The Hotpoint Electric Heating Company was formed in 1911 and now Hotpoint is a household name when it comes to the manufacture of electric appliances and most commonly "white goods". Hotpoint is owned by Indesit and General Electric. In 1989 Hotpoint continued as a sister company of GEC and was later migrated into a new division of GEC, which was called General Domestic Appliances. In December 2001, Merloni Elettrodomestici purchased 50% of Marconi plc (formerly GEC). More recently in 2005, Merloni renamed itself Indesit and the Hotpoint brand continues to be a major part of that company.