Louisville's GE Appliances completes $450 million investment, unveils new tech advancements
Louisville-based GE Appliances, a Haier company, has announced the completion of a $450 million investment into Appliance Park with the unveiling of two "new state-of-the-art assembly lines" in the park's dishwasher manufacturing facility.
The announcement of the new dishwasher technology was met with excitement from GE Appliances, which also celebrated its 70th anniversary earlier this year. Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear, Louisville Mayor Craig Greenberg, and GE Appliances CEO Kevin Nolan were among those in attendance for the unveiling of the dishwasher line Wednesday morning.
The new dishwasher expansion at GE Appliances positions the appliance manufacturer plant to be "the largest plant of its kind in the U.S."
“Manufacturing will always be a key industry within Kentucky’s economy and plays a vital role in Louisville and throughout the state,” Beshear said.
In 2021, GE Appliances made a commitment to Louisville to invest $450 million at its Appliance Park headquarters and add more than 1,000 jobs to the manufacturing hub by the end of 2023. Last year, GE Appliances made another large commitment to its hometown, promising to spend $1 billion with minority-owned suppliers by 2030 in an effort to help grow diversity in the appliance manufacturing industry.
“GE Appliances growth in the Commonwealth has been incredible to watch … we’re doing things here people said was impossible to do in America,” Beshear said.
The 2021 investment was geared toward new equipment and assembly lines throughout the campus, an additional line shift in the laundry plant for top load washers, a new tall tub dishwasher, and new stainless steel tub dishwashers in the dishwasher plant and a new line shift plus new counter depth 4-door refrigerators models in the refrigeration plant, the Courier Journal previously reported.
“We are committed to U.S. manufacturing and Louisville, Kentucky,” Nolan said. “Together with our state and local partners, we are building a stronger state economy and community.”
Here are four things to know about GE Appliances and the latest dishwasher technology.
What does GE's new assembly line produce?
One of the two assembly lines specializes in producing Café and Monogram brand dishwashers, the most luxurious offerings by GE Appliances.
The second line, called a “flex line” will allow GE Appliances to adjust its production based on customer demand. This line will be able to produce stainless steel dishwashers such as the luxury brands as well as the plastic tub dishwashers made in Louisville, officials said Wednesday.
GE Appliances has been producing dishwashers in Louisville since 1953. The facility which operates 24 hours a day for at least five days a week employs 1,700 workers in the dishwasher unit alone.
“We are truly reinventing this company,” Nolan said. “We’re seeing firsthand what happens when business and government work together … this investment is about creating opportunities for real people.”
Over the past six years, GE Appliances has seen a 50% increase in volume demand at the dishwasher facility.
“This is an absolutely amazing way to celebrate advanced manufacturing right here in Louisville,” Greenberg said.
How virtual reality, 3D scanning are changing the game at GE Appliances
In AP3, the dishwasher production facility at GE Appliances, it is common to see automated driving vehicles transporting parts around the factory, robots working alongside employees to make production more ergonomic and employees utilizing virtual reality and 3D scanning.
Utilizing technology has been beneficial for workers too, leading to a 47% decrease in ergonomic injuries, GE Appliances shared Wednesday morning.
This in-house implementation of digital technologies at GE Appliances has expanded to customers with the creation of the Smart Assist app.
Smart Assist will connect a customer's phone to the dishwasher, or other GE Appliances, and provide the user with notifications and alerts about minor maintenance issues among other things.
For example, the app will alert a user when it is time to change the dishwasher's filter and provide the customer with a step-by-step video guide on how to perform this minor service.
During the plant tour around AP3 on Wednesday, Greenberg asked “So is it true, do we need to rinse our plates before putting them in the dishwasher?”The response from the GE Appliances product demonstrators was a resounding “No, just scrape and go, and let the dishwasher do the job.”
What are employees saying about the new GE Appliance assembly line?
Heather Collins has been working at GE Appliances for 12 years. She is an area business leader and runs the new dishwasher lines. Collins says the lines will make her job more efficient and easier, allowing her employees to spend more time focused on the quality of the product.
“It’s been amazing to see all the advancements,” Collins said reflecting on her time with the company.
Collins is currently working toward a bachelor’s degree in manufacturing and GE Appliances is helping fund that opportunity, part of its training and investment opportunities to allow workers to advance in their jobs.
“I plan to stay here, I think there’s still a lot of opportunities,” Collins said.
What is GE Appliances?
GE Appliances is a Louisville-based appliance company that has been manufacturing appliances for the last 70 years. Appliance Park, 4000 Buechel Bank Road, is home to a handful of production plants producing appliances from dishwashers and refrigerators, to washers and dryers.
The company, which used to be part of General Electric, was sold to Haier, a China-based company in 2016. GE Appliances sells products under a variety of brands including Monogram, Café, GE Profile, GE, Haier, and Hotpoint.
“As GE Appliances grows, Kentucky and our residents stand to benefit," Beshear said in a 2021 statement.
In Louisville, GE Appliances is one of the city's largest employers with roughly 8,500 workers, and produces roughly five million appliances annually, the Courier Journal previously reported. In 2020, a GE Appliances conducted study showed the company contributed more than $5 billion to the Commonwealth's GDP that year, and on Wednesday Beshear said that contribution has grown closer to $7 billion in recent years.
“Today, we get to celebrate this crucially important investment into our state and our people,” Beshear said. “I’m excited today for what this means for the entire Commonwealth.”
Behind the scenes: From a movie theater to a railroad track, 4 things you didn't know about GE Appliance Park
More: GE Appliances wants to invest $1 billion in businesses across Louisville by 2030
Contact business reporter Olivia Evans at oevans@courier-journal.com or on Twitter at @oliviamevans_.
This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: Tech news: GE Appliances announces $450 million investment, upgrades
