Category Archives: Manufacturing

Electrolux invests 130 million euros in Susegana

Posted on by

After an agreement with the unions, Electrolux formalizes an investment of around 130 million euros in automation, digitalization and innovation at its production site in Susegana (Treviso).

The investment, which is expected to be completed in 2022, includes two new assembly lines and resources for product and process development. This will support the competitiveness of the Electrolux built-in products in the refrigeration sector and will allow the company to achieve the best levels of performance in the context of the upcoming European regulation on the energy label. The update will also bring ergonomic improvements to workstations throughout the site.

Xiaomi announced its plan of establishing a white goods division

Posted on by

Xiaomi group announced its plan of establishing a white goods division to step up its deployment in major home appliances . This comes after the company unveiled its dual core strategy of Smartphone & AIoT (AI +IoT) at its annual party in January 2019. Wang Chuan, the newly appointed President of White Goods Division who is also Senior Vice President of Xiaomi, will be responsible for the company’s white goods business covering air conditioner, refrigerator and washing machine, and will report directly to Lei Jun, Chairman of the board and CEO of Xiaomi.

Winiadaewoo Electronics launches its latest range of products

Posted on by

Winiadaewoo Electronics launches new range of glass combis, washers, dryers and dishwashers. The combis are characterized by their excellent design finish thanks to their glass door. They also have a capacity of 362L that allows to store any type of food inside the refrigerator and keep them in perfect condition … Then it has an energy class of A ++ that helps to save energy and consumption.

It also contains an electronic control panel that can regulate the temperature comfortably from the outside and meet the needs of the consumer. Through this electronic panel you can also use the Eco mode (holiday mode) which function is to maintain a stable temperature by cooling less food, thus also generating a minimum energy consumption.

On the other hand, it also renews the range of washing machines as the new models have a better panel design and finish. Also generating a comfortable use for consumers. In addition, regarding the dryers, also launches two new models; one of condensation and another with heat pump.

Finally, the new dishwashers also offer better performance with its Gentle Silence technology and also save water and energy consumption with its A ++ energy class.

Miele Sustainability Report is available

Posted on by

The new Miele Sustainability Report is available for download. For the first time, Miele refers to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) of the United Nations and commits itself to the two-degree goal of international climate policy. Like the previous reports, this also follows the guidelines of the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI).

Miele Sustainability Report 2019

Samsung Electronics’ BESPOKE Refrigerator

Posted on by

The BESPOKE refrigerator, a customizable refrigerator recently launched by Samsung Electronics, is getting favorable reviews from overseas media outlets. With the new refrigerator, customers can customize their own configurations of material, color, sizing and other feature choices. It comes in eight sizes and nine color panels, allowing the customer to build a refrigerator depending on their taste, residential space and family size.

Samsung Electronics said on July 4 that Fast Company, a U.S. economic media outlet, recently reviewed BESPOKE in an article entitled “This just might be the world’s most beautiful refrigerator. The article says, “Built from any combination of colors and door configurations, Bespoke’s modular color blocks assemble to look like anything from a stylish locker to an armoire designed by Piet Mondrian.”

“Samsung Electronics has proved that fridges can be as fashionable as they are functional with the release of its new line of BESPOKE refrigerators,” said a reviewer at Reviewed.com, a U.S. website that reviews and recommends products to help readers buy the stuff they need. “The refrigerators look more like abstract artwork than a family fridge.”

Samsung Electronics said that the BESPOKE refrigerator attracted a lot of attention from visitors to the Project Prism showroom, which was launched on July 4 at the Main Gangnam Branch of the Samsung Digital Plaza in Seoul. Project Prism features home appliances that can fit into any lifestyle by allowing customers to personalize the materials, colors, shapes and designs of the products. The number of visitors surpassed 10,000 in four weeks since the refrigerator was launched. The visitors included journalists from Latin America.

“The characteristics of millennial consumers factored in BESPOKE are not limited to Korea, but are global trends,” said Yang Hye-soon, managing director of the Household Appliance Business Division at Samsung.

LG Electronics Q2 operating earnings down 15.4%

Posted on by

LG Electronics Inc. said Friday its second-quarter operating profits are expected to have dropped 15.4 percent from a year earlier, mainly due to its sluggish smartphone business.

In an earnings guidance, the South Korean electronics maker said it expects to post 652.2 billion won ($557 million) in operating profits in the April-June period — far below the average market expectation of around 774 billion won.

Its sales are expected to be 15.6 trillion won in the second quarter, a 4.1 percent surge from a year earlier, the firm said.

The company did not provide detailed performances for each division, saying it will release its earnings report later this month.

Analysts attributed the worse-than-expected earnings to the sluggish mobile business, which was expected to have eroded robust profits from the home appliance division.

They estimated the mobile division’s operating deficits at over 200 billion won in the second quarter, which would mark the ninth consecutive quarterly loss.

Although LG’s first 5G smartphone, the V50 ThinQ, was well-received in the domestic market since its launch in early May, it failed to provide strong momentum to help the mobile division make a turnaround in the second quarter, they noted.

The Korean phone maker launched the V50 in the United States in partnership with Sprint and Verizon in the last two months, respectively, but the initial response was lukewarm with lack of 5G infrastructure in the nation.

LG’s share in the U.S. smartphone market stood at 16 percent in 2018, according to industry tracker Strategy Analytics.

“LG V50 ThinQ failed to contribute sales increase in the North American market,” said Park Gang-hoo, an analyst at Daishin Securities. “Given the heavy marketing costs, the 5G smartphone was limited in improving the mobile division’s profitability.”

Market watchers say strong demand for LG’s home appliances might have improved its overall sales.

LG Electronics has enjoyed brisk sales of products related to air quality, such as air purifiers, dryers and clothing-care home appliances, and revenue from their rental service has also been on the rise as more people opt for renting gadgets.

“The home appliance businesses drove up the overall performance thanks to robust sales of premium lineup and new lifestyle products, such as air purifiers and garment dryers,” Koh Jung-woo, an analyst at NH Investment & Securities, said. “LG’s TV business likely suffered due to weak demand for LCD products and intensifying competition with Chinese makers, and its smartphone division continued to book losses.”

Shares of LG Electronics tumbled 5.22 percent to 72,600 won on the Seoul bourse, far below the KOSPI’s 0.09 percent gain. The earnings guidance was announced before the market closing.

Whirlpool Corporation completed the sale of its Embraco

Posted on by

Whirlpool Corporation completed the sale of its Embraco business unit to Kyoto, Japan-based Nidec Corporation. Embraco is a leading manufacturer of hermetic compressors for refrigeration.

Embraco was sold to Nidec for a cash purchase price of $1.08 billion, subject to customary working capital and indebtedness adjustments. The sale is consistent with the Company’s strategic focus on its consumer-facing business.

“Our decision to sell the Embraco business is related to the broader goal of delivering value for consumers through cutting-edge, high-quality products that solve everyday problems,” said João Carlos Brega, President, Whirlpool Latin America.

Headquartered in Brazil, Embraco has been a Whirlpool Corporation business unit since 1994. The organization has a workforce of nearly 10,000 employees in seven plants in Brazil, China, Slovakia and Mexico, along with commercial offices in the U.S., Italy and Russia.

Embraco will remain a significant supplier of hermetic compressors to Whirlpool Corporation.

Bulgarian refrigerators and freezers producer Liebherr-Hausgerate Marica, said that its net profit plunged

Posted on by

Bulgarian refrigerators and freezers producer Liebherr-Hausgerate Marica, part of Swiss-headquartered Liebherr Group, said that its net profit plunged to 716,000 levs ($416,000/366,000 euro) in 2018 from 13 million levs the year before.

Liebherr-Hausgerate Marica’s sales of finished goods fell to 402.7 million levs last year from 412.0 million levs in 2017, the company said in an annual financial statement.

The company manufactured 898,000 refrigerators and freezers in 2018.

Expenses for materials fell to 306.8 million levs in 2018 from 321.0 million levs in 2017, while personnel costs rose to 49.5 million levs from 48.7 million levs.

Amortisation and depreciation costs edged down to 26.1 million levs last year from 26.9 million levs in 2017. Expenses for hired services amounted to 19.2 million levs in 2018, up from 18.0 million levs the year before.

The company’s assets fell to 250.9 million levs at the end of 2018 from 271.1 million levs a year earlier.

Liebherr-Hausgerate Marica employed 1,903 people at the end of 2018.

Liebherr-Hausgerate Marica manufactures table-height refrigerators and freezers, non-regulated combined fridge-freezers, as well as top freezers, at its 252,800 sq. m. production plant near Plovdiv.

Electrolux wins two Singapore Good Design Mark Awards

Posted on by

Electrolux has won two prestigious Singapore Good Design Mark Awards (SG Mark) for its Multi Door Refrigerator and UltimateCare™ 500 washing machine and dryer set.

SG Mark Award winners (L-R) Swaminathan Iyer, Eric Leong, Daniel Chee, Eunice Cheng from Electrolux Design Team

The Electrolux Design team were recently awarded at a ceremony in Singapore for their human-centric designs that offer outstanding consumer experiences and improve everyday living.
Electrolux Chief Design Officer Pernilla Johansson said: “We’re proud that these products – designed to make life better and more sustainable for consumers – have been awarded the prestigious SG Mark. Congratulations to all those involved.”

The winners
The Electrolux NutriFresh™ Multi Door Refrigerator features microclimate zones and Smart Split doors which reduce climate fluctuations and energy waste, creating an environment that allows it to preserve the quality of a wide array of food.
Different food types require unique storage conditions to stay fresh. To keep meat and fish fresh, many people resort to deep freezing but this Electrolux refrigerator comes with the UltraChill setting at -2°C which keeps items very cold but not frozen. This helps to preserve the texture of food for longer and reduces the need to defrost.

The new NutriFresh™ refrigerator also comes with a FlexFresh drawer, an optimal storage compartment with five temperature settings (-23°C to +7°C). This enables the user to store all types of food – from cheese and wine, meat and seafood, to cold drinks and frozen items – at the right temperature to help them stay fresh.

For example, deli snacks such as cold cuts and cheese should be kept at a temperature of +3°C while the optimal temperature for frozen food is between -18°C to -23°C. This drawer gives the user the flexibility to store items at the temperature that suits them best.

To help retain the juiciness of your produce, this refrigerator comes with a TasteLock Crisper with AutoHumidity Control which automatically adjusts humidity levels depending on the contents of the drawer. The AutoHumidity Control releases excess moisture from the compartment to help keep fruits and vegetables fresh for up to 7 days.
It also has a TwinTech Cooling System that cools the fridge and freezer compartments separately, so food stays fresher and odors don’t mix. The independent systems ensure optimal cooling and humidity to keep items in their freshest condition.
Meanwhile, the UltimateCare™ 500 Front Load Washing Machine and Dryer set comes with Vapour Care Technology that softens fabric while reducing wrinkles by up to 22%, resulting in the clothes that need less ironing. The same technology also eradicates 99.9% of allergens and germs, and it also comes with a SmartSensor in the dryer to eliminate over-drying, meaning laundry emerges clean and is longer lasting.

LG Licenses Advanced Refrigerator Technologies To GE Appliances LG Grants Use of Door-Ice Making Patents for Premium Refrigerators

Posted on by

LG Electronics (LG) is licensing its patented refrigerator door-ice making technology for use in refrigerators sold by GE Appliances, which Haier acquired in 2016. Terms were not disclosed.

The license agreement follows months of negotiations over GE Appliances’ use of LG’s patented technologies. The agreement underscores the value of LG’s patent portfolio and the company’s leadership in home appliances with more than 400 patents related to door-ice making technology.

LG’s patented door-ice making technology allows for slim and sleek profile designs that maximize usable space inside the refrigerator.
LG’s patented door-ice making technology allows for slim and sleek profile designs that maximize usable space inside the refrigerator.
This door-ice making technology takes up less room than a conventional refrigerator ice maker and frees up more space for food storage in the refrigeration compartment.
This door-ice making technology takes up less room than a conventional refrigerator ice maker and frees up more space for food storage in the refrigeration compartment.
LG’s patented door-ice making technology allows for slim and sleek profile designs that maximize usable space inside the refrigerator. This door-ice making technology takes up less room than a conventional refrigerator ice maker and frees up more space for food storage in the refrigeration compartment.

“Our desire to deliver more convenience and functionality to customers drives us to develop innovative new core technologies such as our door-ice making inventions,” said Dan Song, president of LG Electronics Home Appliance & Air Solution Company. “At the same time, as seen in this major patent licensing agreement, LG is committed to actively protecting our intellectual property.”

About LG Electronics Home Appliance & Air Solution Company
The LG Home Appliance & Air Solution Company is a global leader in home appliances, smart home solutions, air quality systems as well as visionary products featuring artificial intelligence. The company is creating total solutions for the home with its industry leading core technologies and is committed to making life better for consumers around the world by developing thoughtfully designed kitchen appliances, living appliances and air solution products. Together, these products deliver enhanced convenience, superb performance, efficient operation and compelling health benefits. For more information, visit http://www.LG.com.

SOURCE LG Electronics USA