Electra 🇮🇱

Electra is the Israeli brand that, without almost anyone knowing, was behind several air‑conditioning brands sold in Spain. It started in 1945 as a small workshop repairing electrical appliances; in 1954 it began importing conditioners from the American Emerson Electric and in 1961 opened Israel’s first air‑conditioning factory, where it developed the first window unit and the first split for the local market. In 1973 it moved to a modern 5.5‑hectare plant in Rishon LeZion, south of Tel Aviv, which remains its headquarters.

In 1991 it was bought by Elco, the holding company of the Salkind family. Elco was founded in 1949 by Alexander Salkind, an industrialist who had owned radio component factories in Germany and England; his son Gershon (1928-2017), trained at ETH Zurich, took the reins in the seventies, was listed in Tel Aviv since 1963 and from 1989 turned the company into a diversified group. With Electra in its portfolio, Elco launched into Europe: in the early nineties it rescued the French Airwell from bankruptcy, in 2002 it bought the French conglomerate Brandt for 250 million euros (resold it in 2005 with a 100 million profit) and in 2008 the residential business of the American Fedders.

Thus the “Airwell‑Electra group” was formed: from Guyancourt (France) and Rishon LeZion Airwell, Electra, Wesper, Fedders and, in Spain, Johnson were managed. Airwell Ibérica, based in L'Hospitalet de Llobregat, sold Airwell to the professional installer, Electra in the mass‑consumer channel and Johnson, a brand with more than fifty years of presence in the Spanish market, through appliance stores. That’s why it’s not unusual for Johnson, Electra and Airwell splits from the 2000s to share remote controls and components.

The group began to dismantle from 2012: Elco sold Airwell Group in 2013, the French industry went bankrupt in 2014, Airwell Residential was sold in 2021 to Groupe Airwell and, in November 2022, Electra Consumer Products transferred the Johnson brand to the Alicante company EAS Electric Smart Technology, which had been distributing it since 2019. Electra, listed in Tel Aviv since 2010 and owner of the Shekem Electric and Mahsanei Hashmal chains, remains the leader in air conditioning in Israel. Elco invoiced about $4.760 billion in 2021 with more than 21,000 employees in 17 countries.

Pending verification

It has not been determined when or to whom Electra/Airwell bought the Spanish Johnson brand, nor the name of Electra's founder in 1945.

History machine-translated from Spanish. Can you improve it? Write to us.