Overview of Electrolux appliances from Hungary, cleverly made

Modern production – that means high-tech assembly lines, electronics, fast human hands and quality control at every stage. Large scale is often combined with compactness. At Electrolux Hungary’s Lehel plant, too, small spaces ensure huge production volumes. Herewith there is no overcrowding, one can feel the correct organization of space, logical structuring of processes and clear understanding of tasks.

Electrolux, Hungary, made in mind

Factory Lehel in Hungary became owned by Electrolux in 1991, but its history began much earlier. This production was opened in 1952. At first sheet metal was produced here and in 1958 the first Lehel refrigerator was introduced. In the Soviet Union, this brand was not supplied, but in other countries of the socialist commonwealth and in Hungary the refrigerators were in steady demand. And not accidentally, because in 1969 the plant received a license Sibir Switzerland .

The most recent history of the factory is the production of Electrolux and AEG refrigerators and vacuum cleaners, which are exported from here, from a small Hungarian town, to all corners of the world.

The vacuum cleaner production workshop has a total of 13 conveyor lines, some of which are programmed to assemble several models, enabling the production of 17 different models. The vacuum cleaners are assembled from parts imported from various countries. It is interesting that from 80 trucks of components it turns out 25 trucks of finished vacuum cleaners.

This line

“Smart assembly lines automatically check for proper operation. Sophisticated modern technology makes the process quite simple, at least when viewed from the outside. Each component has an individual barcode. The line is programmed to produce a specific model and knows all the barcodes of each part. If a worker accidentally gets hold of a part with a marking missing from the program, the tape records the mistake and prevents it from being inserted into an assembled unit.

The speed of work on the conveyors is the highest, suffice it to say that every 5 seconds a new vacuum cleaner is “born” in the shop.

Employees wear T-shirts of different colors, which show the specifics and without any badges allow to understand what this specialist does. The main person at the assembly line wears an orange T-shirt, simple workers – blue, people in charge of internal logistics – yellow.

The assembly line begins with the most important thing: installing the “heart” of the vacuum cleaner – the engine. Then the assembled appliance travels along the conveyor belt, acquires new parts and gradually turns from a “pile” of iron and plastic into a beautiful, bright, new vacuum cleaner. Before the finished unit is moved into the box, which also contains all necessary accessories, attachments, the passport and instructions, each vacuum cleaner is checked for proper functioning with the help of instruments.

But that’s not all the checks. 5% of the finished product is inspected at the end of the line usually taking the first appliance assembled and then getting the right amount in a chaotic order . The operation of the motor is checked, the correctness of the accessories, whether the tubes fit, how the cord is untwisted and twisted, whether it is firmly held, etc.d. In general, all nuances are taken into account.

If suddenly an error is detected, then the section on the conveyor, where it occurred, who made it, is automatically determined. Then each vacuum cleaner is tested for this error. By the way, the memory of the “smart” line contains not only the barcodes of the parts, but also the data of the employees. So even after a few years, if a defect is found, the company can find the culprit. A very interesting detail: on the one hand, it seems that the conveyor depersonalizes people, turns them into “capable hands”, but on the other hand, personal responsibility is higher than ever.

Work on mistakes

At the end of each line hangs a board with lots of graphs and calculations. There is always a photo of the person responsible for the work of the line.. Analyzed the percentage of completion of the plan, the characteristics of each area, highlighted the “weak” and “strong” links in the chain.

The vacuum cleaner, packed in a box, continues its journey down the hall. All appliances assembled on the assembly line of the same model are stacked, wrapped in foil. The finished batch is then labeled with a description, barcode, and destination. Now the devices are completely entrusted to the automation – and they go to the warehouse, to the second floor.

Endurance test

On the territory of the factory has its own test laboratory where the quality of various models is checked.

The main test is how long the vacuum cleaner lasts. On a special test bench the motor runs continuously for 650 hours, which, according to specialists’ calculations, corresponds to 10 years of operation. In addition, the lab is equipped with floor and carpeted walkways on which tubes with different attachments run back and forth relentlessly. This is how the performance and shock resistance of these important accessories is tested.

Here in the lab, wireless models are also tested. The company takes great care over the quality of its products because our reputation is an important part of our success.

A LITTLE HISTORY

Electrolux started with the production of vacuum cleaners. The first vacuum cleaner of this kind, the LUX 1, was created by the company’s founder in 1912. In 1921, the world’s first mobile household vacuum cleaner was introduced, it moved on skids.

In 1964 the Luxomatic Z90 was the world’s first vacuum cleaner with a disposable bag, fullness indicator and auto-reeling cord.

In 2004 the first cordless vacuum cleaner Electrolux was presented, which became a bestseller and a trendsetter for many years.