Slovenian household appliance group Gorenje and Japanese electronics group Panasonic have signed an annex to their 2013 strategic partnership deal, agreeing to expand their cooperation in research and development to several new fields.

Ironman” Faris Al Sultan is new Miele campaign
Gütersloh, May 26, 2015 No. 061/2015

“Triathlon”: three disciplines for perfect laundry finish – with saving factor
Whether you’re washing, drying or mangling: Who puts on best value results in laundry care, need to excel in all three disciplines. Here Miele Professional now supports its customers with the action “Triathlon”: For orders of selected washing machines, dryers and ironers attractive price advantages apply from 1 June in Germany. The friendly face of the campaign is “Ironman” Faris Al Sultan, winner of the hardest triathlon competition in the world.

Who as Faris Al Sultan the “Ironman Hawaii” won, knows that the successful way to the goal of individually tailored workflows is. In the laundry modern Miele technology guarantees the success of washers with a lot of stamina, fast drying, at the same time protect the laundry, and manage efficient and high mangling of laundry – and ensure the end for exemplary smooth textiles.

The Miele appliances worth from 1 June in several ways: As an action device a washing machine for 6.5 kg load capacity with matching dryers (“Little Giants”) and a rotary iron to hit the market. Only the washing machine offers a price advantage, and together with dryer and lack the savings increased to up to 700 euros.

Even larger units points in addition to the innovative and energy-saving technology now with increased savings factor. Buyer of washing machines, dryers and ironers from different disciplines Bonus amounts are refunded (the so-called “TRIBonus”). Depending on the combination of devices can be up to 1,300 euros savings.

The reimbursement of “TRIBonus” takes place after the purchase directly by Miele Professional. The form for this is available on the Internet at the address http://www.miele-triathlon.de available. Every visitor of this site can also take part in a lottery: first prize is a trip for two persons worth 6,000 euros – for example, to the next “Ironman” in Hawaii.

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About the Company: Miele is the world’s leading provider of premium domestic appliances for the product including cooking, baking, steaming, cooling / freezing, coffee makers, dishwashers, laundry and floor care. Augmented by dishwashers, washing machines and tumble dryers for commercial use as well as cleaning, disinfecting and sterilization equipment for medical and laboratory applications (“Miele Professional”). The company, founded in 1899, has eight production sites in Germany and one plant each in Austria, Czech Republic, China and Romania. Sales amounted to approximately 3.22 billion euros, of which about 70 percent are generated outside Germany in the financial year 2013/14. In nearly 100 countries Miele has its own sales subsidiaries or operates through distributors. Worldwide, the family in the fourth generation company employs 17,660 people, 10,411 of them in Germany. The company’s headquarters is in Gütersloh, Westphalia.

A plan by the world’s largest home-appliance maker Whirlpool to cut almost 2,000 jobs in Italy is “disgraceful”, the Italian industry minister said on Wednesday, after the white goods group increased a redundancy target.

Whirlpool has been in government-brokered talks for a month with labor unions over a restructuring plan it launched in April after agreeing to take over smaller Italian rival Indesit last year.

The U.S. company said on Wednesday it would cut 480 staff in Italy on top of 1,350 redundancies it announced in April. A large chunk of these will hit the poorer south of the country, where unemployment remains high.

Industry Minister Federica Guidi said she was disappointed by the outcome of the talks and the redundancy plans outweighed the benefit of 500 million euros ($555.30 million) Whirlpool pledged to invest in Italy, and the company’s plans to move some production to Italy from abroad.

The government is willing to bring the parties together for further negotiations, but only once the company has presented “credible and tangible” proposals that give guarantees to workers, Guidi said in a statement.

Gianluca Ficco, leader of the UILM trade union for the sector, said the total redundancies could come to more than 2,000 people out of Whirlpool’s current staff of 6,700 in Italy.

The plan envisages the closure of two Italian plants, one of which, in the southern region of Caserta, employs 815 people. Workers at the Caserta factory plan to go on strike on Friday.

Whirlpool says the cuts announced on Wednesday are necessary because its acquisition of Indesit doubled its administrative staff. All the job cuts are due to be carried out by 2018.

Home appliance group Gorenje saw its operations make a loss of EUR 2.1m in the first quarter of the year, as sales were hit by the weak economic conditions in Ukraine and Russia and a rise in the US dollar.

Group revenues stood at EUR 266.4m in the three months through March, which is a 8.4% decline on the same period last year, the group said in an earnings release through the Ljubljana Stock Exchange on Friday.

Important markets of Ukraine and Russia were severely affected by the fighting in Ukraine and the economic slowdown in Russia, while the depreciation of the euro against the US hit profit margins on small household appliances and affected raw material prices.

The group responded by reducing its headcount by around 209, about 2% of the total workforce, compared to the first quarter last year. Earlier in May, 136 staff in Slovenia were temporarily laid off until the situation on the Russia and Ukrainian market improves.

The group is also focusing on optimising input costs and production processes and insuring currency risk in order to respond to the prevailing conditions.

The group saw an increase in sales in Eastern Europe, Netherlands and Australia.

Simplicity of operation meets clear design

No fewer than six products from Miele recently received the coveted Red Dot Design Award for design excellence. Alongside five domestic appliances, a series of commercial washer-disinfectors from Miele Professional were among the award-winning products.

Top-flight pleasure and enjoyment and excellent hygiene and cleanability were the reasons the CM 6310 received the award. The One Touch for Two function allows the preparation of two coffee specialities simultaneously at the touch of a single button. Furthermore, the brew unit on this countertop model can be removed for simple cleaning. Further benefits include the fact that many components are dishwasher-proof and that all milk lines are automatically flushed when the machine is switched off.

On K 30.000 refrigeration products, the innovative FlexiLight, guaranteeing glare-free lighting, swayed the jury in Miele’s favour. The lighting source is integrated into the glass shelves and is activated via contacts at each rack level. As a result, the refrigerator is uniformly and brightly lit. And to simplify operation, several models even offer touch controls.

Among the award-winning models were the DGM 6800 steam oven with microwave and the KM 6366-1 induction hob. The steam oven with microwave is an uncompromising 2-in-1 product which combines the convenience of a microwave oven with the quality of results produced only by a steam oven. Particular highlights of the induction hob are its six variable rings (PowerFlex). Design clarity and simplicity of operation were the main criteria for the jury.

Intelligent navigation, good cleaning results and top-class workmanship were the convincing virtues of the Scout RX 1 robovac. The Triple Cleaning System, with two side brushes, a beater bar and an efficient fan, guarantees high-level cleaning performance. Thanks to its reduced height, the Scout buzzes around below pieces of furniture with admirable ease.

The commercial washer-disinfectors from the PG 85 series feature AutoOpen, an automatic door opening system, and a door salt container, simplifying the refilling process. The new console with its centred display providing an uninterrupted sheet-steel surface guarantees a simple and easy-to-clean user interface. Further aspects considered in awarding prizes were the baskets and inserts which adapt to varying loads.

The Red Dot Design Award is presented for design excellence and has gone since 1955 to products for their outstanding design. In 2015, companies and designers from 56 countries submitted around 5000 products in 31 categories. The official award ceremony will take place in the Aalto Theatre in Essen on June 29, 2015.

Turkish white-goods maker Arcelik said its net profit rose to 141.5 million lira ($52 million) in the first quarter from 131 million a year ago.The figure beat expectations of 129 million lira

Receiver of bankrupt Fagor Mastercook has to approve its acquisition by German BSH, the owner of Bosch within one week, otherwise BSH will withdraw the offer

Appliance manufacturer Gorenje has provided MTV with two of its Retro fridges, which are set to appear in the ‘Geordie Shore’ house. 

Electrolux announced that it will discontinue the accounting practice of items affecting comparability.
Over the years, the company has implemented restructuring programs for the purpose of optimizing its manufacturing footprint and reducing costs to improve competitiveness. Restructuring charges related to these programs have been presented separately as items affecting comparability in the income statement. Operating income by business area and selected key ratios have been reported excluding these costs. These major restructuring programs are now in the final stage and, as previously communicated, Electrolux will as of 2015 discontinue this accounting practice. Although there will likely be restructuring programs going forward, these are expected to be much less extensive.
For comparability purposes, quarterly and yearly figures for 2014 have been restated. While this change in accounting practice has no impact on the Group’s operating income, the restated gross operating income has been reduced. Costs previously recognized as items affecting comparability in the amount of 1.2 billion Sek have been allocated to costs of goods sold, selling expenses and/or administrative expenses. The restatement of operating income by business area has mainly affected operating income for Major Appliances EMEA, which includes restructuring costs in the net amount of 1.2 billion Sek for 2014. The restatement has no impact on the balance sheet or cash flow. Although the practice of recognizing items affecting comparability will be discontinued, it is the intention of Electrolux to clearly comment on any potential future restructuring costs or other material transactions of non-recurring nature.