GE Commits $432M to Revamp Refrigerator Manufacturing in U.S.

GE (NYSE: GE) announced Monday it plans to invest $432 million to establish four U.S.-based refrigeration design and manufacturing centers of excellence and create 500 new green jobs by 2014.

The new centers for refrigeration products will be located in
Louisville, Ky.; Bloomington, Ind.; Decatur, Ala.; and Selmer, Tenn.

GE said a significant portion of the investment will be used to
reduce the environmental impact of the refrigerator manufacturing
process. Units being redesigned in Louisville, Bloomington and Decatur
will be manufactured using a new "greener" foam insulating process,
which will reduce the overall CO2 or greenhouse gas emissions at these
sites by 90% or 687,000 metric tons per year.

The new product
design also will improve overall product efficiency and help reduce
costs for consumers. All of the new products are being designed to meet
the anticipated 2014 Energy Star® standards. Most will incorporate
smart-grid technology. GE’s line of "smart" products allows consumers
to control their energy consumption and save money in regions where
dynamic pricing options are offered. (The market for smart appliances is expected to grow from $3.06 billion to $15.12 billion by 2015.)

"GE is committed to investing in this business and redefining what’s possible in home appliances," said Charlene Begley, President and CEO, GE Home & Business Solutions, of which GE Appliances is a part.

The new refrigeration centers of excellence co-locate product design
teams with manufacturing operations to streamline design development
and product manufacturing using Lean processes and practices.

In Decatur, Ala., where GE’s popular top-freezer models are made, GE
will invest $43 million to create a center of excellence for
top-freezers and "green" manufacturing. This is in addition to a $16
million investment made earlier this year to transition to a new
product insulation process.

At its Louisville-based Appliance Park campus, GE will invest $194 million and create 300 jobs to establish a center for bottom-freezer refrigerators, a new product platform for that facility.

The Bloomington facility, once slated for closure, will receive $93 million in investment and create 200 jobs to become GE’s center for side-by-side refrigerators.

Monogram Refrigeration Operation, LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of GE in Selmer, Tenn., will receive $32 million to redesign the built-in refrigeration line made there and to produce a new configuration for the high-end market.

By 2014, GE said it will offer the highest percentage of U.S.-made refrigerators among full-line appliance makers.

In August, GE announced it will be testing smart appliances as part of a broad ranging Department of Energy partnership.

Last month the Department of Energy announced new efficiency standards for refrigerators that will boost energy savings by 25% starting in 2014.