LOUISVILLE, KY—GE Appliances (GEA) announced Monday investments totaling more than $200 million to expand its dishwasher and laundry manufacturing facilities and add 400 new jobs here. Throughout this year and next, GEA will invest in Appliance Park, its largest manufacturing facility and headquarters location in Louisville.
Plans include laundry production expansion by approximately 20 percent, and investment in dishwasher production to expand the plant’s production capabilities by 35 percent for new plastic and stainless-steel tub models.
“The investments we are making today continue our mission of creating product and production supersites where we can more efficiently channel our innovation and manufacturing expertise by product line,” says Kevin Nolan, president and chief executive officer for GEA. “This will greatly accelerate our ability to provide innovative new products.”
GEA is a major part of the Louisville community, and over the next five years, Appliance Park is expected to increase its already substantial economic impact by an additional $18 billion. Its operations generate an annual Kentucky economic impact of $4.6 billion annually. The company employs more than 6,000 employees. The company says that the combined impact of operations, employee compensation and today’s announced $200 million investment will result in creation of an additional 13,500 jobs in the Commonwealth.
Earlier this year, GE Appliances announced a series of investments in its U.S. operations totaling $275 million and creating more than 650 new jobs. The previous announcements included expansions at plants in Selmer, TN, and Decatur, AL, and four new distribution facilities across the company’s vast distribution network.