Whirlpool Corp /de/
A maker of home appliances, Whirlpool produces washers, dryers, refrigerators, and other household goods under brands including KitchenAid and Maytag. It began in 1911 in Benton Harbor, Michigan, when insurance salesman Lou Upton, compensated with a patent for a hand-cranked clothes washer after a failed dealership investment, teamed with his uncle Emory to electrify the machine. The name came from the swirling water that powered its washers, and the company adopted it in 1950.