3 Air Conditioner Brands Are Owned By One Company

DIYers and home and garden enthusiasts have known for a while that some companies manufacture under multiple brands for strategic market positioning. Take power tools, for example. One company owns both Ryobi and Milwaukee, offering power tool collections for both budget-conscious homeowners and professionals. If you look closely, you'll see this across every industry, including lawn care, automotive, and appliances. When it comes to HVAC, there are three air conditioner brands — Daikin, Goodman, and Amana — available from one company, Daikin Industries. While it's an interesting story how these brands came together under the umbrella of one conglomerate, it's even more helpful to understand how the names differ in terms of price and performance.

As the world's largest HVAC manufacturer with about 15% of the global market share, Daikin Industries got its start in 1924 making aircraft parts in Osaka, Japan. They didn't get into air conditioning until 1951, during the post-war construction boom. They started trading with other countries in the Pacific Rim before entering the global market in 1972 with a new European headquarters in Belgium. Daikin entered the North American market in 2004, and in 2012, they acquired Goodman, which also owned the Amana HVAC name by then.

Today, Daikin is ranked among the top-rated mini-split brands, while Goodman and Amana offer midlevel reliability. Goodman sits at the lowest price point, running $2,800 to $9,500 in 2026, with comparable Amana units priced 5% to 15% higher. Daikin AC systems command a premium of 30% to 60% over Goodman.

From launching the first packaged AC in Japan in the 1950s to pioneering variable refrigerant volume AC systems in 1982, Daikin led the AC industry over the years. When they bought Goodman in 2012, Daikin inherited two air conditioning brands: Amana, which was started in 1934 by George Foerstner, and Goodman, which was started 20 years later in 1954 by Harold V. Goodman, an installer and contractor in Houston, Texas. After going into manufacturing in the 1970s and focusing on central heating and air conditioning, Goodman acquired Amana in 1997.

By then Amana had become a full home appliance company. Goodman split the Amana brand in 2001, and sold the home appliance half to Maytag, which became part of Whirlpool, so you may recognize the popular refrigerators with the Amana name. Amana's HVAC line stayed with Goodman, and is produced under a separate name as part of Daikin Industries.

According to a Consumer Reports 2024 survey, Goodman and Amana products sit in the same midlevel reliability tier, with the main difference being that Goodman is one of six brands with an unfavorable owner satisfaction rating. When installed by a contractor, the company gives the namesake Daikin brand a 12-year warranty compared to Amana's 10 years. However, there may be less difference between the actual models than you think, since some HVAC technicians in online forums claim that all three brands are the same and have interchangeable parts.