05 August 2004

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Whirlpool - Elica agreement

Whirlpool and Elica: a contract worth 240 million euros

The longstanding relationship between Whirlpool, the world’s largest producer and distributor of domestic appliances, and Elica, the world’s leading cooker hood producer, was extended for a further period on 23rd July this year in Comerio, in the province of Varese, when the Fabriano company signed a five-year contract with Whirlpool Europe for the supply of cooker hoods for domestic use. The agreement, with a value of 240 million euros, was negotiated by Francesco Casoli, Elica Group CEO, and Giuseppe Perucchetti, Whirlpool Europe’s Marketing Vice President.

Whirlpool, with 30 million products sold each year, 11 brands, a presence in 170 countries and factories in 13 nations, has been working with Elica for more than thirty years. The Fabriano company signed a contract with Philips in 1972, just after Philips had taken over the Ignis brand, founded in Comerio in 1943: it was the beginning of a long relationship characterised by strong mutual trust and esteem. Then, with the acquisition of Philips in ‘89, Whirlpool became one of Elica’s most important customers.

Nowadays, Elica is the sole supplier of cooker hoods for Whirlpool Europe, and two years ago the bond between the companies was further strengthened when an agreement was reached on the subject of Whirlpool personnel providing after-sales assistance for Elica products.

What unites the two groups so firmly is a sense of shared vision, strategy, values, organisation and, above all, the special feeling that exists between the people who work for the companies: all these factors have gone together to make them a winning team on the world market, with a relationship that goes far beyond the simple matter of supply and demand to become a “partnership” in the truest sense of the word.

Fabriano, 2th August 2004