All Things HVAC

Heating and Cooling HVAC information for Everyone

Appliance Brand Names

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Who Owns That HVAC Brand?

Appliance Brand NamesEver wonder who owns whom in the HVAC industry? If you have a very old furnace or air conditioner you can look it up and see who now owns this name and possibly makes HVAC parts for the old unit. HVAC Manufacturers are constantly changing as one large HVAC entity buys up the smaller HVAC entities or someone decides to change their name. The manufacturing arrangements change constantly.
Today there are a limited number of major manufacturers of HVAC equipment left in the marketplace. Over time the large manufactures bought up the smaller ones and merged those product designs into their own product lines. They now produce products under the various brand names they own. Many times there are just a few cosmetic differences in the appearance, while the mechanical workings are very close and even in some cases the same.

Top 10 HVAC Manufacturers
The US HVAC equipment manufacturing industry includes about 1,500 companies with combined annual revenue of about $37 billion. Major companies include Goodman Global, Lennox, Nortek, Trane, and the climate control divisions of Johnson Controls and United Technologies. The industry is concentrated: the top 50 companies account for about 70 percent of revenue.
The top ten air conditioning companies in America are: (Listed in order of rank)
1. Amana
2. Carrier
3. Lennox
4. Trane
5. American Standard
6. Haier
7. LG
8. GE
9. Kenmore
10. Sharp
The following chart reviews many of the manufacturers. It does not cover every manufacturer, but it gives you a good idea about who actually makes all those HVAC equipment.

Here is a chart of ownership:
Brand Owner
Amana Formerly a division of Raytheon, now part of Goodman Manufacturing. It’s owned by the Whirlpool Corporation. Amana produces wide range of products. It first began the production of air conditioners in 1954. It is one of the leaders of air conditioner market. This company is in the first position in the Top 10 Lists of air conditioner manufacturers.
 Carrier Carrier began in marketing air conditioners in 1950. Carrier Corporation is now among the biggest manufacturers of (HAVC) system and the biggest manufacturer of air conditioner in the world. This company is in the second position in the Top 10 Lists of air conditioner manufacturers.
Lennox Lennox: Lennox International Inc. is American manufacturing company. The company was founded 1895. Through the subsidiaries, it provides the climate control products for ventilation, heating, refrigeration and air conditioning. This company is in the third position in the Top 10 Lists of air conditioner manufacturers.
 Trane Trane Company purchased GE’s climate control division in 1982. Trane was purchased by American-Standard in 1984. In 2007 American Standard spun off non HVAC lines and will be changing the corporate name to Trane. Now owned by Ingersol-Rand.
American Standard Became Tappan Air Conditioning division in 1972. American-Standard purchased the Trane Company in 1984. American-Standard name revived in 1988. In 2007, American-Standard spun off WABCO, sold the plumbing division and changed the corporate name to Trane in November.

Brand Name Owner
Haier Haier Group Corporation is one of the world’s top-selling makers of home appliances. The Qingdao, China-based company has grown rapidly. At home, Haier has captured the lead in that segment, accounting for more than one-third of all refrigerators sold each year, and is also the leader in a number of other appliance categories, such as air conditioners.. Since the late 1990s Haier has pursued an aggressive globalization effort, building a sales network in more than 160 countries, with a presence in more than 38,000 retail outlets worldwide.
 LG LG Electronics USA is a division of LG Group founded in 1947. LG Group has thirty six business units manufacturing goods and providing services in the chemical electronics, telecom, lighting systems, consumer appliances, solar energy, and air conditioning. In July 2010 LG Group was ranked 67th in the Fortune 500® list of largest companies.
 GE GE’s HVAC division was purchased by the Trane Company in 1982.
Kenmore Kenmore appliances, including air conditioners, are made for Sears stores by several manufacturers such as Gibson, Fedders and Whirlpool, and then branded with the Kenmore name. Sears
 Sharp Sharp is the worldwide multi-national giant, popular in the electronic devices and manufacturers industry. Their brand name became one of the Asian giants, and is also known around the world. They are made in China.

Daikin Buys Goodman

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Daikin Industries Bought Goodman Global

Written By: Betty Stephens of Quest Media

Daikin Industries (Japan) has struck an agreement to buy Goodman Global for about $3.7 billion, completing the Japanese air-conditioner maker’s long quest to buy its American rival. Goodman is currently owned by the private equity firm Hellman & Friedman, which bought the company in 2008 for about $1.9 billion. Founded in 1975, Goodman makes heating, ventilation and air-conditioning products for homes and businesses.
Daikin had 1.22 trillion yen of sales in the year ended March and employs more than 44,000 people globally, with manufacturing and sales in more than 90 countries. Daikin generates 10 percent of its revenue in the Americas, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. Air conditioning accounts account for 85 percent of its global sales.
Daikin Industries, Ltd History
Daikin Industries, Ltd. (ダイキン工業株式会社) is a Japanese multinational air conditioner manufacturing company headquartered in Osaka. It has operations in Japan, China, Australia, India, Southeast Asia, Europe, and North America.
The company was founded in 1924 by Akira Yamada in Osaka, Japan. Daikin was founded as a chemical corporation, with a focus on air conditioning systems. It has since diversified its manufacturing division to take advantage of experience in fluorine chemistry. Daikin began as a manufacturer of aircraft radiator tubes and fluorine refrigerants, entering the air-conditioning business in 1951.
In 2006 Daikin purchased OYL Industries. This made Daikin the second largest HVAC manufacturer in the world after Carrier Corporation. Daikin co-developed a R-410A refrigerant with Carrier and is an innovator in the Split System Air Conditioning Market, and is the inventor of Variable Refrigerant Flow (VRF) air conditioning systems.
Daikin developed the hybrid hydraulic systems using technology from their Air Conditioning division. Facing the global demands on C02 reductions and the serious energy issues facing the world, this product aims to cut energy consumption in the manufacturing sector.   The acquisition of Goodman expands Daikin’s presence in the United States and in duct-type air-conditioners, and makes Daikin the world’s largest maker of heating, ventilation and air-conditioning systems.
Daikin is the official sponsor of Galatasaray Daikin women’s volleyball team

The Deal
Daikin’s large financial resources allow them to buy its American competitor. The company reported about $510 million in profit for the 12 months ended June 30. And it had some $1.5 billion in cash and short-term investments on its books as of June 30. The deal would be the third-largest overseas acquisition by a Japanese company this year.   The deal gives Daikin more than 900 distribution points as it tries to boost sales for home heating and air-conditioning systems. The deal is an opportunity for Daikin to increase its business and will also help it expand in emerging and high-volume markets.

Goodman Global History

Goodman Global is a company which manufactures commercial grade room air conditioners and specialty cooling products for residential and light commercial applications. The company operates under the Goodman, Amana and QuietFlex brands. The company was founded in 1975 and is based in Houston, Texas.
Goodman Global, Inc. is the second largest domestic manufacturer of heating, ventilation and air conditioning products for residential and light commercial use based on unit sales. Their products include engineering, manufacturing, assembling, marketing and distributing an extensive line of HVAC and related products. Their products are predominantly marketed under the Goodman® and Amana® brand names. Goodman® is one of the leading HVAC brands in North America and appeals to the large section of the market that is price sensitive and desires reliable and low-cost climate comfort, while their premium Amana® brand includes enhanced features such as higher efficiency and quieter operation.
Goodman began as a manufacturer of flexible air ducts and plastic blade registers. In 1982, the company acquired Janitrol and entered the HVAC market, expanding its product offering in 1986 to include gas heating products.
In 1997, Goodman acquired Raytheon Appliances, the predecessor of Amana Corporation, a manufacturer of appliances and HVAC units. In 2001, Goodman separated its appliances business from its HVAC business and sold the appliances business to Maytag Corporation.   In 2004, Goodman was acquired by Apollo Management firm for approximately $1.43 billion. April 2006, Goodman completed an initial public offering, listing on the New York Stock Exchange.
October 2007, Goodman acquired by Hellman & Friedman a San Francisco-based private equity firm in a $1.8 billion transaction. In August 2012, Hellman & Friedman