Constructa-Neff Vertriebs-GmbH (formerly ''Neff GmbH'',

stylized In the visual arts, style is a "...distinctive manner which permits the grouping of works into related categories" or "...any distinctive, and therefore recognizable, way in which an act is performed or an artifact made or ought to be performed a ...

as NEFF in its logo) is a German manufacturer of high-end kitchen appliances headquartered in

Munich Munich is the capital and most populous city of Bavaria, Germany. As of 30 November 2024, its population was 1,604,384, making it the third-largest city in Germany after Berlin and Hamburg. Munich is the largest city in Germany that is no ...

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

. The company was founded by Carl Andreas Neff in 1877 and has been a wholly owned subsidiary of BSH Hausgeräte GmbH since 1982.

History

Formation

It was founded as a small family company in

Bretten Bretten (; South Franconian: ''Bredde'') is a town in the state of Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It is located on Bertha Benz Memorial Route. Geography Bretten lies in the centre of a rectangle that is formed by Heidelberg, Karlsruhe, Heilbron ...

Baden-Württemberg Baden-Württemberg ( ; ), commonly shortened to BW or BaWü, is a states of Germany, German state () in Southwest Germany, east of the Rhine, which forms the southern part of Germany's western border with France. With more than 11.07 million i ...

, Germany, on 12 June 1877 by Carl Andreas Neff. It was first known as Carl Neff Herd und Ofenfabrik (stove and oven factory). In 1914 the company first made a gas oven. In 1950, they introduced their first oven with a

thermostat A thermostat is a regulating device component which senses the temperature of a physical system and performs actions so that the system's temperature is maintained near a desired setpoint. Thermostats are used in any device or system tha ...

. By 1955, they were making appliances in different colours, to suit a bespoke fitted kitchen. The company had the slogan ''im Haus - der Zeit voraus'' (in the house - ahead of time).

Innovations

In 1957, it introduced the first

microwave oven A microwave oven, or simply microwave, is an electric oven that heats and cooks food by exposing it to electromagnetic radiation in the microwave frequency range. This induces Dipole#Molecular dipoles, polar molecules in the food to rotate and ...

. In 1957, it introduced the first

induction cooker Induction cooking is a cooking process using direct electrical induction heating of cookware, rather than relying on flames or heating elements. Induction cooking allows high power and very rapid increases in temperature to be achieved: changes ...

(hob) in Europe, marketing it under the revolutionary slogan of ''Kochen auf der kalten Platte'' (cook on a cold surface). In 1961 it introduced the first integrated cooker units in Europe, built into other kitchen units - the built-in oven. Also in the same year they began selling larger microwave cookers for commercial (

catering Catering is the business of providing food services at a remote site or a site such as a hotel, hospital, pub, aircraft, cruise ship, park, festival, filming location or film studio. History of catering The earliest account of major service ...

) uses. By 1970 it was branching out into providing for the full range of units to make up a fitted kitchen. By the early 1970s the cookers were among the first to be controlled with a digital clock. In 1971 it introduced its ''Circotherm'' system whereby hot air was circulated around the oven to allow a distribution of cooking with more regularity. These cookers are known as

convection oven A convection oven (also known as a fan-assisted oven, turbo broiler or simply a fan oven or turbo) is an oven that has fans to circulate air around food to create an evenly heated environment. In an oven without a fan, natural convection circul ...

or fan ovens, and are still for a specialist market. The Circotherm system was patented by the company, marketed under the slogan ''Rundum-Hitze ist mehr'' (all around heat is more). In 1985, the convection oven system was first introduced for gas ovens.

AEG

In the late twentieth century NEFF-Werke was a subsidiary of

AEG The initials AEG are used for or may refer to: Common meanings * AEG (German company) ; AEG) was a German producer of electrical equipment. It was established in 1883 by Emil Rathenau as the ''Deutsche Edison-Gesellschaft für angewandte El ...

Telefunken Telefunken was a German radio and television producer, founded in Berlin in 1903 as a joint venture between Siemens & Halske and the ''AEG (German company), Allgemeine Elektrizitäts-Gesellschaft'' (AEG) ("General electricity company"). Prior to ...

(Allgemeine Elektricitäts-Gesellschaft, formed in 1967). The other subsidiaries were AEG-Telefunken Hausgeräte and Zanker. The NEFF factory was in

in the north-west of

, where it employed around 2,000 people. In August 1982, AEG was having financial problems. AEG was bought by

Daimler-Benz Mercedes-Benz Group AG (formerly Daimler-Benz, DaimlerChrysler, and Daimler) is a Germany, German Multinational corporation, multinational Automotive industry, automotive company headquartered in Stuttgart, Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It is o ...

in 1985, and ceased to exist in 1997.

Bosch and Siemens

In 1967,

Robert Bosch GmbH Robert Bosch GmbH (; ), commonly known as Bosch (styled BOSCH), is a German multinational engineering and technology company headquartered in Gerlingen, Baden-Württemberg, Germany. The company was founded by Robert Bosch in Stuttgart in 188 ...

of Stuttgart and

Siemens Siemens AG ( ) is a German multinational technology conglomerate. It is focused on industrial automation, building automation, rail transport and health technology. Siemens is the largest engineering company in Europe, and holds the positi ...

AG of Munich formed a joint venture, Bosch und Siemens Hausgeräte GmbH. It bought NEFF in 1982 when AEG went bankrupt.

International

The company is owned by BSH Home Appliances Ltd, based in Germany. The UK head office is based in

Wolverton Wolverton ( ) is a constituent town of Milton Keynes Milton Keynes ( ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city in Buckinghamshire, England, about north-west of London. At the 2021 Census, the population of Milton Keynes urban ar ...

, Buckinghamshire. Its 4 UK kitchen appliance brands are Bosch, Siemens, Neff and Gaggenau. Globally it is joined by other BSH brands: Thermador, Balay, Coldex, Constructa, Pitsos, Ufesa, Profilo, Zelmer, Junker, & Viva. The company was merged with Constructa into the ''Constructa-Neff Vertriebs-GmbH'', which continues to sell the brands ''Constructa'' and ''Neff'' individually.

Products

* Conventional ovens * Microwave ovens * Hobs * Dishwashers * Fridges * Freezers * Washing machines * Tumble dryers * Coffeemakers

References

External links

Video clips

Australian YouTube channel
{{Home appliance brands Bosch (company) Siemens German brands German companies established in 1877 Manufacturing companies established in 1877 Home appliance manufacturers of Germany Home appliance brands Manufacturing companies based in Munich