is a mixed residential, light industry and retail area which is growing rapidly. Prior to the 1960s this was largely a dairy farming area. A landmark is Smales Mountain which in 2010 has the remains of an old Pa, a stone field garden, an early...
, New Zealand.
Originally an importer of domestic refrigerators, Fisher & Paykel now holds over 420 patents and bases its identity on innovative design, particularly in the areas of usability and environmental awareness.
The company's trademarked appliances include Active Smart refrigerator
Refrigerator
A refrigerator is a common household appliance that consists of a thermally insulated compartment and a heat pump that transfers heat from the inside of the fridge to its external environment so that the inside of the fridge is cooled to a temperature below the ambient temperature of the room...
s, AeroTech oven
Oven
An oven is a thermally insulated chamber used for the heating, baking or drying of a substance. It is most commonly used for cooking. Kilns, and furnaces are special-purpose ovens...
s, DishDrawer
DishDrawer
A Drawer dishwasher is a type of dishwashing machine designed and manufactured by Fisher & Paykel. They are available under several brands depending on geographic location Fisher & Paykel, Kenmore Appliances, KitchenAid, and Bauknecht following a distribution agreement with Whirlpool.In 1987 Fisher...
dishwasher
Dishwasher
A dishwasher is a mechanical device for cleaning dishes and eating utensils. Dishwashers can be found in restaurants and private homes.Unlike manual dishwashing, which relies largely on physical scrubbing to remove soiling, the mechanical dishwasher cleans by spraying hot water, typically between ...
s, Smart Drive washing machine
Washing machine
A washing machine is a machine designed to wash laundry, such as clothing, towels and sheets...
s and Smartload top loading dryer
Dryer
A dryer most commonly means:* Hair dryer* Hand dryer* Clothes dryer, also known as a tumble-dryer* Belt dryer* Cereal dryer, for food preservation* Desiccant, a substance that absorbs or adsorbs water...
s. The company also manufactures gas and electric cooktops and top loading dryers.
Fisher & Paykel products are available in more than 80 countries worldwide. The company has manufacturing plants at Auckland
Auckland
The Auckland metropolitan area , in the North Island of New Zealand, is the largest and most populous urban area in the country with residents, percent of the country's population. Auckland also has the largest Polynesian population of any city in the world...
in New Zealand; Cleveland
Cleveland, Queensland
Cleveland is a suburb located approximately east-south-east of Brisbane, the capital of the Australian state of Queensland, and is the council seat for the Redland City local government area...
in Australia; Huntington Beach
Huntington Beach, California
Huntington Beach is a seaside city in Orange County in Southern California. According to the 2010 census, the city population was 189,992; making it the largest beach city in Orange County in terms of population...
and Clyde
Clyde, Ohio
Clyde is a city in Sandusky County, Ohio, United States. The population was 6,064 at the 2000 census. The National Arbor Day Foundation has designated Clyde as a Tree City USA....
, United States; Treviso
Treviso
Treviso is a city and comune in Veneto, northern Italy. It is the capital of the province of Treviso and the municipality has 82,854 inhabitants : some 3,000 live within the Venetian walls or in the historical and monumental center, some 80,000 live in the urban center proper, while the city...
, Italy; Rayong
Rayong
Rayong is a city located on the shore of the Gulf of Thailand, in the east coast region of Thailand. It is the capital of Rayong Province, and covers the tambon Tha Pradu and Pak Nam and parts of tambon Choeng Noen and Noen Phra, all within Mueang Rayong district...
, Thailand
Thailand
Thailand , officially the Kingdom of Thailand , formerly known as Siam , is a country located at the centre of the Indochina peninsula and Southeast Asia. It is bordered to the north by Burma and Laos, to the east by Laos and Cambodia, to the south by the Gulf of Thailand and Malaysia, and to the...
; and Reynosa
Reynosa
Reynosa is a border city in the northern part of Tamaulipas, in the country of Mexico. It is located on the southern bank of the Rio Grande, directly across the border from McAllen, Texas in the United States. As of 2010, the city of Reynosa counts with a population of 607,532...
, 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
Dunedin
Dunedin is the second-largest city in the South Island of New Zealand, and the principal city of the Otago Region. It is considered to be one of the four main urban centres of New Zealand for historic, cultural, and geographic reasons. Dunedin was the largest city by territorial land area until...
- New Zealand, Cleveland
Cleveland, Queensland
Cleveland is a suburb located approximately east-south-east of Brisbane, the capital of the Australian state of Queensland, and is the council seat for the Redland City local government area...
- Australia and Huntington Beach
Huntington Beach, California
Huntington Beach is a seaside city in Orange County in Southern California. According to the 2010 census, the city population was 189,992; making it the largest beach city in Orange County in terms of population...
- USA on 17 April 2008.
History
Fisher & Paykel Appliances Ltd was listed publicly in 2001, following the separation of Fisher & Paykel Industries Ltd into Fisher & Paykel HealthcareFisher & Paykel Healthcare
Fisher & Paykel Healthcare is a manufacturer, designer and marketer of products and systems for use in respiratory care, acute care, and the treatment of obstructive sleep apnoea...
Ltd and Fisher & Paykel Appliances Ltd that same year.
Fisher & Paykel Industries
Fisher & Paykel Industries Ltd was founded in 1934 by Sir Woolf FisherWoolf Fisher
Sir Woolf Fisher was an East Tamaki, New Zealand, businessman and philanthropist who co-founded Fisher & Paykel, a major appliance manufacturing company, and the Ra Ora Stud, an important Thoroughbred racehorse breeding operation.Born in Wellington, his family moved to Auckland where he studied at...
and Maurice Paykel. The company publicly listed in 1979 with authorised capital
Authorised capital
The authorised capital of a company is the maximum amount of share capital that the company is authorised by its constitutional documents to issue to shareholders...
of NZ$
New Zealand dollar
The New Zealand dollar is the currency of New Zealand. It also circulates in the Cook Islands , Niue, Tokelau, and the Pitcairn Islands. It is divided into 100 cents....
40 million.
Initially the company was an importer of Crosley appliances, Maytag
Maytag
Maytag Corporation is an American home and commercial appliance company, headquartered in Newton, Iowa, that is a division of the Whirlpool Corporation.-Company history:...
and Pilot products; in 1938 the company began manufacturing Kelvinator
Kelvinator
Kelvinator is an appliance brand. It takes its name from William Thomson, 1st Baron Kelvin, who developed the concept of absolute zero and for whom the Kelvin temperature scale is named...
washing machines under license. This followed the introduction of tariff
Tariff
A tariff may be either tax on imports or exports , or a list or schedule of prices for such things as rail service, bus routes, and electrical usage ....
s by the First Labour Government of New Zealand
First Labour Government of New Zealand
The First Labour Government of New Zealand was the government of New Zealand from 1935 to 1949. It set the tone of New Zealand's economic and welfare policies until the 1980s, establishing a welfare state, a system of Keynesian economic management, and high levels of state intervention...
.
In 1956, manufacturing was moved to a purpose-built factory in Mount Wellington, Auckland
Auckland
The Auckland metropolitan area , in the North Island of New Zealand, is the largest and most populous urban area in the country with residents, percent of the country's population. Auckland also has the largest Polynesian population of any city in the world...
. This facility included flexible machinery manufacturing techniques developed in tandem with the raw material
Raw material
A raw material or feedstock is the basic material from which a product is manufactured or made, frequently used with an extended meaning. For example, the term is used to denote material that came from nature and is in an unprocessed or minimally processed state. Latex, iron ore, logs, and crude...
suppliers, enabling Fisher & Paykel Industries to greatly increase production.
In 1955, Fisher and Paykel acquired Dunedin electric oven manufacturer H. E. Shacklock Ltd
Henry Ely Shacklock
Henry Ely Shacklock was an iron moulder and manufacturer in colonial New Zealand. In 1873 H.E. Shacklock designed and built the first of thousands of cast iron coal ranges that, after various modifications, became the backbone of his business. The company he founded, H.E...
, which dominated the New Zealand domestic appliance market through the era of Government protectionism. Subsequently, the Shacklock brand was gradually withdrawn from the Fisher and Paykel product range.
The company began exporting within Australasia
Australasia
Australasia is a region of Oceania comprising Australia, New Zealand, the island of New Guinea, and neighbouring islands in the Pacific Ocean. The term was coined by Charles de Brosses in Histoire des navigations aux terres australes...
and East Asia
East Asia
East Asia or Eastern Asia is a subregion of Asia that can be defined in either geographical or cultural terms...
around 1968. At this time the company also manufactured cabinets, sparkplugs and television
Television
Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
s.
During the 1980s the company became more focussed on research and development
Research and development
The phrase research and development , according to the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development, refers to "creative work undertaken on a systematic basis in order to increase the stock of knowledge, including knowledge of man, culture and society, and the use of this stock of...
, resulting in the development of the ECS direct drive mechanism
Direct drive mechanism
A Direct drive mechanism is one that takes the power coming from a motor without any reductions .-Advantages:* Increased efficiency: The power is not wasted in friction...
washing machine and highly-automated production lines. In 1989, the company opened its first overseas manufacturing facility in Cleveland
Cleveland, Queensland
Cleveland is a suburb located approximately east-south-east of Brisbane, the capital of the Australian state of Queensland, and is the council seat for the Redland City local government area...
, 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 HealthcareFisher & Paykel Healthcare
Fisher & Paykel Healthcare is a manufacturer, designer and marketer of products and systems for use in respiratory care, acute care, and the treatment of obstructive sleep apnoea...
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$
United States dollar
The United States dollar , also referred to as the American dollar, is the official currency of the United States of America. It is divided into 100 smaller units called cents or pennies....
33 million (NZ$
New Zealand dollar
The New Zealand dollar is the currency of New Zealand. It also circulates in the Cook Islands , Niue, Tokelau, and the Pitcairn Islands. It is divided into 100 cents....
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
DeLonghi
De'Longhi Group, or De'Longhi S.p.A, is a major European small appliance manufacturer based in Treviso, Italy.- History and trading :...
for €
Euro
The euro is the official currency of the eurozone: 17 of the 27 member states of the European Union. It is also the currency used by the Institutions of the European Union. The eurozone consists of Austria, Belgium, Cyprus, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg,...
78 million (NZ$158 million). Elba has been since been renamed Fisher & Paykel Appliances Italy S.p.A. and exports to over 54 countries, focusing on the UK market.
Fisher Paykel's flagship Dishwashers get mixed reviews for reliability, but seem to have more problems than average, as commented in trade reviews
and consumer reviews
The poor reliability record of dishwashers is confirmed in a 2010 Appliance Reliability survey by Consumer New Zealand of nearly 19,000 customers. Other Fisher Paykel products fare better.
Current products
Cooking
Cooking is the process of preparing food by use of heat. Cooking techniques and ingredients vary widely across the world, reflecting unique environmental, economic, and cultural traditions. Cooks themselves also vary widely in skill and training...
, laundry
Laundry
Laundry is a noun that refers to the act of washing clothing and linens, the place where that washing is done, and/or that which needs to be, is being, or has been laundered...
and whiteware appliances. The company's flagship
Flagship
A flagship is a vessel used by the commanding officer of a group of naval ships, reflecting the custom of its commander, characteristically a flag officer, flying a distinguishing flag...
product is the DishDrawer
DishDrawer
A Drawer dishwasher is a type of dishwashing machine designed and manufactured by Fisher & Paykel. They are available under several brands depending on geographic location Fisher & Paykel, Kenmore Appliances, KitchenAid, and Bauknecht following a distribution agreement with Whirlpool.In 1987 Fisher...
double drawer dishwasher
Dishwasher
A dishwasher is a mechanical device for cleaning dishes and eating utensils. Dishwashers can be found in restaurants and private homes.Unlike manual dishwashing, which relies largely on physical scrubbing to remove soiling, the mechanical dishwasher cleans by spraying hot water, typically between ...
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
Extractor hood
An extractor hood is a device containing a mechanical fan that hangs above the stove or cooktop in the kitchen. It removes airborne grease, combustion products, smoke, odors, heat, and steam from the air by a combination of filtration and evacuation of the air.-Name:The device is known as an...
, refrigerators and washing machines.
A large number of Fisher & Paykel products utilise microprocessor
Microprocessor
A microprocessor incorporates the functions of a computer's central processing unit on a single integrated circuit, or at most a few integrated circuits. It is a multipurpose, programmable device that accepts digital data as input, processes it according to instructions stored in its memory, and...
and brushless DC electric motor
Brushless DC electric motor
Brushless DC motors also known as electronically commutated motors are electric motors powered by direct-current electricity and having electronic commutation systems, rather than mechanical commutators and brushes...
technology from production line
Production line
A production line is a set of sequential operations established in a factory whereby materials are put through a refining process to produce an end-product that is suitable for onward consumption; or components are assembled to make a finished article....
equipment to improve efficiency.
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.