Siemens: Difference between revisions

Electrical home appliances remained luxury goods for a long time due largely to a patchy public power supply. A mere fifty percent of households were connected to the power network in the metropolis of Berlin in 1927. Yet Siemens had been manufacturing electrical home appliances since the turn of the century. The history of Siemens Hausgeräte began in 1906 with the dust suction pump, the world's first vacuum cleaner.<ref>Siemens-Electrogeräte GmbH (Ed.): Geschichte der Siemens Hausgeräte 1847-2003. Munich 2003, page 14.</ref> Siemens was producing home appliances, such as coffee grinders, hairdryers, [[Drying_hoods|drying hoods]], irons, refrigerators, washing machines and electric cookers, under the brand name "Protos" from 1925.<ref>Siemens AG (Ed): 150 Jahre Siemens, pages 42-43.</ref> The "Gesellschaft für drahtlose Telegraphie mbH", or "Telefunken" as it was known, was founded as a joint venture between Siemens and AEG and produced radio receivers and the first television sets in the 1930s.<ref>Siemens AG (Ed): 150 Jahre Siemens, pages 54-55.</ref>

When production was restored in the 1950s, the portfolio included the entire range of white and brown goods, as the home appliances (white) and entertainment equipment (brown) were known to reflect their typical colors. The business grew rapidly. Siemens produced home appliances at the Berlin and Traunreut locations and then also in Ratingen-Lintorf from 1961 with the acquisition of washing machine manufacturer Constructa. The first signs of saturation on the home appliance market were starting to appear by the mid-1960s. Siemens Electrogeräte founded Bosch-Siemens Hausgeräte GmbH together with the home appliances group of Robert Bosch GmbH in 1967. The two companies consolidated their production and thus succeeded in remaining competitive in an increasingly tough market. BSH<ref>BSH was founded in 1967 as Bosch-Siemens Hausgeräte GmbH - BSHG for short. In 1998, the name was changed to BSH Bosch und Siemens Hausgeräte GmbH, with the short form BSH. Since the sale of the Siemens shares in BSH to Robert Bosch GmbH the company’s name is now BSH Hausgeräte GmbH, but still BSH for short.</ref> has continued operating successfully to this day. Siemens pulled out of direct customer business in the new millennium. The share in BSH was sold to Robert Bosch GmbH in 2015 as the final consumer segment.