Zanussi
Italian producer of home appliances
Electrolux Italia S.p.A. (originally Fratelli Zanussi S.a.s., then Industrie A. Zanussi S.p.A., Industrie Zanussi S.p.A. and Electrolux Zanussi S.p.A.) is an Italian household appliance manufacturer based in Pordenone.
Founded in 1916 by Antonio Zanussi, after World War II it became the largest domestic company in the sector, thanks in part to the Rex brand. In 1984, it came under the control of the Swedish multinational Electrolux.
Cease of existence in Italy in 1995, the Zanussi brand is still used for appliances sold abroad and for catering equipment.
History
The Zanussi company began as the small workshop of Antonio Zanussi in 1916. The 26-year-old son of a blacksmith in Pordenone in Northeastern Italy began the business by making home stoves and wood burning ovens.
In 1933 Antonio Zanussi launched Rex, the company's newest trademark at that time, to coincide with a huge media event of the day: the new record for a transatlantic crossing (Gibraltar to New York) with which the Italian liner "Rex" conquered the Blue Riband.
In 1946 Antonio Zanussi died and management of the family business passed to his sons Lino and Guido. Under the leadership of Lino, the company developed into a modern industrial concern and in 1951, with a workforce of over 300, the company began to diversify into gas and electric, and combined gas/electric ovens; and, with growing availability and popularity of gas cylinders, Zanussi brought out their first gas cooker – the Rex 401.
A factory was opened at Porcia in 1954 and a Study Centre was established to research and design new appliances.
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This entry incorporates text from “Zanussi” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.