Hans Straberg, chief executive of Swedish home appliance manufacturer Electrolux, who has held the position since 2002, has notified the company's board of directors of his decision to leave his post. This is stated in a press release from Electrolux.

Keith McLoughlin will become the new head of the company. He will begin his duties on January 1, 2011. McLoughlin currently serves as head of Electrolux's division responsible for research and development, acquisitions and production of major appliances.

Electrolux was founded on August 29, 1919 in Sweden through the successive merger of three predecessor companies: Elektromekaniska, Elektron and Lux, and it was called Elektrolux. The company was founded by Swedish businessman Axel Wenner-Gren, who later became executive director of Elektrolux AB, reports RIA Novosti .

Initially, the company specialized in the production of vacuum cleaners. Already in 1919, Electrolux products were presented in Denmark, the Netherlands, Switzerland and France, the company also sold its vacuum cleaners in the UK and Norway, and the demand for these products was very high at that time.

In 1926, the company's first plant outside Sweden appeared; it was opened in the capital of Germany, Berlin. In subsequent years, factories appeared in England and France. By this time, refrigerators were also included in the Electrolux product range. In 1957, Elektrolux was renamed Electrolux, a name the company still bears today.

Currently, the company is one of the leaders in the production of household appliances. The company sells its products in more than 150 countries around the world. Electrolux plants employ more than 50,000 people.

Electrolux CEO Hans Straberg announced his resignation