Defy Appliances is a South African

manufacturing Manufacturing is the creation or production of goods with the help of equipment, labor, machines, tools, and chemical or biological processing or formulation. It is the essence of the secondary sector of the economy. The term may refer ...

company and is the largest manufacturer and distributor of major domestic appliances in

Southern Africa Southern Africa is the southernmost region of Africa. No definition is agreed upon, but some groupings include the United Nations geoscheme for Africa, United Nations geoscheme, the intergovernmental Southern African Development Community, and ...

. The company manufactures and develops a range of large appliances from gas stoves,

refrigerators A refrigerator, commonly shortened to fridge, is a commercial and home appliance consisting of a thermally insulated compartment and a heat pump (mechanical, electronic or chemical) that transfers heat from its inside to its external envir ...

washing machines A washing machine (laundry machine, clothes washer, washer, or simply wash) is a machine designed to launder clothing. The term is mostly applied to machines that use water. Other ways of doing laundry include dry cleaning (which uses alternat ...

and

tumble dryer A clothes dryer (tumble dryer, drying machine, drying device, or simply dryer) is a powered household appliance that is used to remove moisture from a load of clothing, bedding and other textiles, usually after they are washed in the washing mach ...

s to continuous clean ovens and

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 ...

History

It currently operates three factories: * Jacobs (

Durban Durban ( ; , from meaning "bay, lagoon") is the third-most populous city in South Africa, after Johannesburg and Cape Town, and the largest city in the Provinces of South Africa, province of KwaZulu-Natal. Situated on the east coast of South ...

) — manufactures freestanding stoves, built-in ovens, hobs, and tumble dryers. * Ezakheni ( Ladysmith) — manufactures electric chest freezers and electric refrigerators. * eMonti (

East London East London is the part of London, England, east of the ancient City of London and north of the River Thames as it begins to widen. East London developed as London Docklands, London's docklands and the primary industrial centre. The expansion of ...

) — manufactures electric refrigerators. Defy Appliances was founded in 1905 in Wentworth, KwaZulu-Natal by John Skinner and Sir Benjamin Greenacre. The company manufactured its first product, electric stoves, in 1932. The Durban Falkirk Iron Company (DFI, now DEFY) moved the foundry from Jacobs to Newcastle around 1987. In July 2011, the company was acquired by Turkish based

Arçelik Arçelik A.Ş. () is a Turkish multinational household appliances manufacturer. The company engages in the production, marketing and after-sale services of durable goods and their components. Its products include white goods (such as refrigerat ...

for

US$ The United States dollar (Currency symbol, symbol: Dollar sign, $; ISO 4217, currency code: USD) is the official currency of the United States and International use of the U.S. dollar, several other countries. The Coinage Act of 1792 introdu ...

324-million as part of its plan to expand into emerging markets in Africa. Tuesday, 16 March 2021

References

Companies based in Durban Electronics companies established in 1905 Home appliance manufacturers of South Africa South African brands 2011 mergers and acquisitions 1905 establishments in the Colony of Natal Companies based in KwaZulu-Natal {{SouthAfrica-company-stub