New $7 million dishwasher wire rack design and production to preserve 85 jobs at GE Appliance Park, representing investment in the Park's future.

Appliance Park's dishwasher plant will keep its wire rack production, thanks to a new, simplified redesign. The $7 million investment, coupled with the Competitive Wage Agreement, will preserve 85 jobs at the Park. Construction on the new line is scheduled to begin the summer of 2007.

Problems were continuing to mount on the wire-rack production at Appliance Park's dishwasher facility. The equipment was 30 to 40 years old and downtime had reached the severity stage. Plus the fabrication process was extremely complex. The area was at a breaking point. A decision had to be made to either develop an entirely new rack design or outsource the product.

"After careful study, weighing all the options, and considering our improved cost position because of the Competitive Wage Agreement, it just makes good business sense to keep the wire rack production in-house," says Doug Wichmann, General Manufacturing Manager. "By doing so, we will be making a $7 million investment in the Park's future and preserving 85 jobs."

New design and process
That $7 million investment by GE will be used to:

• Develop an entirely new rack design that is easier to manufacture, with fewer steps and requires less wire,
• purchase all new equipment, which is justified by savings on the new design, and
• tear out of the old areas.