The history of Miele

Miele, the maker of premium-quality household and commercial appliances, is one of Germany's best-known and most prestigious companies, with a history of more than one hundred and twenty years. Founded by Carl Miele and Reinhard Zinkann in 1899, the successful brand is now present in almost one hundred countries worldwide – clear proof that its slogan, "Immer Besser" (Forever Better), is not an empty phrase but has real substance.

One of the keys to Miele's success is certainly that the company has been owned by the Miele and Zinkann families from the very beginning to this day, and its current shareholders are all descendants of the founders. It is therefore a family company through and through, whose management has always paid great attention to creating value and taking responsibility.

The beginnings

The two founders' first machine was the cream separator, essentially a device for skimming milk. Production started with 11 employees in an old sawmill and mill in Herzebrock – Carl Miele's home village, near Gütersloh in North Rhine-Westphalia. Barely two years after the cream separator, production of a butter churn also began, and the two machines made work considerably easier for people in dairies.

The next appliance was the washing machine, which went into production in 1903. Over the years and decades, ever more refined and efficient technology was used, with a constant drive for innovation, so this product family also became increasingly popular and sought-after.

Once a business gets going…

As an innovative brand, Miele even tried its hand at car manufacturing for a few years between 1912 and 1914, but quickly returned to the field where it was truly at home: equipment for milk processing, washing machines and vacuum cleaners. The company made other detours too, one of which proved considerably more successful than car making: in wartime, demand for handcarts grew, and their production continued until the 1950s.

In 1924, bicycle production started at the Bielefeld plant, which also became an extremely popular product in the following decades, just like the increasingly advanced household appliances. In the 1950s and 60s, motorcycles were also launched, but over time these too were dropped from the range.

In the 1960s, the company launched its first dishwashers, not only for household use but also for commercial and clinical use, followed in the 1970s by built-in cookers and microwave ovens.

The continuous development and progress underlying its unbroken success have always been closely linked to the Miele name, and this is still the case today – which is why every item in the product range is among the most modern and reliable appliances.