Category Archives: Manufacturing

GE expand refrigerator plant

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Work has started on a $115 million expansion of the GE Appliances refrigerator plant in Decatur that will bring greater production capacity and more jobs, said its manager.

The investment in a new building and equipment was announced by the company in late June at the facility on Point Mallard Drive Southeast that opened in 1977.

“(The project) will add over 250 jobs to the facility,” said Renee Story, the plant’s manager, and enable it to increase production capacity by roughly 25 percent.

“It will allow us to have flexibility in our production lines in order to meet the changing demands of our customers,” said Story, who’s been with GE Appliances for more than 23 years, most of that time in Decatur.

Story in June said the plant consistently produces more than 1 million top-mounted freezer refrigerators a year. The company does not release more detailed production figures, said Julie Wood, a spokeswoman with GE Appliances, which was acquired by Haier Group in 2016.

Site work, including the installation of utilities and stormwater piping, has been completed for the new 40,000-square-foot building that will be on the northeast corner of the site, Story said.

“We’re anticipating steel to arrive in late November,” Story said. “We expect to be done (with construction) in the first quarter” of 2019.

She expects production will start in the new building in roughly two phases, around midyear in 2019 and the end of the year.

The plant produces GE and Hotpoint brand top-freezer refrigerators.

Story said the plant now has about 980 full-time hourly employees and 54 full-time salaried employees, and a fluctuating number of contract workers.

It’s the largest employer in Morgan County for a single location, according to the Morgan County Economic Development Association

“It’s an impressive event when one of your largest, legacy manufacturing companies chooses to make such a substantial investment and add hundreds of new jobs in Morgan County,” said Jeremy Nails, MCEDA’s president and CEO. “This expansion helps ensure their presence in our community for years to come.”

Wood said the majority of the 250 new positions will be entry-level production employees, with some salaried employees and technical support.

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Applications are being accepted for the first round of manufacturing production jobs for the expansion.

Initially “we intend to hire at least 50 employees,” Story said. “We would love for them to start mid-January or so.”

Since May, GE Appliances has invested more than $475 million in expansions, creating more than 1,000 new U.S. jobs, Wood said. These investments are part of the company’s growth strategy to become the No. 1 appliance manufacturer in the United States, she said.

“The Decatur plant is an exemplary plant in many ways,” Wood said. “It’s the perfect place for this new investment

Electrolux Karma

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Electrolux today announced it is investing in Sweden-based Karma, a leading startup that helps restaurants and supermarkets reduce food waste by selling unsold food to consumers. The investment is part of a wider USD 12 million round with other investors. Electrolux and Karma are also initiating a strategic partnership to explore common solutions in reducing food waste.

The new partnership with Karma will explore new innovative solutions within the future of food and help to scale up the fight against food waste. The partnership will combine Electrolux expertise within appliances and food preservation with Karma’s digital platform and expertise within sharing economy.

Hoover AXI washing machine

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Hoover , the international brand of the Candy Group ( recently acquired by Haier ), launches the first washing machine equipped with Artificial Intelligence (AI), a product of excellence that is part of the AXI range . AXI’s innovative features enable the user to control the washing machine thanks to the Hoover Wizard app with the simple use of voice via voice assistant , such as Google Home and Alexa from Amazon, with which AXI is fully compatible.

AXI is a product created to zero the distance between user and machine: the assisted washing, for example, saves precious time by suggesting the most appropriate program for any type of fabric. The washing machine is also able to store the user’s favorite washes, making the selection of the program quick and easy every day, while the geolocation technology controls the weather forecast to understand which is the best time to wash, making sure that it remains the time needed to dry the laundry.

Not only intuitive, but also performing and functional: in fact, among the premium features of AXI, the Care Dose , the automatic detergent and softener dosage of up to 21 washing cycles, combined with the Total Care function , a perfect emulsion of water and detergent that is released into the basket penetrating into the fibers of the clothes effectively, ensuring an excellent washing in class A certified. These absolute performance levels are guaranteed by the silent inverter motor , which ensures long-lasting and reliable operation, drastically reducing noise and vibrations during washing.

AXI is a product that for Hoover plays a fundamental role in a brand growth and accreditation plan, precisely because it embodies all the dimensions: in addition to the functionality of use and the high level of technological innovation it enjoys a particularly elegant and sophisticated design, with a functional and intuitive Touch Pad, and a dark chrome porthole that gives the washing machine an attractive appearance.

On the occasion of the launch of the AXI project in Italy, Hoover has developed a feature through which users can also communicate through digital butler: in particular, thanks to the promotion valid at the traditional and online stores participating in the initiative – with the preparation of dedicated islands in the main points of sale in the sector – by purchasing AXI, the consumer will receive a Google Home Mini in combination

Smeg vacuum drawer

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Smeg’s Vacuum Drawer

combines high technical properties and an elegant design, and it can be used to seal solid and liquid foods in a highly efficient manner. The product can be totally integrated to Classica, Dolce Stil Novo and Linea collections, and uses a special technology to remove up to 99.9% of air automatically, compared to the traditional process, recorded through a special sensor. The Vacuum Drawer is made in stainless steel with a lid in tempered glass, combining resistance and aesthetics. The drawer is only 135 mm high, and the lid can be tipped to 65 degrees, making it more practical to use, and has self-blocking slides to avoid it closing inadvertently. The ample drawer capacity means that it can handle food in single and double portion sizes. Another feature of the Vacuum Drawer is the option of 3 air aspiration levels: “delicate”, “medium” and “high”, plus the “chef” function for marinating and maturing foods. Bags are sealed, according to preferred intensity, in a two-stage phase, to prevent incomplete sealing. Smeg completes the product with a wide range of bags and containers to preserve and cook aliments, made from food safe polymers of the highest quality, PVC and BPA free.

Rancilio

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Rancilio is an espresso machine manufacturer, founded in 1927 by Roberto Rancilio in Parabiago, Italy.The company recently joined the Ali Group, one of the most important operators on the global market for catering equipment, whose products are used in leading hotel and restaurant chains, independent restaurants, hospitals, schools, airports and company canteens. Traditional and fully automatic coffee machines, instant and electronic doser grinders enable us to offer a technological product range without compare, making the Rancilio Group one of the most widely acclaimed industrial players on the international scene.

LA CIMBALI

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Cimbali is the largest commercial coffee espresso and cappuccino machine manufacturer in the world and is active in 100 countries around the globe.
The Cimbali brand is known for quality and innovation and we are very proud of our rich heritage which extends over 100 years. Top quality equipment which delivers consistent in cup quality across the speciality coffee menu. The range extends from traditional espresso machines to feature rich super automatics each designed to meet the varying needs of the market.
Cimbali design engineers strive to innovate the market incorporating patented technologies which help improve machine performance and reliability whilst delivering optimum taste and quality

Cimbali was established in 1912 by Giuseppe Cimbali in Milan,

Although the group today has a global framework, it remains Italian at heart, with a strong presence in the country. Indeed, the three production facilities/centres in Italy, in Binasco (Milan), Ghisalba (Bergamo) and Cappella Cantone (Cremona) manufacture on average 200 machines every day.

Miele WKF311 washing machine

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WKF 311

WPS SpeedCare washing machine by Miele obtained a very good evaluation in the test with Stiftung Warentest (StiWa), Germany’s consumer watchdog. The model tested has a load capacity of 8 kg, is equipped with the highly efficient PowerWash 2.0 wash process – and achieved a top mark of 1.6. The test covered a total of 15 models with load capacities ranging from 6 to 9 kg. The results have been published in the 11/2018 of the ‘test’ magazine. The Miele washing machine obtained the best result in terms of handling and environmental properties, while in an evaluation of programme cycles, Miele boasted almost throughout the shortest cycles of the models with the best ratings. A further criterion of evaluation was temperature fidelity with respect to the wash temperature, where the German model achieved a ‘Very good’ both in the energy-saving programme and in the 60°C standard cycle. The technology hinted at is Miele’s patented PowerWash 2.0 process. Here, the injection of water is accompanied by short interim spin cycles (Spin & Spray), an approach which achieves fast wetting in combination with low water levels. «This – Michael Endt, laundry care product manager at Miele Germany explains – allows even smaller loads to be washed energy-efficiently.» The WKF 311 is no less than 20% better than the reference value for the an A+++ energy efficiency rating. The ‘SpeedCare’ sub-logo is a reference to the QuickPowerWash programme with which up to 5 kg of laundry are washed in less than 1 hour (wash performance A).

Miele Record sales

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Miele closed with satisfaction its 2017/18 financial year ended June 30, 2018. The company recorded sales of 4.1 billion euro, that means a year-on-year increase of 167 million euro (+4.3%). Of this growth 91 million was generated by the Steelco Group, Miele’s Italian subsidiary operating in the medical technology field, whose figures were included in company accounts for the first time during this reporting period. In Germany, Miele grew its sales by 2.4% and increased its market lead among specialist dealers even further. On a worldwide scale, built-in appliances contributed above-average to this success. Among Miele’s sales regions around the globe, Asia saw particularly dynamic growth. During the reporting period, investments totalled 272 million euro.
For three years in succession, Miele has grown considerably faster than its own multi-year average – and the 2017/18 financial year originally got off to a promising start. Calculated in local currency and therefore discounting currency fluctuation, turnover during the 2017/18 financial year even grew by as much as 7.1%.
In Germany, Miele achieved sales of 1.21 billion euro, representing an increase of 2.4%. The company above all significantly increased turnover in China; however, above-average growth also came from markets such as Canada, Austria and Russia. In southern Europe, Miele has continued its recovery in Spain and Greece after a prolonged hard spell. The USA and Australia – Miele’s biggest markets after Germany – achieved satisfactory turnover growth in local currency. At 70.6%, the share of sales outside Germany has remained practically constant (70.0% in previous year).

CNA at IFA

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The new products that CNA Group will present at the fair include the new Edesa range, with a wide variety of cooking, air extraction, refrigeration and washing products. The range includes new designs and remarkable features, such as the HoriZone Tech induction heating with Barbecue function, which allows the cast iron grill to achieve a uniform temperature to prepare delicious meat, fish or vegetable dishes in its 800cm2 cooking zone.

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Enjoy the kitchen without abandoning new technologies and different cooking methods, is the main objective of the wide range of Edesa electronic plates in their induction plates, from traditional TC models through new models such as “Mono-Slider Touch” “,” Multi-Sliders “,” Round Sliders “and the more sophisticated” Hidden Sliders “in mono and round version, because Edesa understands that the technology facilitates a high performance in the cooking methods. With an elegant built-in design, the range of Edesa countertops offers a wide variety of Super Slim stainless steel, with intelligent installation and triple gas burner of 4Kw in all models; as well as first quality designs, such as the one offered in the Panorama GOG worktop for semi-professionals with the concept of 4 in-line gas stoves in 120×45 cm.

The novelties are also present in the washing and cooling products, among which stands out the technology Silence Inverter in washing machines, that thanks to the maximum efficiency and performance obtains the classification A +++ – 30%. For its part, in the range of Edesa refrigerators highlights the Dual No Frost technology in combis with A +++ and the new Front Glass Combis refrigerators in white and anthracite colors.

News of Cata
Intelligent cooking solutions and inter-device connectivity and synchronization of functions are now possible thanks to the Smart Hood control, which uses wireless technology, so both the hood and the plate adjust their temperature automatically without having to move a finger.

Cata also presents the latest in induction power control; thus the new Cata TFT range provides two cooking systems, the traditional system with adjustment of the heat power and the sophistication and precision of cooking with induction plates with temperature control and bluetooth connection, a unique system in terms of technology induction plates that allows a greater precision of the temperature. On the other hand, the control system introduced by Cata through its RoCook induction concept, with Bluetooth technology, allows any type of food to be cooked at a precise temperature. It is an ideal system to carry out low temperature cooking processes with maximum precision. Further,

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For better flame control, Grupo CNA also offers plates that allow consumers to adjust the level of the flame on their plates through several levels of power selection that adapt to the different cooking ranges of the consumer. Finally, among the novelties in extraction, Cata has a wide variety of decorative hoods with electric motors without brushes of maximum power and A + efficiency, such as the Dalia and the Legend model, with an energy consumption of only 100W at maximum power, which translates into a saving of 80% of the energy with a minimum level of noise.

For more information about the news of the CNA Group products at the IFA fair, the Cata and Edesa sites are being updated, so you can access it through the link: http://www.cnagroup.es

Candy pretty in pink

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There is also an Italian excellence in Berlin on the stage of IFA 2018 , the most important tech event in Europe. The Candy group stands out thanks to innovative solutions for washing, smart home and the kitchen of the future with a high level of design.
Since 2013 the group has been the protagonist of a progressive and unstoppable growth, + 36% in washing, 102% in the cooking sector and + 39% for small appliances .

The real pink
The partnership with another Italian reality, Garage Italia of Lapo Elkann has given birth to Bianca Millennial Pink , a “pink” version of the washing machine with voice commands by Candy, which can also understand and optimize the habits of the smartphone through the smartphone. user and his washes and help him in the most suitable programs.
After cars and glasses, Lapo tries to bring a breath of color and innovation also in the home appliances. This time not with a covering film, but with a real paint, more effective and lasting considering the type of product.

The Millennial Pink is a limited edition , with a final price that should be around 1,200 euros, maybe a bit ‘high to reach a range of public normally not interested in this type of appliance, but for sure (in our opinion) a good choice of partnership in the era of personalization and a good road to the future regarding the development of home appliances.

Beppe Fumagalli, at Candy Group at IFA 2018
Beppe Fumagalli, at Candy Group at IFA 2018

« The new MIllennial Pink model combines two peculiarities: the unmistakable style of Garage Italia and the inclination towards innovation combined with the Italian spirit of Candy, which for years has invested a large part of its forces in the study of innovative technologies capable of improving the people’s lives, “explains Aldo Fumagalli , Candy’s Head of Washing Appliances Business Sector and Connectivity.

Prime of the class
Another important innovation concerning washing machines at home is Rapid’ò , a model characterized by an ergonomic shape and optimized washing times (intensive washing in 39 minutes) with a raised porthole that characterizes the design and facilitates loading operations. and discharge.

As for the Hoover brand , the Axi washing machine keeps a bench in a new, more advanced version, a top of the range that stands out thanks to its smart functions, capacity and energy efficiency. The TED system allows the recognition of fabrics and stains and, thanks to the dedicated app, Axi provides advice on washes. Direct Voice voice commands are also compatible, as well as having a load capacity of 14 kg and an energy class A +++.