Category Archives: Manufacturing

Smart-Appliance Maker Viomi Reports Surging First-Quarter Profit and Revenue Growth

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Viomi Technology, a Xiaomi-backed Chinese startup focusing on developing Internet of Things (IoT)-powered home appliances, posted a 173.2% increase in first-quarter net profit as the firm expanded overseas.

Net profit for the quarter that ended on March 31 surged to 49.1 million yuan ($7.5 million), Viomi said in its earnings report released Thursday.

Revenue rose 64% year-on-year to 1.3 billion yuan, about 73% of which came from sales of its IoT-enabled appliances such as sweeper robots and smart kitchen products, according to the financial report. Sales of IoT-enabled appliances jumped 111.5% year-on-year.

The remainder of Viomi’s revenue was generated from sales of its domestic water solutions, consumables and small appliances, the report said.

Viomi said that the robust growth got a boost in part by its drive to expand into overseas markets including Europe, Southeast Asia, South Korea and Australia, where its sweeper robots are popular.

“Our products are designed with an eye on health care, smartification, home security and natural AI voice interactions,” said Viomi CEO Chen Xiaoping. “Looking ahead at the rest of 2021, we will continue to optimize our IoT product portfolio with a focus on AI application.”

As of the end of March, Viomi accumulated 5.6 million household users, about 20.4% of which had at least two Viomi-branded internet connected products, according to the report.

The Nasdaq-listed company said that it expects its second-quarter revenue to be between 1.7 billion yuan and 1.9 billion yuan, representing a year-on-year increase of 2.1% to 9.8%.

Galanz to buy whirlpool China

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Home appliance manufacturer Galanz Group’s acquisition of the Chinese unit of United States’ white goods maker Whirlpool will help it to diversify its business, a top company official said.

“Growth, no matter what happens, along with high-quality development, will be our core strategy this year,” said Liang Zhaoxian, chairman of Galanz, during the company’s annual meeting on Sunday.

After over 200 days of antimonopoly investigation by authorities in the United States, China, Brazil, Germany, Turkey, Austria and Colombia, Galanz was given the go-ahead for the acquisition deal, according to Liang.

“The approval means all shareholders of Whirlpool China can sell their shares to Galanz. It would be a historical milestone for us,” said Liang.

Last August, the Chinese firm said that it would accept no less than 51 percent of Whirlpool China’s equity and a maximum of 61 percent, according to Liang.

“Galanz will focus on upgrading technology, brand and supply chains for business growth this year. The acquisition of Whirlpool China is part of our strategy to help diversify brands and promote sustainable business growth,” said Liang.

The acquisition, which is equal to 2.46 billion yuan ($370 million), will start on Wednesday and end on April 29. Whirlpool China’s stock price was down 6.48 percent at 7.65 yuan per share on Tuesday.

“It was not simply a cooperation between a Chinese company and a Fortune Global 500 company－Chinese home appliance makers will be more competitive in the global market as they have now developed core technologies in the self-innovative industrial chain,” said Liang.

According to Liang, Galanz plans to build two purchasing technology quality control centers in South China and East China in the near future.

“We will build a new market, bring in advanced technology, products and services to consumers in China, as well as the world,” said Liang.

Galanz, which is Whirlpool’s third-largest global supplier, intends to help Whirlpool China to improve management efficiency, enhance profitability and ensure stable development, said Liang Huiqiang, vice-chairman of Galanz.

After acquiring a combined majority stake in Japanese kitchen appliance maker Zojirushi in January last year, Galanz has been vying for more brands to diversify its business.

Teaming up with Whirlpool and Zojirushi will help Galanz to enter a rapid business expansion in the near future, according to Liang.

“Having multiple brands and diversified businesses is the future development trend for various consumer groups,” said Liang.

The Guangdong-based company has been looking for more than 10,000 workers to boost its production capacity this year, due to increased orders from overseas buyers.

After posting a 212 percent year-on-year growth in sales last year, the company is expecting overseas orders to rise by 90 percent on a yearly basis during the first quarter of this year, according to Liang.

“The production capacity of refrigerators will increase by more than 80 percent this year,” said Liang.

Vestel signs licensing agreement with South Korea’s Daewoo Brand!

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Vestel signs licensing agreement with South Korea’s Daewoo Brand!

Bringing to 157 countries worldwide the leading-edge technologies it manufactures in Turkey, and having been Turkey’s exports champion in consumer electronics for 23 years, Vestel has initiated yet another strategic collaboration in exports by signing a 10-year licensing agreement with with POSCO INTERNATIONAL Corporation, holders of the Daewoo brand, to allow Vestel manufacture and sell major appliances and TV sets with the Daewoo brand.

Vestel is set to export these products to nearly 50 countries particularly in Europe as well as Russia and the Turkic Republics, further cementing its strong position in both European and Asian markets.

Arçelik have signed an agreement to acquire Whirlpool Turkey’s manufacturing operations.

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Arçelik have signed an agreement to acquire Whirlpool Turkey’s manufacturing operations.

Manisa is a key production hub which will bring in a significant additional capacity for Arçelik Global and further strengthen their foothold in Europe and in the region.

Arçelik are establishing a strategic commercial relationship with Whirlpool which will open up export opportunities in new markets.

Midea looks to expand production

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Midea, China’s top home appliances maker, to expand overseas production as it eyes 10 per cent global market share

Midea Group aims to achieve home appliances sales of US$40 billion overseas by 2025, which will give it a 10 per cent share of the global marketCompany is looking for suitable locations for manufacturing in North America

Nidec to open EV component manufacturing facilities in Serbia

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Electric motor manufacturer Nidec announced it is opening two factory facilities in Serbia to produce electric motors and components.

The Japanese company revealed the new factories will be constructed in the city of Novi Sad in the Republic of Serbia to manufacture and sell its automotive motors in one facilty, while another will manufacture inverters and ECUs. The automotive motor production facility is expected to employ a workforce of around 1,000 people, while the inverter facility will have a workforce of around 200. Both factories will begin construction later this year with an expected completion date of mid-2022.

A company press release said: “In Europe, where environmental regulations and major countries’ automobile CO2 emission regulations are becoming increasingly stricter, demand is expanding for automotive motors and related products, and for high-efficiency brushless DC motors for home appliance businesses.

Under the circumstances, to build an efficient system to supply the aforementioned and other products in Europe, the Company plans to open new factories in Serbia (i) to consolidate the Nidec Group’s production activities in East European region, and (ii) for Nidec’s Automotive Motor & Electronic Control Business Unit and group companies to launch multiple businesses in the future.

While the Company’s multiple businesses will be operated at the same sites to seek synergies by sharing the same production infrastructure and back-office, the new business bases will engage in, among others, supplying products to the European market, while looking to design and develop products locally in Serbia.”

BSH uses BASF’s Styropor packaging

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Since April 2021, BSH has been using BASF’s Styropor for the first time, based on a raw material obtained from chemically recycled plastic waste, as a packaging material for selected large appliances of its luxury brand Gaggenau. BSH is initially testing Styropor packaging made from recycled material at its Dillingen production site in Germany. The ambitious goal is to use this type of resource-efficient packaging for all large appliances around the world. “At BSH, our aim is to improve the quality of life – says Silke Maurer, BSH Chief Operating Officer -. This also includes the conservation of natural resources and contributing to the reduction of waste and pollution. We have already made important progress in this regard. As Europe’s leading manufacturer of household appliances, we have been developing and manufacturing all of our carbon-neutral products worldwide in our own locations since the end of 2020. But we don’t stop there. As a company, and therefore we as a company, we need to move away from the throwaway mentality and towards a greater understanding of resources and materials. Transforming something old into something new and thus avoiding waste is therefore a central element of BSH’s circular economy approach. Using Styropor packaging, for which the raw materials come from chemical recycling, we are actively contributing to our sustainability goals and the circular economy at the sector level. We are delighted to have BASF, a long-standing and experienced partner, at our side, helping us achieve these goals

Miele invest in Romania factory

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Miele,will invest this year another EUR 4 million for production equipment at its factory of home appliance components in Brasov, central Romania.

“This equipment will help increase production capacity in the second half of the year,” said Florin Muresan, general manager of the Miele factory in Brasov,

Miele will also start the procedures for constructing a new production hall in Brasov, with related office space this year, continuing its medium and long-term development plans. The new premises will be ready at the end of 2023.

Miele started the construction of its production unit in Brasov at the end of 2008. So far, the total investment has reached over EUR 35-40 million. Production started there in the autumn of 2009

Arçelik supply of electronic products from Vietnam

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Purchasing Director at Arcelik, Hakan Kozan, said Vietnamese enterprises are capable of producing high-tech products for export and they can cooperate with Arcelik to produce products with a high added value content.

He hopes Vietnamese enterprises can seize this opportunity to become business partners not only of Arcelick but of the Koc Holding Group.

Faber award winning factory

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The Faber plant in Sassoferrato has been recognized by Franke group with the “Best Factory 2020” award.
This important recognition, which rewards the top performances achieved by the plant in terms of safety, quality and flexibility, is the result of the unwavering commitment shown by the team to keep the customer at the center of every decision, focusing on cost reduction without ever giving up the continuous search for innovation.
Congratulations to Sassoferrato plant team!