Bora is building a new factory

Bora has embarked on a new chapter by bringing part of its production operations in-house. To achieve this, the company is constructing an innovative ‘vertical factory’ right next to its headquarters in Niederndorf, Tyrol. The project is slated for completion in the latter half of 2026.

Despite the compact plot size of just 6,000 square meters, the three-story facility will maximize its space, offering a total area of 20,000 square meters. Bora founder and CEO, Willi Bruckbauer, shared that the building’s larch façade has been thoughtfully designed to blend seamlessly into the surrounding landscape and panoramic views, ensuring harmony with its natural environment.

Bora CEO Willi Bruckbauer (second from left) together with the governor and the Minister of Tourism and Production of the Tyrol region

Whirlpool jobs to go

Whirlpool Corporation is reducing its workforce by approximately 650 employees at its Amana, Iowa operations, effective June 1, 2025.

The company said the move is driven by shifting consumer demand, not by external pressures like tariffs or regulatory changes.
Affected employees work in specific production teams, though Whirlpool has not detailed which lines or departments will be impacted.

Schott Showcasing Innovation at AWE Shanghai 2025

At AWE2025 in Shanghai—Asia’s top home appliance trade show. Schott showcased two innovations for the Asian market: CERAN® matte line and CERAN Luminoir® TFT.
🏆 CERAN® matte line: Our deep black cooktop with a matte finish won the AWE Best Innovation Award 2025. Its advanced coating delivers an elegant, easy-care surface with clear control visibility and reduced scratch visibility. Matte cooktops are slated for launch in spring 2025.
🖤 CERAN Luminoir® TFT: Our next-generation glass-ceramic cooktop enables smart display and lighting integration. It allows vibrant, multi-color TFT displays to shine through while keeping the deep black look—even when switched off.

Electrolux to keep production in Egypt

After an evaluation of various alternatives, Electrolux Group has decided to retain its business in Egypt since the value is considered to be higher if it remains within the Group.

The business in Egypt includes sales and production of major appliances as well as water heaters and is profitable with well-established and strong brands.

“We have a successful business in Egypt and after evaluating different options, we concluded that it will create a higher value by continuing to be part of the Group”, says Yannick Fierling, President & CEO of Electrolux Group. “Our objectives going forward are to take advantage of the growing market in Egypt and increase our market share as well as to expand export from Egypt.”

The potential divestment of the Group’s business in Egypt was communicated as part of the announcement on July 20, 2023 to initiate preparations for divestment of certain assets. After today’s announcement, this divestment program is closed

Arçelik shareholder appears willing to further review Beko Europe divestment plan

The Minister of Enterprise and Made in Italy Adolfo Urso and the Undersecretary of the Mimit Fausta Bergamotto have apparently received assurances from the top management of the Koç group , which includes Arçelik , a 75% shareholder of Beko Europe , that the former Whirlpool plant in Comunanza will not be closed. The minister himself announced this, having met members of the government and representatives of many industrial groups in Turkey.
According to Urso, yesterday’s meetings “further improved the prospects of the industrial plan”, which will be presented to the unions on Monday.
The update of Beko’s industrial plan reported overall in Italy – writes Il Sole 24 Ore – about 200 fewer redundancies than the initial plan (from 540 to 350) among the workers of the Cassinetta di Biandronno plant, in the province of Varese, but with the confirmation of the number expected in the Melano (68) and Carinaro (40) sites together with those, 678, of the employees. As for the Siena plant, for which the stop at the end of 2025 is confirmed, today at Mimit there will be a meeting with the president of the Tuscany Region and the mayor of the city to examine the acquisition of the plant by a public structure in order to overcome the problem of excessive rental costs in view of making the site available to a new investor.

EU Commission Is Threatening Jobs and Innovation

By dismissing the appliance sector’s strategic importance, the EU risks undermining its innovation, sustainability, and economic resilience goals. Read more here .https://europeanconservative.com/articles/analysis/eu-commission-is-threatening-jobs-and-innovation/

Haier to close factory

The Chinese manufacturer Haier invested 65 million euros in the construction of the factory in Aricești Rahtivani, about an hour north of Bucharest, and received 25 million euros in state aid, which was gradually paid to the company. Haier representatives are now negotiating with the Romanian government to withdraw from the contract. The factory has fallen victim to optimization processes that Haier started in response to developments on the European market. The world leader in the appliance market tried to reduce operating costs last year and laid off about half of the original thousand employees in Romania. However, this was clearly not enough to save the plant. More than 400 people will lose their jobs by March of this year. The remaining 100 or so will work for Haier until the entire factory is completely dismantled. The equipment and machines will be used in another Haier industrial complex – which one, Haier did not specify. Since the end of the factory has a considerable impact on the labor market in its vicinity, employees will receive assistance from an employment agency in addition to severance pay, which should help them find alternative jobs

Singer Beko new factory Bangladesh

Singer Bangladesh Limited, a subsidiary of Beko, flagship of Türkiye’s Koç Holding, held the ‘Grand Opening Ceremony’ of its state-of-the-art Home Appliances Plant on 30 January, 2025 Spanning 135,000 square meters, the new facility is a flagship project within BSEZ (Bangladesh Special Economic Zone) and will produce refrigerators, televisions, washing machines, air conditioners and other major appliances for the local market. By producing over 90% of its products domestically, the Home Appliances Plant will cater to the Bangladeshi market while positioning Bangladesh as a regional hub for consumer durables in the medium to long term. It will develop a robust local supplier ecosystem, significantly reducing dependence on imports in the sector. Plans are also underway to export products to neighboring countries in South Asia, further solidifying Singer Bangladesh’s role in the regional market.
The design of the new factory has been optimized to maximize natural daylight, with skylight roof surfaces being used for sustainable energy management. The new facility is solar-ready, and the installation of solar panels would prevent up to 60% of carbon emissions. Rainwater will be harvested and stored for use of grey water and for landscape irrigation. Energy monitoring systems will be used to ensure sustainability and quality targets are met. The construction of the plant has been carried out mainly using locally sourced and recycled materials.

Haier European manufacturing update

Haier Europe has signed an agreement today with trade union representatives regarding the reconversion project of the Brugherio production site. The agreement follows the meeting of 20 January, during which the company presented the European business transformation plan to the

#unions . The project, which will be structured in several phases starting from July 1st, will have the objective of transforming the Brugherio plant into the Haier Europe Service Hub, dedicated to spareparts , which will serve the European markets in which the company operates. In particular, the project involves the consolidation of logistics activities, including reception, storage, packaging and shipping. Following the reconversion plan, the plant will have a storage capacity of approximately 50,000 pallet spaces, distributed over an area of 44,000 square meters. To support this transformation, Haier Europe has planned an #investment of between 6 and 9 million euros. With the reconversion plan of the Brugherio site and the start of the Service Hub activities, the company expects to employ approximately 110 people of the 160 #employees currently employed at the production site. In addition to the Service Hub, Brugherio will continue to host the European management center (HQ) – together with the offices in Vimercate – the Milan Experience Design Center and the research and development laboratories dedicated to connectivity and the Internet of Things, to support all product lines, for a total of approximately 900 people

Whirlpool India shares plunge as parent plans to halve stake

Whirlpool Corp said it would more than halve its stake in its Indian unit to about 20%, sending Whirlpool of India’s shares plunging an exchange-allowed maximum of 20% to a near ten-month low on Thursday.
The U.S.-listed home appliance maker, which currently has a 51% stake in the India unit, said it estimates net cash proceeds, opens new tab of $550 million to $600 million from the sale, which it expects to close by mid-to-late 2025.The company will remain Whirlpool of India’s largest shareholder, followed by a number of mutual funds with stakes of less than 10%.
Whirlpool Corp sold a 24% stake in the Indian unit for about $468 million last year and the latest sale comes as it aims to pay off a major chunk of its debt amid a major rejig of its global assets, including folding its European business into a new firm and selling its Middle Eastern and African businesses