Louisville, Kentucky - GE plans to invest $432 million to establish four refrigeration design and manufacturing centres of excellence in the US. The move will create 500 new 'green' jobs by 2014, the firm said in an 18 Oct announcement, and brings the company's total US investment since 2009 to more than $1 billion and jobs created to 1300.
The centres will be in Louisville; Bloomington, Indiana; Decatur, Alabama; and Selmer, Tennessee. A significant portion of the investment also will be used to reduce the environmental impact of the refrigerator manufacturing process, including use of a new foam-insulating process, GE said in the announcement.
By bringing together product design teams and manufacturing operations specialists, the centres will help streamline design development and product manufacturing using lean processes and practices, the statement explained. The result should be improved product quality and service and manufacturing efficiencies that drive down costs, GE added.
The investment demonstrates the company's commitment to revitalising its appliances business and is the result of its US factories becoming increasingly competitive globally, the statement said.
"Appliances is no longer a 'white goods' business. Customers increasingly expect styles, features, configurations and efficiency well beyond the white boxes of yesteryear," said James Campbell, president and ceo of GE Appliances & Lighting, in the announcement.
"With this investment and the commitment of our employees, we will exceed customer expectations with outstanding products that are competitively made in the US to serve the US," he added. "These moves will transform GE Appliances and are a tremendous win for GE, our employees and plant communities and American consumers."
GE gave the following details of the investments:
* GE will invest $194 million and create 300 jobs at its Louisville Appliance Park campus, to establish a centre of excellence for bottom-freezer refrigerators, a new product platform for that facility. The addition of the bottom-freezer models to the Louisville-made product lines marks the third new platform announced for that facility in the past year, following the GeoSpring Hybrid Water Heater and a new frontload washer and dryer.
* The Bloomington facility, once slated for closure, will receive $93 million in investment and create 200 jobs to become GE's centre of excellence for side-by-side refrigerators. This investment is in addition to a $68 million investment in the plant's current product lines announced on 1 Oct, bringing total investment in the Bloomington facility through 2014 to $161 million.
* In Decatur, where GE's popular top-freezer models are made, the firm will invest $43 million to create a centre of excellence for top-freezers and 'green' manufacturing. This is in addition to a $16-million investment made earlier this year to transition to a new product insulation process. This total $59 million investment will help retain the more than 1000 jobs at the site.
* Monogram Refrigeration Operation, llc, a wholly owned subsidiary of GE in Selmer, will receive $32 million to redesign the built-in refrigeration line made there and to produce a new configuration for the high-end market, which will help retain the 166 jobs there.
With these investments, by 2014, GE will offer the highest percentage of U.S.-made refrigerators among full-line appliance makers, the company concluded.
Steps to reduce the environmental impact of the refrigerator manufacturing process will see units being redesigned in Louisville, Bloomington and Decatur so tehy can be manufactured using a new 'greener' foam insulating process, which will reduce the overall CO2 or greenhouse gas emissions at these sites by 90 percent or 687 000 tonnes per year, GE's statement claimed.
The new product design also will improve overall product efficiency and help reduce costs for consumers. All of the new products are being designed to meet the anticipated 2014 Energy Star standards, said GE, adding that most will incorporate smart-grid technology allowing consumers to control their energy consumption and save money in areas where dynamic pricing options are offered.
Dirk Bowman, Manufacturing General Manager for GE Appliances, said, "The transformation underway at these facilities is breathing new life into US manufacturing and new life into our products and the future of this business. Our manufacturing teams have demonstrated a desire to compete, and we have no doubt they are uniquely positioned to provide our customers with the outstanding quality and service expected from GE appliances."
"GE is committed to investing in this business and redefining what's possible in home appliances," said Charlene Begley, President and CEO, GE Home & Business Solutions, of which GE Appliances is a part. "With lean manufacturing and advanced design, we believe that American workers can compete with any in the world. In addition, our employees and union leaders have agreed to innovative wage agreements that further increase the competitiveness of these plants."
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