Electrolux North America today announced that it has recently begun production on its first Memphis-made home cooking appliances. The inaugural products produced at the Memphis facility, the Frigidaire and Frigidaire Gallery slide–in ranges, rolled off the assembly line, were crated and loaded onto trucks for warehousing and retail distribution throughout the United States. This marks the culmination of a two-year construction effort of the $266 million dollar, state-of-the-art facility.
In addition to the two ranges, the plant will ultimately produce a variety of signature items, including Electrolux®, Electrolux ICON® and Frigidaire built-in and specialty cooking products, wall ovens and specialty freestanding ranges. The highly automated plant also features a reliability lab that allows the company to simulate a product’s lifetime usage and performance expectations. The lab can test up to 380 cooking products simultaneously.
“We produce one out of every three ovens sold in the U.S,” said Jack Truong, president and CEO of Electrolux Major Appliances North America. “Electrolux is committed to U.S. manufacturing and driving innovation. Today we tie together advanced manufacturing systems, visionary planning and a collaborative public-private partnership. The new facility is efficient in its automation, but also relies on our skilled teammates to create our high-quality products,” he said.
The Memphis plant has hired approximately 500 employees in manufacturing, engineering, supply-chain management, finance and operations management and will eventually employ 1,200 people over the course of the next five years as it reaches full production.
About Electrolux
Electrolux is a global leader in appliances for household and professional use, selling more than 50 million products to customers in more than 150 countries every year. The company focuses on innovations that are thoughtfully designed, based on extensive consumer insight, to meet the real needs of consumers and professionals. Electrolux products include refrigerators, dishwashers, washing machines, vacuum cleaners, cookers and air-conditioners sold under esteemed brands such as Electrolux, Frigidaire, Kelvinator, AEG, and Eureka. In 2012, Electrolux had sales of $17 billion ($5.1 billion in North America) and 58,000 employees. The Electrolux North American headquarters is located at 10200 David Taylor Drive, Charlotte, NC 28262 in the University Research Park. For more information visit http://newsroom.electrolux.com/us/.