Glen Dimplex UK Ltd in Portadown has been served with notice of strike action after 96 percent of workforce voted for action in a strike ballot over Living Wage concerns.
Glen Dimplex UK Ltd in Portadown has been served with notice of strike action after 96 percent of workforce voted for action in a strike ballot over Living Wage concerns.
The first three-day strike action is due to commence with workforce pickets forming at 6am Wednesday, November 10 until Friday, November 12 at 3pm.
Unite the union has warned of the likelihood that initial strike action will escalate to all out strike if management do not provide a Living Wage to its workforce.
It’s now more than seven months since workers submitted their Living Wage pay claim and after much delay the latest offer is for a below-inflation 3.25 percent increase this year with a 4 percent increase the next.
Unite say this below-inflation pay offer means workers will actually suffer a further, real-terms pay cut. It falls far short of the 11 percent workforce pay claim.
Glen Dimplex is a hugely successful company, commanding more than 70 percent of the home heating market in the UK.
The company is ramping up investment and introducing new lines to take advantage of the surge in demand for its highly energy efficient products.
Category Archives: Manufacturing
Midea, the first appliance manufacturer to obtain the new energy label A and sound level A
Midea , the world’s No. 1 selling manufacturer of air handling appliances *, has become the first Chinese brand to obtain the double A certification of energy label A and sound level A , of the new design standard eco-energy of the European Union.
The new regulation, which came into force on April 1 of this year, affects certain categories of household appliances, such as refrigerators, washing machines or dishwashers, and differs from the previous standard by changing their labels.
The new energy labeling has gone from being from A to A +++, to being from G to A. Consequently, the class A +++ up to now would be equivalent to the current C or lower, so the new standard seeks to give a margin of improves appliance manufacturers by encouraging them to develop much more efficient and environmentally friendly models.
Obtaining this certification by Midea has been possible thanks to the great efforts made by it in the field of innovation. During this year , it has opened 28 R&D centers in 11 countries. With them, the brand not only seeks to have the opportunity to launch better home appliances on the market, both in terms of design and efficiency, but also to contribute its grain of sand to the global technological race for the preservation of the planet. Likewise, the recognition comes from the launch of a new combi refrigerator with energy classification A and sound level A, to which, at the end of the year, a whole range of electrical appliances with energy certificates between C and A will be added. This range consists of combi and multi-door refrigerators, side by side and, chest and built in models
GE $450 Investments
GE Appliances, a Haier company, announced plans to invest $450 million at its Appliance Park headquarters and manufacturing operation and add more than 1,000 new jobs by year-end 2023.
Haier investment in Turkey
Haier further increases its investments in Turkey. The company allocates 85 million Euros in its two factories in Eskisehir, creating 1,600 jobs.
Signature ceremony for the first Tumble Dryer go off the production line
Haier – number one company globally in major appliances – announces the opening of its washing production factory in Eskişehir, Turkey with a ceremony attended by President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. With a €40 million investment, the company expands its tumble dryers’ platform and will further increase its production capacity with an additional €45 million investment in dishwasher factory that will be operational in 2022.
Opening Ceremony of Haier Smart Home Washing Production Factory in Turkey
This milestone places Turkey as Haier’s largest production and export center in Europe to serve both domestic and global markets and represents Haier’s vision to be the first consumer choice for smart home. It is also a testament to Haier’s commitment to Turkey as a long-term strategic partner.
Yannick Fierling (left）shows sincere thanks to President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan (right)
The new tumble dryer factory opening ceremony was held on October 23 with the participation of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. Minister of Industry and Technology, Mustafa Varank and other officials of the local and national Government and Parliament also attended the event.
Local team of Haier Europe
“These investments mark an important milestone to enhance the extraordinary skills of our people in Turkey and people in Turkey and are a testament to Haier’s commitment to Turkey as a long-term strategic partner.” – states Yannick Fierling, Chief Executive Officer, Haier Europe.
They place the Country as Haier’s largest production and export center in Europe to serve both domestic and global markets and are a key step in elevating Haier to the top three players in the industry in Europe by integrating artificial intelligence, IoT, and connectivity into high-end products and home solutions. We want to consolidate this mission by counting on a competitive industrial footprint and strong R&D and hi-tech capabilities, systems and platforms for the entire value chain.”
Haier Smart Home Industrial Park in Turkey
The expansion of the production facility had led to a new platform for all the standard size tumble dryers as well as new basement for better performance, especially for heat-pump models, and new and improved product features and components. All products will offer advanced connectivity through the hOn app, the living ecosystem for smart appliances able to connect all products of Haier Europe brands – Candy, Hoover and Haier – and aimed to simplify and improve quality of life.The tumble dryer site is built on a 190,000 sqm area and the total space dedicated to the new factory is 43,000 sqm. About 900 people will be employed for a full capacity of 1.5 million units per year.
The new dishwasher site, scheduled for completion in June 2022 will be 35,000 sqm and about 700 people will be employed for a full capacity of 1 million units per year.
Electrolux warned it may struggle to meet demand
Electrolux warned it may struggle to meet demand through the rest of the year and into 2022 due to global supply-chain challenges, after its profit slumped in the third quarter as component shortages held back production.
Europe’s biggest home appliances maker said it still sees demand normalising above pre-pandemic levels but flagged limited availability of some product categories through the year, with regional variances.
“We continue to have a tight collaboration with suppliers to mitigate global supply shortages, but we estimate that the fourth quarter will be even more challenging than the third quarter,” the rival to Whirlpool said in a statement.
“Although we anticipate sequential improvements in 2022, we expect challenging conditions to remain in meeting continued strong demand.”
Haier investment in Turkey
The past weekend was very unique for Haier Europe. They have celebrated the expansion of the company’s largest European production and xport center in Turkey with a ceremony attended by President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and many national and local stakeholders.
With an overall €85 million investment and 1,600 jobs creation, we’ve opened the new tumble dryer platform which will further be enriched by the dishwasher factory that will be operational in 2022.
Haier Smart Home saw a growth of 47% in the refrigerator market in Western Europe,
Following the strong growth in 2020, Haier refrigerators have led the industry in Western Europe.
According to the data, from Jan. to Sept. 2021, despite the challenge of the Covid-19 epidemic, Haier Smart Home saw a growth of 47% in the refrigerator market in Western Europe, becoming the industry’s number one brand in terms of growth rate.
Among the fast-growing categories, Haier multi-door refrigerator market share achieved number one with the API of 143.
The breakthroughs are inseparable from the premium brand building and innovative products tailored to the specific demands of local consumers. In response to the needs of European users for large-volume, healthy preservation during the Covid-19 epidemic, Haier Cooling Overseas has launched large-capacity, full-space preservation refrigerators. The cold storage room with separate dry and wet storage compartments and the freezer room with constant temperature and humidity provide users with healthy fresh storage solutions.
The increase of market share is also indispensable from the layout the scenario solutions. Especially in Sept.，Haier Europe introduced the various scenarios to local users at Milan Design Week.
With its leading products and advantages on scenarios solutions, Haier Smart Home continues to fulfill the requirements of global consumers in the globalization process.
ELECTROLUX INAUGURATES “GENESI”, THE GROUP’S MOST AUTOMATED FACTORY IN ITALY
Electrolux has inaugurated in Susegana (TV), “Genesi”, the most automated factory of the Group in the world that will produce built-in refrigerators. It required an investment of over 130 million euros and 134 new permanent hires, covers an area of 42,000 square meters, and hosts 1.2 km of assembly lines, equipped with over 6,000 sensors and 116 robots.
Advanced automation, digitization, innovation through new modularized product platforms, and important progress for operators, aimed at enhancing their skills and further raising the safety bar: these are the objectives that have guided the Electrolux Group in the implementation of its factory in most automated in the world, Genesi, which was inaugurated today in Susegana (TV).
Announced in July 2019, the project of the Genesi plant in which built-in refrigerators are produced using the most modern Industry 4.0 logic, represents the realization of an investment of over 130 million euros, of which over 95% made within the system Italian production: 1,200 meters of production lines, 116 robots and an automation level of 49, the highest in the world within the Electrolux Group. This change necessitated an important training plan for personnel working with the new systems and technologies, with over 7,000 hours of training on 36 different topics. Added to this is the inclusion of highly specialized profiles which have led, from 2019 to today, to over 130 permanent hires, including experts in connectivity, robotics,
“Genesi is part of a transformation program that the company has undertaken globally and of its Digital Transformation strategy. This new plant represents the window on the future of our innovative and sustainable way of producing, of responding to the demands of consumers and the market, and of enabling working synergies between people and machines designed to facilitate their work “, declares Massimiliano Ranieri. , Chief Executive Officer of Electrolux Italia and Chief Operations Officer of the Electrolux Business Area Europe. “I am particularly proud to be here in Susegana to inaugurate Genesi which, with its automation level of 49, the highest in the world for Electrolux,
The active workers online, between 60 and 100 depending on the product being processed, will operate in a completely new way, aimed at optimizing technical times and preventing errors or accidents, using the tools of industry 4.0: from tablets, smartwatches, touch screens and artificial vision systems. Furthermore, through more than 20 km of network cables, a central computer – DOME, Digital Operations Manufacturing Execution, a project of the Electrolux Group for the digitization of factories – collects and coordinates in real time the millions of data that come from automations and factory systems; data that support people in their daily work, allowing to intercept possible quality defects in advance and making available the ‘evolutionary history’ of each single product. Great attention was also paid to the well-being of the workers: the manual positions, designed according to the best international standards in the field of ergonomics, will be customizable according to the physical characteristics of each of them.The built-in appliances that will roll out of the new production lines of the Susegana plant will further strengthen Electrolux’s competitiveness in the refrigeration sector. The presence of 42 automatic quality measurement systems and that of over 6,000 sensors, together with various new technologies, will in fact guarantee a product capable of emitting up to 20% less CO2 and responding to all consumer needs: maximum performance , great attention to energy consumption and sustainability, optimal food conservation and waste reduction.
SEB trains repairers who extend the life of small household appliances
The heavy weight of the small household appliance launched a repair workshop with an insertion organization.
Porte de la Chapelle in Paris, the leader of small household appliances SEB has just inaugurated a place of a new kind, called RepareSeb. Open to the public, this 900 m 2 “workshop-boutique” is dedicated to repairing and reconditioning products, with a view to reselling or renting them (fondue or raclette set, heating robot, etc.). Launched in early 2021 with Groupe Ares – the leading player in integration through economic activity in Île-de-France – the site employs around ten people trained in the profession of repairer with a view to accessing stable employment after fifteen months.
The objective is to reach around thirty employees in professional integration each year. “RepareSeb is at the crossroads of the solidarity economy (with the resale of second-hand products), the social economy (by allowing professional reintegration) and the economy, because we want this social joint venture to be profitable ” , explains Thierry de La Tour d’Artaise, CEO of SEB. In France, SEB can count on 200 repairers, independents who have their own shop.Not enough. “There is a lack of repairers, admits the manager. Boulanger and Darty are interested in managing the second life of the products, with RepareSeb. ” SEB has invested less than 1 million euros in the project, where its own technicians work. The city of Paris has contributed 350,000 euros and the region for 121,000 euros. “The repair economy must be embodied in places serving Parisians ,” supports Florentin Letissier, city deputy, in charge of the circular economy. This is why the city got involved in the project. ” If this first test is successful, other RepareSebs should open in France
Arçelik Advanced manufacturing
The World Economic Forum (WEF) included Arçelik’s Eskişehir refrigerator plant into its “Global Lighthouse Network,” which recognizes leaders in utilizing Fourth Industrial Revolution technologies. It has joined the ranks of the world’s most advanced manufacturing plants, following in the footsteps of Arçelik’s washing machine plant in Ulmi, Romania, and Ford Otosan Kocaeli Plant, both of which were named “Global Lighthouses” in 2018.
Since 2018, the Global Lighthouse Network list has admitted just 90 manufacturing plants to date and these have been selected among more than a thousand candidates. «At Koç Group – said Koç Holding CEO Levent Çakıroğlu – we are focused on increasing our competitiveness, improving our technology and innovation capabilities while managing our business through a global lens. We see digital transformation as a key component of our cultural transformation program».
Çakıroğlu also underlined the significant investments made in digitalization. «Today – he said – our Arçelik Eskişehir Refrigerator Plant – the biggest large-volume refrigerator production facility in Europe, which started production in 1975 – has been selected by the World Economic Forum as one of the world’s leading Industry 4.0 plants. This prestigious global recognition is much deserved thanks to investments in digitalization, artificial intelligence, machine learning, robot and sensor technologies and other exemplary technological practices. I’d like to thank all of my colleagues for helping achieve such a significant success that made us proud
WHITEGOODSNOW 