GE-brand appliances, has been cited by federal workplace safety regulators for serious safety violations following the fatal injury of a 58-year-old supervisor in July 2024.
The incident occurred while the supervisor was servicing a door molding machine. OSHA’s investigation found the company failed to follow required machine safety standards, allowing workers to bypass safety doors and lacking proper procedures to prevent injuries within the machine. OSHA states these violations could have prevented the accident.
Category Archives: Manufacturing
Rowenta manufacturing returns to France
Rowenta, the number one floor care brand in France, is taking a significant step by relocating the production of its stick vacuums. These products, previously made in China, will now be produced at their site in Vernon (Eure) to meet the growing demand in France and across Europe. This strategic relocation is part of our commitment to strengthen local roots while delivering products that are increasingly efficient and environmentally friendly. In 2024, the X-Force Flex 13.60 will become the first cordless vacuum cleaner made in France, followed by the launch of the X-Force Flex 14.80 in March 2025.To celebrate 140 years of innovation, Rowenta is hosting a unique event in Paris: an immersive pop-up store open to the public, where visitors can discover our latest products and test them in real-life scenarios inspired by post-party scenes. For 140 years, Rowenta has been innovating to improve the daily lives of consumers worldwide.
China’s New 2025 Consumer Stimulus: Big Boost for Home Appliance Stocks!
China started 2025 with a fresh consumer stimulus plan that analysts believe could significantly boost certain stocks. Instead of direct cash payments, the government is providing subsidies for home appliances through a trade-in program. Recently, they expanded the list of eligible products to include microwaves and dishwashers, offering up to 20% off the retail price.
Morningstar analyst Jeff Zhang predicts that this initiative will primarily benefit leading home appliance manufacturers like Midea, Gree, and Haier. He has increased his revenue forecasts for these companies by 2% to 5% for the coming years. Midea’s shares surged nearly 38% last year and could rise another 26% based on Morningstar’s price target. Haier’s shares also performed well, with a potential upside of 48% from their current price.
Citigroup analysts are also optimistic, maintaining their buy ratings for these three stocks following the stimulus announcement. They have set even higher price targets than Morningstar. However, they cautioned that price wars and a weak real estate market could negatively impact stock prices. Consumer demand in China has been sluggish since the pandemic, with home appliance prices falling 3.3% in December compared to the previous year.
China is expected to release retail sales and GDP figures soon. The new policy allows consumers who received subsidies last year to benefit again this year. The government has allocated a substantial 81 billion yuan for these trade-in subsidies through the Spring Festival.
The future of home appliances in Europe
Rising material costs and high energy prices are posing significant challenges for EU manufacturers in maintaining global competitiveness.
Electricity prices in Europe are currently 2-3 times higher than in the US, resulting in increased investment costs for EU manufacturers compared to their global counterparts.
Additionally, the global supply of critical raw materials is concentrated in a few regions, making the EU vulnerable to price fluctuations, supply chain disruptions, and potential geopolitical leverage. This underscores the urgent need for diversified supply chains and the establishment of new and existing trade relationships to boost critical raw material extraction and recycling within the region and beyond.
We advocate for a stronger alignment of policies with decarbonisation goals to enable Europe to lead the #techrace, ensuring a competitive and sustainable future for European manufacturers.
Samsung Wants Screens on Every Appliance by 2025
Samsung Electronics is set to revolutionize home appliances with its advanced display technology, embodying its vision of ‘Screens Everywhere’.
This year, Samsung is transforming the kitchen experience with a refrigerator featuring a new 9” AI Home screen and incorporating the 7” AI Home into the Wall Oven. The laundry category isn’t left behind, with the 7” AI Home integrated into the Bespoke AI Laundry Combo™, now included in the new Bespoke AI™ Washer and Dryer Set. These innovative products will debut at CES 2025.
### Bespoke Refrigerators Get New Compact Screen and Improved Functionality
By offering a range of products with varying screen sizes, Samsung enhances user accessibility and brings the smart home closer to reality. With Bixby voice control, Samsung home appliance screens provide essential activity information like internal temperatures or wash cycle details in a user-friendly format. The Map View feature stands out, allowing these screens to act as convenient control hubs, enabling users to monitor and control connected appliances from a single screen. Additionally, the screens offer various entertainment features via Internet connectivity, broadening the role of home appliances within the home environment.
Stalemate in Negotiations Between Italian Government and Beko Europe Over Factory Closures
Negotiations between the Italian Government and Beko Europe have hit a substantial deadlock regarding the planned closure of several factories and production lines acquired from Whirlpool in Italy. During a hearing before the Chamber of Deputies’ Productive Activities Committee, Maurizio David Sberna, Beko Europe’s head of external and institutional relations, expressed the company’s commitment to evaluate all potential industrial operations. He emphasized that any actions taken to mitigate the impact of these closures would only proceed if they do not alter the economic impact of the current plan, which aims to halt unsustainable financial losses.
The factories in Siena, Comunanza (Ascoli Piceno), and Cassinetta (Varese) are particularly affected, with each incurring over €50 million in annual losses. This situation is exacerbated by the overall decline in demand for household appliances in Europe and increased competition from Chinese manufacturers. Beko Europe estimates a loss of €224 million in the large household appliances sector in Europe for 2024 alone.
Beko Europe also reiterated that their plan complies with the requirements notified under the Golden Power regulations. Consequently, there are no grounds for government intervention to alter Beko Europe’s actions, with the government’s role limited to monitoring the implementation methods.
Midea inaugurates its first wholly owned factory in Brazil
Chinese home appliance giant Midea Group has announced the opening of its new Brazilian factory in Pouso Alegre, a city in the southeastern state of Minas Gerais. The official inauguration was held on 9 December, reports Brazilian outlet Diário do Comércio.
The sprawling factory covers an area of 73,000 square metres and has the capacity to produce 700,000 refrigerators and 600,000 washing machines annually. Midea Carrier CEO Felipe Costa told reporters that the company aims to reach maximum production potential in two years.
While the factory will be employing 700 employees initially, Midea expects to increase this to 1,000 jobs by December 2025. Mayor Coronel Dimas said he believes the factory could transform the municipality into a hub for the home appliances, as the investment has already triggered conversations about similar manufacturers coming to Pouso Alegre.
The new factory will be Midea’s third in Brazil, following the Manaus (Amazonas) site, which produces household air conditioners and microwaves, and the Canoas (Rio Grande do Sul) site, which makes commercial air conditioners. While the previous two are operated in partnership with Carrier, Pouso Alegre
Gree Electric has developed its own chips,
Chinese home appliance manufacturer Gree Electric has developed its own chips, Chinese local media reported on Monday citing its chairwoman, six years after the firm embarked on efforts to do so.
Dong Mingzhu, told news portal Sina.com that the company had achieved capabilities in chip research, design, and manufacturing, all without funding support from the Chinese government. She did not detail what kind of chips Gree was now able to make.
In 2018, Gree set up a subsidiary to design chips for air conditioners and the company announced that it wanted to move into making more smart home products. At the time, Dong said that Gree spent 4 billion yuan ($549.45 million) a year on buying chips for its air conditioners.
Arçelik to close factories
Arçelik, which has now decided to close its 3 factories in Italy after Poland, is increasing its production volumes in Turkey while investing in Egypt.In a recent statement regarding the €110 million investment plan in Italy, it was mentioned that “As outlined in our company’s special situation statement dated November 7, 2024, negotiations are ongoing with the Italian Ministry of Companies and Made in Italy (Ministero delle Imprese e del Made in Italy) and other relevant authorities, national and regional unions, and employee representatives to evaluate the long-term sustainable transformation plan for our Italian operations.”
The statement further elaborated:
“Our goal to establish Italy as a strategic hub for industrial design and the cooking appliances category remains steadfast. We plan to invest €110 million in our Italian operations in the coming periods. Carinaro is expected to continue as the center for spare parts and renovation. To enhance profitability and efficiency, we aim to rescale some production operations related to the laundry and cooling categories in Cassinetta, Siena, and Comunanza. Additionally, we will initiate industrial transformation processes in certain areas and evaluate all strategic options, including potential disposals. Regardless, production in these factories will continue until the end of 2025.
The Ministry and union representatives have expressed their views on safeguarding local employment and have requested a re-evaluation of the submitted proposals. Negotiations will continue with unions and employee representatives for the approximately 2,000 employees expected to be impacted by this process across all our operations in Italy.”
Hisense job cut rumours
According to Chinese media outlet Lanjinger News, several individuals claiming to be Hisense employees have taken to social media to allege that Hisense Group is undergoing significant layoffs. Reports suggest that the company’s workforce is being reduced from 110,000 to 80,000, with an estimated layoff rate of 20 to 30 percent. One verified employee of Hisense Home Appliances mentioned that the layoffs would occur in two phases, before and after the Lunar New Year, with an overall reduction of 30 percent.
Lanjinger News contacted multiple Hisense employees, who confirmed awareness of the rumors but were unclear about the specific plans or scale. An employee from Qingdao Hisense Network Technology Co. noted that many employees had already been informed. Another employee suggested that online reports might be exaggerated and that the actual number of layoffs could be lower, although demand and orders this year were significantly weaker compared to previous years.
When Lanjinger News reached out to Hisense Home Appliances Group and Hisense Visual Technology as investors, a representative from Hisense Home Appliances indicated that large-scale layoffs were unlikely but not yet confirmed, advising investors to make their own judgments while noting that the circulating information was inaccurate. A representative from Hisense Visual Technology stated that no related notices had been received.
Attempts to verify the information with Hisense Group’s public relations department went unanswered at the time of publication.
The report also recalled similar rumors from early 2020, when Hisense faced allegations of a large-scale layoff involving 10,000 employees. At that time, the company acknowledged workforce reductions as part of a performance optimization strategy but denied the scale of the layoffs being as high as reported.
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