Category Archives: Manufacturing

Haier’s 70 million Euro Refrigeration plant in Romania to start production in late Spring 2021

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Haier Europe announces that construction of the first Haier refrigeration production facility in the EU is proceeding according to schedule, with production expected to start in late Spring 2021.

This production facility will manufacture best-in-class refrigerators, both built-in and freestanding for Haier Europe’s 3 brands – Candy, Hoover and Haier – with a focus on connectivity and preservation.

This large investment project exceeds EUR 70 million. The factory will have 63,000 square meters floor space on a total land of 130.000 square meters, located in the Allianso Industrial Park at Aricestii Rahtivani, near Ploiesti, 70km away from Bucharest.

The new factory will employ nearly 800 people – at full capacity – for an expected production of 600,000 units after 2022. The factory design, which is based on modular approach, will allow an expansion up to 1 million units at full capacity.

“We are happy to have chosen Ploiesti for our first cooling production facility in the European Union. This project will make Romania a strategic hub for Haier Europe and will play a key role in its strategy to become one of the top 3 leaders in the industry by 2023. With its large production capacity, technology transfer and logistic features, we are confident this facility will be a first class project that effectively shows our ‘zero distance to consumers’ philosophy”, says Alessia Ianni, Cooling Technical Operation Director at Haier Europe and Managing Director at Haier Tech Romania.

The Romanian plant will be a world-class facility featuring premium production processes brought by Haier’s advanced R&D, manufacturing capabilities and know-how. Its strategic central location, technology and efficiency will enhance Haier’s ability to serve customers in the region. This key project represents a strategic pillar in the leadership’s consolidation path of the Company in the refrigeration segment worldwide and in the execution of Haier Europe’s vision to become the first choice for consumers for smart home.

Haier Tech factory in numbers:

70+ million euros investment
63,000 square meters Floor Space
130000 square meters of land
800 new jobs
Up to 1 million fridges/year produced

Glen Dimplex acquires a majority shareholding in Thermofilm

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Glen Dimplex Group is pleased to announce it has acquired a majority shareholding in Thermofilm Pty Ltd. Based in Dandenong South, Victoria, Thermofilm produce and distribute a premium range of “Heatstrip” outdoor radiant heating products – both electric and gas. Products within the Thermofilm range include the award winning HEATSTRIP heaters, BLISS heaters and CROSSRAY bbq’s

Haier Leads Euromonitor’s Major Appliances Global Brand Rankings for 11th Consecutive Year

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Haier, the world’s leading home appliance producer, has emerged as the top major appliances brand worldwide for the 11th year running, according to Euromonitor International’s 2020 Global Major Appliances Brand Rankings. The accolade follows Haier’s ongoing efforts to gain a global foothold by consolidating world-leading brands into its portfolio while accelerating its revolutionary IoT ecosystem.

Compiled annually by Euromonitor International, a leading global provider of business intelligence, the report ranks the world’s appliance brands by retail sales value. In addition to listing first for major global appliances, Haier ranked first for Refrigerators for 12 consecutive years, first in Washing Machines for nine years, first in Freezers for ten years and first in Electric Wine Coolers for 11 years.

“We are honored to again be the world’s top major appliances brand for the 11th year in a row. Haier is constantly striving to listen to consumers’ changing needs and adapt to them, while simultaneously harnessing cutting-edge technology to stand out in the market,” said Wang Ye, Vice President and General Manager of Smart Home of Haier Home Appliance Industry Group.

Haier’s dominance in home appliances is a result of an ongoing commitment to R&D, and its ability to adapt its business model to the latest technology and consumer trends. Over the past decade, the home appliance industry has radically transformed with the rise of the internet, IoT, AI and 5G. Rather than ride the trends, Haier has defined them with revolutionary products, from the Clean-Free washing machines to refrigerators with fresh storage boxes.

This is set to continue in the future: during its 35th anniversary, Haier revealed its next stage of development, which puts customization, globalization and its IoT ecosystem brand at the core of its strategy.

Always in pursuit of new ways to engage with consumers, Haier has also implemented its “RenDanHeYi” 10+N R&D model in the past decade — an open entrepreneurship platform that integrates quality global resources to meet the diverse needs of users.

In recent years, Haier’s desire to reimagine the future has only strengthened its position as the world’s leading significant appliances company. In the Industry 4.0 era, a new Haier has emerged to meet the increasingly sophisticated experiences demanded by consumers in the age of connected smart homes. Instead of manufacturing smart appliances, Haier engineered a smart home ecosystem that harnesses IoT and smart appliances to enhance the quality of life. In a company first, Haier launched its official Haier Smart Home app in 2019, which allows users to infinitely customize their smart home experience based on user scenarios, rather than products. A live stream video accompanied the app launch — within one day, Haier received over 31,337 orders for over 2,440 different home designs.

Haier confirms plans to open its first European refrigerators plant in Romania

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Haier Tech Romania, a subsidiary of the China-based global appliance manufacturer Haier Group, announced that works on the first Haier refrigerator production facility in Europe advance according to schedule, and the factory will begin operations at the end of spring 2021.

The new plant will produce both built-in and standard refrigerators for Haier Europe’s three European brands – Candy, Hoover, and Haier.

“This large-scale investment project exceeds EUR 70 million. The 63,000 sqm plant sits on a 130,000-sqm plot in the Allianso Industrial Park in Aricestii Rahtivani, near Ploiesti,” the company said in a statement

According to the source, the new facility will hire almost 800 people at maximum capacity for an estimated output of 600,000 units after 2022.

New American Appliance Manufacturer Is Born

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Ethan Weston-Altea announced on Thursday evening the launch of a new American appliance manufacturer, Inovant.

Inovant’s mission will be to bring beautiful, innovative, and functional home appliances that instill customer excitement, elevate creative industrial design and engineering to new heights, are manufactured in USA, and retail at an accessible price.

Inovant will keep all product development and manufacturing in-house, as well as operate its own marketing, sales, distribution and after-sales support departments. In an effort to keep prices low, Inovant will offer online ordering and direct-to-customer sales.

Inovant’s new factory in Fresno, California is set to be completed and begin initial production runs in Summer 2021, with production capacity gradually increasing and expected to reach full manufacturing capability by mid-2022.

Inovant will begin with releasing a selection of consumer home appliances that were originally invented by Ethan Weston-Altea and designed and engineered by him and his team. Inovant will reveal more details of its initial products lineup towards the end of Q1 2021, which will become part of a large and rapidly expanding product line.

One of Inovant’s first products is an advanced home appliance that has been under active development since 2015, and is based on an idea Ethan Weston-Altea conceived back when he was a child but to this day never saw materialize as a real product. Inovant’s launch was initially set to take place in 2020, but was moved to 2021 due to several setbacks, primarily the covid-19 pandemic and the strict safety measures that apply to all manufacturers in the state of California.

This marks the beginning of an exciting new manufacturer in the home appliance space, and the first chapter of what we hope will become a long and captivating story in the technology world. The team at Inovant couldn’t be more eager to reveal some of the exciting products we will be releasing later this year.

Ethan Weston-Altea commented: “It is with great honor to see this life-long dream of mine, which represents the culmination of years of hard work and dedication, finally materialize. To bring revolutionary products that make a difference in people’s lives, right at the center of their own home, is one of the highest accomplishments any designer or engineer could dream to accomplish, and I can’t wait to show you some of the exciting things we’ve got awaiting you.”

Arçelik Once Again Named as One of The Most Sustainable Companies in The World

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Arçelik of the leading household appliance manufacturers including global brands such as Beko and Grundig has ranked 34 on Corporate Knights’ 2021 Global 100 Index. The ranking makes Arçelik the most sustainable home appliances and houseware company in the world, and the first and only Turkish company to make the list.   

The 2021 Global 100 Index is the 17th annual ranking of the world’s 100 most sustainable corporations by Corporate Knights which rigorously assesses the performance of 8,080 companies with more than US$1 billion in revenues. The Index assess the companies based on several performance indicators that reflect environmental, social and governance (ESG) concerns. The list celebrated the world’s 100 most sustainable corporations delivering superior financial performance and leading the race to net zero economy.

Operating in nearly 150 countries and adopting sustainability as a business model with its “Respecting the World, Respected Worldwide” vision, Arçelik accomplished important milestones around its sustainability efforts. The company succeeded in becoming carbon-neutral in global production in 2019 and 2020 with its own carbon credits and is named the “Industry Leader” in the Household Durables category for the 2nd year in a row in the Dow Jones Sustainability Index. Arçelik’s 2030 greenhouse gas emission reduction targets are approved by the Science Based Targets Initiative (SBTi) as in line with the Paris Agreement’s “well-below 2°C” goal

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Cata home appliances has very good results in 2020. The Spanish company, based in Madrid, with a factory in Catalonia has managed to increase its sales in the Spanish market by 3.7%, to 79.9 million euros .

During the 2020 financial year, the company has had the support of financial institutions and new developments have been signed in the refinancing agreements, which have allowed the company to have circulating financing and to continue growing in 2021.

contributing to this good performance is that the group’s factories have worked tirelessly to meet all market orders.

It should be noted that the entire CNA Group has continued to develop its export activity, which has represented 65% of the company’s total consolidated sales.

For 2021, the CNA Group plans to continue growing moderately above 2020 and, for this, among other actions, they will expand their product ranges with many new features.

Cata launches a new family of air purifiers on the market this year. It is Cata Purifyer, a product that can actively reduce the contagion of Covid-19 both in homes, as in businesses and in all kinds of commercial and industrial activities.

CNA Group is a global leader in the home appliances sector and has recognition across the world. It includes the Cata, Nodor, Apelson, Edesa* brands.

CNA Group is committed to offering the latest in technology and design. Together these provide the high performance and efficiency required to meet the needs of our customers. It was founded in Barcelona in 1947 and since then has been a pioneer in the domestic extraction business, with a wide range of products which includes extractors, conventional and decorative extractor hoods, ovens, cookers, microwaves, taps and sinks, using high quality, environmentally friendly materials . The company includes Cata, Apelson (integrated in the group in 1999), Nodor (in 2004) and Edesa (in 2014)*. In the CNA Group we work with a clear focus on improving the products we sell, providing solutions and creating new sensations for our customers in their use.
*CNA Group is a licensee of Edesa brand.

LG expanding factory

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LG Electronics said it plans to promote its smart factory push as the home appliance maker targets improving its productivity.

LG announced it will spend 50 billion won (US$45 million) from February to set up a new home appliance product testing facility at its second factory in Changwon, some 400 kilometers south of Seoul.

The new facility will integrate all existing testing labs at the factory, according to LG.

The South Korean tech giant said the forthcoming facility will accelerate digitalization in its product development as it will collect big data through various sensors during the testing process.

This photo provided by LG Electronics Inc. on Jan. 20, 2021, shows the company's plant in Changwon, some 400 kilometers south of Seoul. (PHOTO NOT FOR SALE) (Yonhap)

LG’s Changwon 2 factory produces home appliances including washers and vacuum cleaners.

The latest investment is a follow-up to LG’s smart factory project for its first factory in Changwon.

In 2017, LG announced that it will inject 600 billion won into the Changwon 1 factory by 2030 to upgrade its production system with the latest automation and big data solutions.

The company believes that the investment will improve production capacity of the Changwon 1 factory by 50 percent. The Changwon 1 factory rolled out 2 million units of kitchen appliances, such as refrigerators and ovens, in 2017.

Arçelik Named as One of the Real Leaders Top 150 Impact Companies of 2021

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Arçelik, parent company to 12 leading home appliance brands including Beko and Grundig, with a footprint in almost 150 countries worldwide has been ranked 13th on The Real Leaders®️ Top 150 Impact Companies of 2021.

Arçelik Named as one of The Real Leaders Top 150 Impact Companies of 2021

The Real Leaders 150 Top Impact Companies Award recognises organisations that are making a positive social or environmental impact. The key is to seek those companies which can make the world a better place. Adopting sustainability as a business model with its “Respecting the World, Respected Worldwide” vision enable Arçelik to be listed among 150 companies.

Within the framework of its sustainability approach that complies with the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), Arçelik focuses on the future, the planet, and the needs of people and its business. The company believes that steps need to be taken to go beyond the current habits and behaviour models, the way people think now, and everything that is thought to be impossible today.

Arçelik CEO Hakan Bulgurlu said, “We are honoured to receive this award and be recognised for our mission to create a positive impact by designing technologies that improve the future. We are named the “Industry Leader” in the Household Durables category for the 2nd year in a row in Dow Jones Sustainability Index 2020 and became carbon-neutral in global production in 2019 and 2020 with our carbon credits. Our 2030 greenhouse gas emissions reduction targets are approved by the Science Based Targets Initiative (SBTi) as in line with the Paris Agreement’s goal. Being among the low-carbon transition corporate leaders, we’re proving our commitment to building a sustainable future by letting the science dictate our course of action. We will continue to contribute to the protection of our planet and encourage others to live a more sustainable lifestyle.”

A complete list of the “150 Top Impact Companies” can be found here. 

About Arçelik

With 32,000 employees throughout the world, 12 brands (Arçelik, Beko, Grundig, Blomberg, ElektraBregenz, Arctic, Leisure, Flavel, Defy, Altus, Dawlance, Voltas Beko), sales and marketing offices in 34 countries, and 22 production facilities in 8 countries, Arçelik offers products and services in more than 145 countries. As Europe’s second largest white goods company by market share (based on volumes), Arçelik reached a consolidated turnover of 5 billion Euros in 2019. With almost 70% of its revenues coming from international markets, Arçelik is the R&D leader in Turkey – holding more than 3,000 international patent applications to date with the efforts of 1,600 researchers in 15 R&D and Design Centers in Turkey and R&D Offices across five countries. Arçelik is named the “Industry Leader” in Durable Home Appliances category for the 2nd year in a row in Dow Jones Sustainability Index 2020 and in accordance with PAS 2060 Carbon Neutrality Standard, became carbon-neutral in global production plants in 2019 and 2020 fiscal years with its own carbon credits.