Midea

Midea Group is a Chinese electrical appliance manufacturer, headquartered in Beijiao town, Shunde District, Foshan, Guangdong and listed on Shenzhen Stock Exchange. As of 2021, the firm employs approximately 150,000 people in China and overseas with 200 subsidiaries and over 60 overseas branches. Midea Group is listed on Shenzhen Stock Exchange since 2013. It has been listed on the Fortune Global 500 since July 2016. Midea produces lighting, water appliances, floor care, small kitchen appliances, laundry, large cooking appliances, and refrigeration appliances. It is the largest microwave oven manufacturer, and acts an OEM for many brands. It also has a long history in producing home and commercial products in heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC). It is the world's largest producer of robots and appliances. History Starting with only CN¥5,000 to open a workshop for the production of bottle lids in Beijiao, Shunde in 1968, He Xiangjian, the founder of the company, has since turned Midea into one of the most successful private companies in China, with sales revenue for the entire Group declared at US$ 40.5 billion for 2020 financial year, as well as listed on the main board of the Shenzhen Stock Exchange. After its initial period of manufacturing bottle lids and car parts, the company focused on the manufacture of fully finished goods; specifically, electric fans beginning in 1980. Five years later, Midea produced its first air conditioner, a product which remains the core component of Midea's business today. Over the following 15 years though, the company gradually expanded into a wide variety of other electrical home appliances, including refrigerators, washing machines, and microwave ovens. In 1973, the subsidiary which handled the core businesses of the company, known as "Guangdong Midea Electric", proceeded with a public offering of shares on the Shenzhen Stock Exchange. The Guangdong Midea Electric's parent company, known today as "Midea Group", remained a privately held company at that time.