Category Archives: Manufacturing

Electrolux cost reduction program

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Electrolux is initiating a cost reduction program on the back of weaker-than-expected market demand and weak earnings in the third quarter. The cost measures are expected to result in a material positive earnings contribution in 2023. In combination with supply chain imbalances resulting in significant production inefficiencies and increased costs, the third quarter earnings for the Group are expected to decline significantly compared to the second quarter 2022 also excluding the one-time cost to exit the Russia market. This has been driven mainly by Europe and North America. Business Area North America is expected to report an operating loss in the third quarter exceeding the loss in the second quarter.

Since market demand for 2023 is expected to continue to be weak in both regions, the Board of Electrolux has decided to initiate a Group-wide cost reduction program addressing both variable and structural costs. The program, which starts immediately, will focus on reducing variable costs, with special attention to eliminating cost inefficiencies in the company supply chain and production. The structural cost reductions will primarily take place in Europe and North America and include prioritization and efficiency measures leveraging recent organizational changes. The measures include increasing productivity in operations as well as optimizing the R&D portfolio, administration, sales and marketing activities.

In business area North America, the strategy to strengthen and broaden Electrolux product offering with consumer experience innovations remains. However, the production transformation with two new facilities and several new product platforms, in combination with the particularly challenging supply chain conditions in the region, require additional measures to return to stability and profitability. A turnaround program will therefore be conducted under the leadership of Ricardo Cons, who has been appointed new Head of Business Area North America. Ricardo Cons has successfully led the transformation of the Electrolux business in Latin America over the last six years. He succeeds Nolan Pike, who takes up a new position continuing to report to Anna Ohlsson-Leijon. A new leader of Electrolux Latin America is anticipated to be appointed shortly.

Largest acquisition in the history of Ariston Group :

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This is the largest acquisition in the history of Ariston Group : 703 million euros in cash and approximately 41.42 million shares for a value of approximately 300 million, for 100% of the capital of the German Centrotec Climate System. particular thanks to the brands Wolf, Brink, Pro-Klima and Ned Air, specialized in the supply of solutions for heating, ventilation and air treatment and solutions for the combined generation of heat and energy. “Wolf is a pioneer brand in the sector –

specializing in new generation heat pumps, while Blink, a Dutch brand, is active in the production of devices for domestic ventilation, a sector that is still a niche sector that concerns in particular thermally insulated buildings, those with zero emissions of the new generation that still need a change of air and that are moving from the use of fossil fuel to that of renewable energy.

Liebherr focused on energy efficiency

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LiebherrAppliances will remain focused on energy efficiency at the 2022 Kuechenmeile kitchen fair.
Visit this exhibition to see the latest energy-efficient integrated and freestanding appliances – all equipped with the latest freshness technologies. In addition, innovative technology such as BluRoX makes it possible for freezers to meet “A” and “B” energy classes for the first time. BluRoX technology is not only energy efficient but also allows for larger interior volume and effective resource protection due to the circular properties of the perlite.

Additionally, the launch of the new AutoDoor feature was designed especially for fully integrated appliances – the first refrigerators and freezers in the world to open and close fully automatically, helping preserve energy. You only need a light knock, a voice command, or the tap of your smart device app to open the door, and not just a little – but completely. Ninety degrees!

GE record production

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Decatur’s GE Appliances plant had record production in 2020 and 2021 and is expecting another record year in 2022 after a 2020 expansion increased its capacity and allowed it to hire hundreds of new employees.

According to Leifje Dighton, executive director of the Decatur plant since March, the top-freezer refrigerator plant in 2020 completed a $125 million expansion which boosted production capacity by 25%.

“The investment came just in time as people were beginning to stay at home because of the pandemic and needed refrigerators and other appliances,” Dighton said. “We had a record production in 2020 with our second highest year in 2021. While the appliance industry is down this year, Decatur is on track to have another strong year with production at similar levels to 2020 and 2021.”The 2020 expansion included adding 40,000 square feet to the plant. Dighton said the extra space has been beneficial.The expansion investment allowed the plant to add 255 jobs. The plant now employs 1,500 people after adding a third shift.

“We are the largest single-site employer in this county,” Dighton said.

The expansion allowed the plant to produce two new models, the 19- and 22-cubic-foot refrigerators, in addition to the 16-, 17- and 18-cubic-foot models it already produced.We introduced a new refrigerant to our products, too, that from a greenhouse emissions standpoint was much better. We did it earlier than the industry was going to expect it,” Dighton said.

Wood said the Decatur plant sells in all 50 states and sells some products in Canada.

“We sell to national retailers such as Lowe’s, The Home Depot and Best Buy as well as independent appliance dealers, home builders and property management companies,” she said.

Dighton said GE Appliances, a 100-year-old manufacturer, is part of the largest appliance company in the world and GE appliances are in half of the homes in the U.S. In 2016, GE Appliances was acquired by the Haier Group

Electrolux: investments in Italy are “under review”

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Electrolux announced it to the unions: The plan of at least 70 million euros planned for the Italian plants, in particular that of Solaro (dishwasher) “is under review”. The plan was announced in July by head of HT Ruben Campagner and included 600 new jobs The Swedish multinational, which in Italy has about 5,000 employees between Porcia (washing), Susegana (cooling), Forlì (ovens and hobs), Solaro (dishwashers) and Cerreto d’Esi (hoods), should have met the trade unions at the summit of national coordination on 31 August to discuss the operating methods of the announced investment in Solaro for the new dishwasher facility.

LG JOINS HOME CONNECTIVITY ALLIANCE TO EXPAND THE FUTURE OF SMART HOME EXPERIENC

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LG Electronics (LG) has been named to the Board of Directors of the Home Connectivity Alliance (HCA), an organization dedicated to delivering better smart home experiences through open collaboration and innovation

Founded in 2022 and comprising a number of smart home solution manufacturers, the alliance aims to provide a safe, secure and interoperable connected home ecosystem. In addition to LG, its membership includes about 13 global brands including Samsung, Arçelik, Electrolux, Haier, GE Appliances, and Trane Technologies. The alliance seeks to enable seamless compatibility of diverse devices and services from different brands through developing and implementing guidelines for Cloud-to-Cloud (C2C) interoperability.

As a board member of the alliance, LG will soon bring its customers the convenience of being able to control and monitor other alliance members’ smart home solutions from using the LG ThinQ™ app.

Hisense announce new range of dishwashers

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The current main dishwashers project for the Gorenje and Hisense brands is the new DW50 dishwasher platform, which will completely replace the existing one. The new dishwashers will provide better results, functionality and a better user experience. Their main innovations include:
– automatic dosing – less worries and lower detergent consumption,
– UV technology, which ensures the removal of 99.9% of bacteria and viruses,
– drying with a fan, which in combination with automatic door opening ensures completely dry dishes,
– connectivity that enables remote use, monitoring and control,
– touch control and touch screen on all models,
– large capacity, as the DW50 can wash 16 complete sets of plates, glasses, and cutlery.

Other innovations depend on the selected models: additional spraying nozzles to help clean pans and dirtier dishes, an ionizer for fresh air without odors, a flexible third basket and a basket for accessories, and accessories for washing tall wine glasses, night program etc.
Our new dishwashers will be available to customers in the last quarter of 2022 and in the coming years, we hope to increase the dishwasher production capacities.

Whirlpool Cassinetta Plant

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Whirlpool Corp.’s assembly plant CASSINETTA, Italy has become a zero waste to landfill facility a year ahead of schedule, and it reduced its carbon emissions by 38 percent in just four years. The appliance manufacturer is aiming for carbon neutrality at all of its 54 sites around the world by 2030.

Other sustainable improvements at the plant, which assembling ovens, refrigerators, and microwaves, including cutting electricity during breaks, recycling plastic, reducing the use of polystyrene, and opting for electric power over fossil fuels. Employing nearly 3,000 people, the plant sits in close proximity to 80 percent of its suppliers, reducing the carbon footprint needed to transport components and raw materials to the plant

Amazon’s takeover bid on iRobot

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Amazon has put $ 1.7 billion on the table to buy the entirety of the shares of iRobot, the American company known worldwide for the Roomba series of robot vacuum cleaners, as reported by the Wall Street Journal . Although the company is the reference brand in the sector, it has probably suffered from the growing competition due to the success of the category and in recent months it has lost profitability closing its balance sheets in deficit.

The stock, which was worth 68 dollars at the beginning of 2022, had dropped to around 35 in mid-July and then climbed back to 50 dollars per share. Amazon offering $ 61 in cash provides a premium of around 20%. The total investment envisaged by Amazon: 1.7 billion, is slightly higher than the 2021 turnover: 1.56 billion. Amazon is also committed to clearing the company’s debt.

The market does not seem to expect a further offer. Amazon is committed to building an ecosystem of home appliances to make Alexa the ‘smart home’ hub competing with Google.