Speed Queen
- For the comic character, see Speed Queen (comics). For the boat, see Speed Queen (boat).
Speed Queen is a laundry machine manufacturer headquartered in Ripon, Wisconsin, USA. Speed Queen is a subsidiary of Alliance Laundry Systems LLC, which bills itself as the world's largest manufacturer of commercial laundry equipment.[1] It makes a large variety of residential and commercial products, from 25-pound-capacity tumblers to 250-pound washer-extractors, as well as dryers. Its commercial machines are a popular brand for laundromats, apartment buildings, and hotels.
History
The company was founded in 1908 by Joe Barlow and John Seelig as Barlow & Seelig Manufacturing. They got their start by taking existing machine designs and improving them. In 1922, Speed Queen was the first company to introduce washers with nickel-copper tubs. The brand name "Speed Queen" was created in 1928. During World War II, it switched production to support the war effort, manufacturing 20 mm shells, and parts for airplanes, tanks and guns. Later, it was sold to McGraw-Edison Company (which also owned Eskimo fans and Toastmaster), and then to Raytheon. In 1998, Raytheon Commercial Laundry, owners of the Speed Queen brand, was sold to Alliance Laundry Systems.[2]
References
- ↑ "Speed Queen Brand Name Returns to the Consumer Laundry Market". allbusiness.com. 2 November 2004.
- ↑ "Raytheon completes Speed Queen sale", The Business Journal, 5 May 1998.