Category Archives: Manufacturing

Whirlpool to divest Russian operations

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Whirlpool’s global headquarters in Benton Harbor.

Whirlpool Corp. is selling off its operations in Russia. 

The company’s Whirlpool EMEA SpA subsidiary inked a share purchase agreement to divest the operations to Arçelik A.Ş., a maker of household appliances and durable goods based in Istanbul, Turkey, according to a filing with federal securities regulators.

Under the deal, Whirlpool will sell its Russian operations to Arçelik for deferred payments that it expects the buyer to make over a 10-year period. The payments will be capped at the net asset value of the business at closing, which Whirlpool estimates at around 220 million euros, or about $232 million

The sale will include a manufacturing plant in Lipetsk, Russia, and a sales organization in Moscow, as well as sales operations in Kazakhstan and other nations in the Commonwealth of Independent States. 

After the close of the deal, Arçelik will continue to make Whirlpool brands Indesit, Hotpoint and Stinol at the Lipetsk facility, according to the filing. 

Sub-zero to expand

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The Iowa Economic Development Authority also on Friday awarded $2.56 million in investment tax credits and sales and use tax credits to Sub-Zero, a Wisconsin-based refrigeration and appliance manufacturer, to build a 400,000 square-foot facility east of Cedar Rapids’ Eastern Iowa Airport.

New sustainability goal achieved by Elica

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Elica, Italian producer of kitchen hoods and electric motors for household appliances and heating boilers, is taking yet another step towards renewable energy and more sustainable production. After announcing last January the attainment of a suitability certification for hydrogen operation of motors manufactured in its subsidiary company EMC FIME, Elica has been continuing in its path towards environmental impact reduction, thanks to a new electrical energy supply agreement stipulated with Iberdrola, one of the world leaders in renewable energy.

For 2022 this choice will allow the company to reduce its own emissions by over 4,000 tons in Italy, which equals to 20% of the total emissions of the Group. Elica Group generates a turnover of over 500 million euros, with a production platform spread out over seven sites including, Italy, Poland, Mexico and China, employing over 3,200 employees. In Italy, where most of its high-end products are manufactured, the company uses about 50.4% of the energy consumed by the whole Group.

Elica – the CEO Giulio Cocci said – is by nature a sustainable company: we have always followed a strategy that adopts ESG principles, which, over the years, has brought us to identify areas in need of improvement and put real actions into place, geared towards reducing our environmental impact. The agreement with Iberdrola comes into play in this specific scenario: we have already started the process in our Italian production sites, therefore we will significantly reduce emissions in our country.

Voluntary, temporary layoffs’ planned at Whirlpool’s Marion manufacturing plant

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Whirlpool Corporation is planning to conduct “voluntary, temporary layoffs” at its Marion manufacturing plant, according to a statement issued by the company.

The Benton Harbor, Michigan-based appliance manufacturer recently wrapped up what the company termed as “scheduled down days for all hourly employees” in early June at the Marion plant due to supply chain issues.

In March of this year, production was temporarily halted at the Whirlpool plant in Clyde for the same reason

Midea to remain in appliance industry

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Midea partially confirms the rumors that were circulating. It will proceed with disposals, plant closures and layoffs but not in the household appliances sector which remains one of the 5 divisions on which the Chinese giant (165,000 employees, 51 billion dollars in sales) intends to focus its future. The shareholders’ meeting on May 20, President Paul Fang announced that the company has decided to keep the home appliance business and to give up the categories of products for mom and baby and for pets.

The group is concentrating investments on B2B sectors with a higher technological content such as robots and industrial automation, batteries, technologies for construction

Gorenje Growth

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Gorenje is now the largest exporter in Slovenia.
They now lead in export value for the first time, In the extremely difficult business environment of 2021, with the covid epidemic, heavily disrupted supply chains, and the soaring cost of logistics, energy, and raw materials, we adapted, persevered, and conquered. In 2021, the manufacturer of white goods Gorenje exported 1.97 billion euros of its products

Seb group doubles the production area of the Krampouz site

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Groupe SEB announces an investment of more than 5 million euros in 2022 to carry out the extension works of the Krampouz factory, in Pluguffan in Finistère. The expansion of the site, which will reach 10,000 m², will accommodate new machines and a modernized industrial tool.

The Krampouz factory in Pluguffan (29) doubles its production area. DR
With 100,000 products manufactured per year and a turnover of +32% compared to the previous year, the Krampouz factory in Finistère has reached the physical limits of its deployment. The expansion of the Pluguffan plant, where the group has been established since 2009, has become necessary.

Majority shareholder since 2019, the Seb group is therefore investing more than 5 million euros to extend and modernize the production area. ” This expansion is part of Groupe SEB’s desire to maintain and promote industrial know-how in France. Labeled Living Heritage Company since 2017, all appliances bearing the Krampouz stamp are designed and manufactured in Pluguffan, in Finistère ” , specifies the shareholder.

Launched in March 2022, the work, carried out by local companies, will be finalized during the summer of 2023. The various areas, industry and logistics, will be operational at the end of 2022. “The expansion of the site will make it possible to accommodate new machines and a modernized industrial tool, but also to extend the research and test laboratory. The site will also accommodate new spaces making the well-being of employees an essential component of this project”, specifies the press release.

The surface will increase by nearly 50% compared to the current premises and will approach 10,000 m². It will also increase the factory’s production capacity for all Krampouz cooking appliances, whether for professionals or the general public. In 2022, Groupe Seb is indeed initiating the renewal of the historic range of professional crepe makers.

Founded in 1945 by Jean-Marie Bosser, an electrician, the Krampouz brand has since established itself throughout the world, where it is present in 160 countries. Faithful to its cradle, Finistère, the company now employs 100 people and works with the ESAT of Ty Varlen located in Landudec for subcontracting activities, in particular the packaging of accessories

A world leader in small household equipment, Groupe SEB is present in nearly 150 countries. Over the years, it has built strong positions around the world through a product offering that is at once global and local, showcased by an exceptional brand portfolio.Groupe SEB include All-Clad, IMUSA , Krups, Moulinex, Rowenta, Tefal (including OBH Nordica) and WMF Group.