The origins of Haier date back long before the actual founding of the company.
In the 1920s, a refrigerator factory was built in Qingdao to supply the Chinese market.
After the 1949 establishment of the People's Republic of China, the factory was then taken over and turned into a state-owned enterprise.

By the 1980s, the factory had a debt of over CNY ¥1.4 million and suffered from dilapidated infrastructure, poor management, and lack of quality controls, resulting from the planned economic system and relevant policies.
Production had slowed, rarely surpassing 80 refrigerators a month, and the factory was close to bankruptcy.
The Qingdao government hired a young assistant city-manager, Zhang Ruimin, responsible for a number of city-owned appliance companies.
Zhang was appointed the managing director of the factory in 1984.
The origins of Haier date back long before the actual founding of the company. In the 1920s, a refrigerator factory was built in Qingdao to supply the Chinese market. After the 1949 establishment of the People's Republic of China, the factory was then taken over and turned into a state-owned enterprise.
By the 1980s, the factory had a debt of over CNY ¥1.4 million and suffered from dilapidated infrastructure, poor management, and lack of quality controls, resulting from the planned economic system and relevant policies. Production had slowed, rarely surpassing 80 refrigerators a month, and the factory was close to bankruptcy. The Qingdao government hired a young assistant city-manager, Zhang Ruimin, responsible for a number of city-owned appliance companies. Zhang was appointed the managing director of the factory in 1984.
Haier