GE plans to invest $432 million to establish four U.S.-based refrigeration design and manufacturing "centers of excellence," expected to create 500 new green jobs by 2014.
The new centers for refrigeration products will be located in Louisville, KY; Bloomington, IN; Decatur, AL; and Selmer, TN.
The new refrigeration centers of excellence will co-locate product design teams with manufacturing operations to streamline design development and product manufacturing using Lean processes and practices. GE said this results in improved product quality and service and manufacturing efficiencies that drive down costs.
Kevin Nolan, GE Appliances vice president of Technology, said, "This is a new product development model for us. For years, products have been designed far away from the factory and the people who would manufacture them. By co-locating all the people who are involved in bringing a product to life -engineering, quality, production (hourly and salaried) and sourcing - we increase collaboration and problem-solving and shorten development time. The result is going to be better products for our customers."
For further details on GE Appliances' big expansion plans, see the ApplianceMagazine.com article: That's Billion with a B - GE Appliances Invests Big in U.S. Manufacturing.
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