Haier

Haier is primarily a producer of household appliances, including air conditioners, wasing machines, and

refrigerators. Its headquarters are in Qingdao, Shandong, People's Republic of China. As of 2008, Haier is the fourth-largest white goods manufacturer in the world. Haier Group reported sales of over $17.8 billion across all divisions in 2008.

Haier's history begins long before the actual founding of the company.
In the 1920's, a refrigerator factory was built in Qingdao to supply the Chinese market.
After the 1949 establishment of the People's Republic of China, Haier was then taken over and turned into a state-owned enterprise.

Haier had been founded as Qingdao Refrigerator Co. in 1984. With China opening up to world markets, foreign corporations began searching for partnerships in China. One of these, Germany's Liebherr Group, the worldwide leader in premium refrigeration, entered into an joint-venture contract with Qingdao Refrigerator Co., offering technology and equipment to its Chinese counterpart. Refrigerators were to be manufactured under the name of Qingdao-Liebherr ( Qingdao-Libohaier).

The installation of Liebherr's equipment and technology was accompanied by a new and rigorous commitment to quality. Combined with Zhang's disciplined management techniques, which broke from the tradition of the iron rice bowl in Chinese state-owned enterprises, the company began to turn around. By 1986, Qingdao Refrigerator had returned to profitability and sales growth averaged 83 percent per year.
With the success of Qingdao's refrigerator company, the municipal government asked it to take over some of the city's other ailing appliance makers. In 1988, the company assumed control of Qingdao Electroplating Company (making microwaves) and in 1991 took over Qingdao Air Conditioner Plant and Qingdao Freezer

Having diversified its product line beyond refrigerators, the company adopted a new name in 1991. Borrowing from the German name of its partner, "Haier" came from the last two syllables of the Chinese transliteration of Liebherr (pronounced "Li-bo-hai-er"). Qingdao Haier Group was further simplified in 1992 to Haier Group, the company's current name.

The company set out to establish itself as the country's leading brand, focusing upon reliability and product quality. Diversification would also allow Haier to spread out its risk among various product lines. In 1995 Haier bought out its chief rival in Qingdao, Red Star Electric Appliance Factory. In 1997, the company moved into television manufacturing with the acquisition of Huangshan Electronics Group. By the end of the 1990s, Haier was the most recognized brand in the country with products ranging from mobile phones to computers; it had also captured a dominant market share in its core white goods division.

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