Midea Group (Chinese: 美 的 集团; pinyin: Měidì Jítuán) is an appliance company based in Beijiao in Guangdong and listed on the Shenzhen Stock Exchange since 2013. As of 2018, the company has 135,000 employees. Midea produces products for light, water, floor cleaning, small and large kitchen and laundry appliances, and refrigeration appliances. It also has a long history of manufacturing household and commercial products for heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC).
Company founder He Xiangjian (Chinese: 何享健) started with just 5,000 yuan to open a bottle cap manufacturing workshop in Beijiao in 1968.
After an initial stint in the manufacture of bottle caps and auto parts, the company focused on finished goods: mainly electric fans starting in 1980. Five years later Midea produced its first air conditioner. Over the next 15 years, the company gradually expanded into refrigerators, washing machines and microwave ovens.
Midea opened its first overseas factory in 2007, in Ho Chi Minh in Vietnam. The following year, Midea entered into a joint venture with the Belarusian microwave oven manufacturer Horizont, to enter the CIS markets.
In 2010, joint ventures began with the American air conditioners Carrier Corporation in Egypt, Brazil, Argentina, Chile and India
In August 2012, founder He Xiangjian stepped down as chairman. On the Forbes list of the richest people in the world he is at position 36 with a personal fortune of $ 21.6 billion.
At the end of 2014, Chinese electronics giant Xiaomi invested 1.2 billion yuan for 1.2% of the shares of Midea Group
In 2016, Midea made three major acquisitions: Toshiba’s home appliance business for $ 477 million; the German KUKA, world leader in robotics for the construction of automobiles for 4.5 billion euros; Eureka, a brand specialized in cleaning floors from the Swedish Electrolux.
State China
Company form public company
Established: 1968
Founded by: He Xiangjian
Headquarters: Beijiao
Key people: Paul Fang chairman
Appliance sector
Employees: 135,000 (2018)
Website: midea.com
