AEG

AEG Aktiengesellschaft

Allgemeine Elektricitäts-Gesellschaft
Former type	Aktiengesellschaft
Industry	Electrical industry
Founded	1883 in Berlin as Deutsche Edison-Gesellschaft für angewandte Elektricität
Founder	Emil Rathenau
Defunct	2 October 1996, brand rights acquired by Electrolux
Headquarters	Berlin, later Frankfurt am Main, Germany
Area served	Worldwide
Key people	Ernst Stöckl (1996)
Products	Electrical power generation and transmission Telecommunication (Phones and Mobile Phones) Automation Transportation and Automotive Home appliances Personal Care Machine Tools Projectors Printing equipment and Supplies
Revenue	DM 12.5 billion (1995)
Owner	Daimler-Benz AG (1985-1996)
Number of employees	11,000 (1995)
Website	aeg.com

Allgemeine Elektricitäts-Gesellschaft AG (AEG) (German: "General electricity company") was a German producer of electrical equipment founded as the Deutsche Edison-Gesellschaft für angewandte Elektricität in 1883 in Berlin by Emil Rathenau. After World War II its headquarters moved to Frankfurt am Main.

In 1967 AEG joined with its subsidiary Telefunken AG creating Allgemeine Elektricitäts-Gesellschaft AEG-Telefunken. In 1985 Daimler-Benz purchased the AEG-Telefunken Aktiengesellschaft, which was renamed to AEG Aktiengesellschaft and wholly integrated the company in 1996 into Daimler-Benz AG (1998:DaimlerChrysler). The remains of AEG became part of Adtranz and Deutsche Aerospace (1998: DASA, today EADS).

After acquiring the AEG household subsidiary AEG Hausgeräte GmbH in 1994, in 2005 Electrolux obtained the rights to the brand name AEG, which it now uses on some of its products. The AEG name is also licensed to various brand partners under the Electrolux Global Brand Licensing programme.

In 1883 Emil Rathenau founded Deutsche Edison-Gesellschaft für angewandte Elektricität in Berlin, which became Allgemeine Elektricitäts-Gesellschaft in 1887. Initially producing electrical equipment (such as light bulbs, motors and generators), the company soon became involved in AC electric transmission systems. In 1907 Peter Behrens was appointed as artistic consultant to AEG. This led to the creation of the company's initial corporate identity, with products and advertising sharing common design features.

The company expanded in the first half of the 20th century, and is credited with a number of firsts and inventions in electrical engineering. During the same period it entered the automobile and airplane markets. Electrical equipment for railways was produced during this time, beginning a long history of supplying the German railways with electrical equipment.