Electrolux 2010 Annual Report Download - page 86

The story of Electrolux
More than 90 years have passed since the company was established by Axel Wenner-
Gren. This visionary understood how to develop products for the future. Axel Wenner-Gren
underlined Passion for Innovation, Customer Obsession, and Drive for Results, and these
values still comprise the foundation for Electrolux operations.
Customer Obsession
Axel Wenner-Gren un-
folded a sketch made
during a board room
meeting for a team of
Electrolux engineers
to examine. On the
page was a drawing
of a vacuum cleaner.
Rather than stand-
ing like the tradition-
ally shaped bucket,
however, Wenner-Gren had sketched the vacuum cleaner
laying on its side, with rounded edges and sled-like runners
attached to the base. “This will be our next model,” Wenner-
Gren explained.
The idea had come to him a few days earlier when a young
salesman visited his office to report that a customer was
having a difficult time with her vacuum cleaner. The lady
had told the salesman that her vacuum cleaned well, but
that she found it tiring to lift and carry the machine through-
out the house.
From that moment, Wenner-Gren was resolute on making
the vacuum cleaner move easier.
Insight into consumer behavior is
the basis for all product devel-
opment within the Group.
Electrolux developed Ergo-
rapido, a cordless vacuum
cleaner, for people who want
the vacuum cleaner easily
available. Sleek in design and
lightweight, Ergorapido is too
good looking not to be left in
sight.
One of the main consumer
problems associated with
freezers, extensive research
shows, is defrosting. Electrolux
Glacier is, like most of the
Group’s freezers, frost-free.
It is also the first freezer to
combine European standard
dimensions with a built-in ice-
maker. The user always has
access to ice-cubes without
having to remember to fill the
container with water.
Passion for Innovation
“This task is not an easy
one, but one that will
transform homes around
the world,” Axel Wenner-
Gren said to the team of
engineers and scientists
sitting before him. Next to
Wenner-Gren was a basic
prototype of an absorption
refrigerator created by two
young engineers, Baltzar
von Platen and Carl Munt-
ers, for a University degree
project.
Wenner-Gren’s decision to acquire the patent for the absorp-
tion refrigeration technology, which used electricity, gas or
kerosene to circulate water and safely turn heat into cold, was
his first step toward diversifying Electrolux. However, it was a
bold step, because although Electrolux had secured its spot
as the world leader in vacuum cleaners, absorption refrigera-
tion was a concept that was far from fully developed.
“We now know that you can create cold through heat using
water,” Wenner-Gren said to the engineers. “But a problem
with this technology is that not every household has running
water and every household from China to America will need a
refrigeration machine.” Wenner-Gren paused, and looked at
each member of the team. “That is why we
are going to cool with air, because we all
have access to that.”
ELECTROLUX TODAY
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annual report 2010 | part 1 | story of electrolux