who started importing fridges and washing machines from the United States. Sir Woolf died in 1975 and Mr Paykel in 2002. * Manufacturing began in New Zealand in 1939, with the assembly of wringer washing machines and refrigerators. * By 1949, the company was producing 600 washing machines, 500 fridges and 700 vacuum cleaners each month. * The one-millionth refrigerator and one-millionth washing machine were both built in 1974. * A medical division was formed in 1977 - the forerunner to Fisher & Paykel Healthcare. * In 1979, the company listed on the stock exchange. * It entered the Australian market in 1987, Europe in 1992, Singapore in 1995 and the US in 1996.