The creator of the iconic Colombian appliance company died at the age of 106, leaving a legacy of ingenuity, effort and progress that transformed the national industry.
News Colombia.
The Colombian industry lost one of its great references. José María Acevedofounder of Makebdied on the night of October 27, 2025to the 106 years old. His departure marks the end of an era, but leaves alive the legacy of a man who believed that progress is forged with work, ingenuity and social commitment.
Born in Medellín on August 2, 1919Don José grew up in a humble family and only managed to attend sixth grade of primary school. However, his curiosity and determination led him to work as courier in an appliance repair shopa place that would become the gateway to a life dedicated to innovation and service.
As the company says on its website, Haceb was born in 1940when Acevedo opened a small workshop called Medellín Electrical Workshoplocated a few meters from the Municipal Palace of the capital of Antioquia. With barely one pliers and two screwdriversbegan to build what would later be one of the companies most loved by Colombians.
The Second World War, which stopped imports of stoves and other appliances, opened an unexpected opportunity. The growing demand for repairs boosted his small business and led him to create his first product: a single-seater electric stove, which marked the beginning of a new stage for the national industry.
Behind the brand name there are two versions that have sparked curiosity for decades. According to the Millionaires at 40 account, the original name would have been “Jacev”, an abbreviation of the name of its creator, José Acevedo. However, his partners feared that it would be pronounced like “Yeisef” in English-speaking markets, so they opted for “ Haceb ,” a written form in English where the “H” would sound like “J.”
Another version, collected by the Scribd platform, says that the name was born when a merchant suggested changing “Jacev” to “ Haceb ” “to make it sound more gringo.” Thus, in the middle of the 40s, the small Antioquian brand began to write its success story.
@millonarioal40 Why is it called Haceb? . . . . #curiosities #didyouknow #curiousfacts #curious #dob #photography #company #history #knowledge #instagood #culture #curiosity #interesting #picoftheday #data #photooftheday #life #nature #incredible #world #Colombia #photograph #curiousfact #tourism #photo #travel #beautiful #art ♬ original sound – millionaire at 40
From a workshop to a large national industry
The company’s official website proudly recalls that “it was 1940, when a small workshop dedicated to electrical repairs was opened a few meters from the Municipal Palace of Medellín. Right there, at Taller Eléctrico Medellín, was where the history of this large industrial park began to be written where we manufacture household appliances and gas appliances such as refrigerators, stoves and washing machines in the municipality of Copacabana, Antioquia.”
Today, that modest workshop has become a industrial plant of more than 300,000 square meterswhich employs more than 3,500 peopleproduces around 2.5 million units per year and brings the Colombian seal to homes throughout the country.
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