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GE Appliances announced nearly $5 billion in projects on Thursday, creating 800 new jobs and saying it will shift production of clothing washing machines from China to Kentucky’s larger manufacturing industry.
The $490 million investment says Kentucky’s residential appliance company will rank among the largest manufacturers of washing machines in the United States.
“Manufacturing in the US is the basis of our ‘zero distance’ business strategy to keep our customers and consumers as close as possible, and therefore brings laundry production to our global headquarters in Louisville,” said CEO Kevin Nolan. “This decision is a re-addition of our latest products and is consistent with the current economic and policy environment.”
The announcement comes as President Donald Trump attempts to lure factories into the United States by imposing import taxes (customer duties) on foreign goods. He slaps 10% tariffs on imports from most countries and collects 30% on Chinese goods. GE Appliance says that almost all the steel used in US manufacturing for its appliances comes from American steel manufacturers.
GE Appliances said the project will move the production of combo washer/dryer and the lineup of front load washers from China to Bluegrass province. Overall, production of more than 15 models of the Front Load Washer will shift to the company’s vast Louisville production complex known as Appliance Park. Once additional production is in place, the total area dedicated to clothing care production at the Louisville Complex will equal 33 soccer fields.
Andy Besher, of the Kentucky Democratic government, who criticized Trump’s tariffs, welcomed the company’s serious commitment to the state.
“Today’s announcement will bring more appliance manufacturing back to the US and strengthen Kentucky and Louisville as global headquarters for GE appliances,” the governor said.
The redesigned factory says it will become the most advanced manufacturing plant for the production of clothing cleaning, featuring the latest automation, robotics and material processing technologies, including automated guided vehicles and automated mobile robots.
The company said a new production line will open in 2027.
Located in Building 1, next door, the company produces top load washers and front load dryers.
The GE Appliance handles product design and engineering work at its Louisville headquarters, but does not have the overall production capacity to manufacture all of its products in its US factory. Therefore, we have contracted part of their production with other manufacturers, including China. The company said its core business strategy is to build on US production, and the investment announced Thursday is another step towards achieving that goal.
“Manufacturing in Louisville brings production closer to designers, engineers and consumers, enabling us to create the most innovative laundry platform,” said Lee Lagomarcino, vice president of clothing care at GE Appliances.
The $490 million injection into Appliance Park is the latest investment round in recent years as part of the company’s growth strategy. This is based on previous US manufacturing investments of $3.5 billion over the past decade, with more than a third of that amount being sent to Appliance Park.
Appliance Park in Louisville employs around 8,000 workers and includes five plants that produce washers, dryers, dishwashers, refrigerators and parts and components. The GE Appliance also has manufacturing plants in South Carolina, Alabama, Georgia, Tennessee and Connecticut.
GE Appliances is a subsidiary of China-based Haier Company.
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Associated Press Writer Paul Wiseman from Washington DC contributed to this report.
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