With strong demand in small appliance category, Whirlpool Corporation investing $40 million, adding 400 jobs

Company announces expansion to nearly double size of Greenville, Ohio, manufacturing facility

News provided by

Mar 14, 2014, 01:00 ET

BENTON HARBOR, Mich., March 14, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Whirlpool Corporation (NYSE: WHR) announces today that it will invest $40 million to nearly double the size of its Greenville, Ohio, small appliance manufacturing operations. The expansion is expected to generate approximately 400 new jobs by 2018 – bringing the facility to a total workforce of about 1,400 employees.

Executives say strong demand for KitchenAid small appliances – in large part, for the legendary stand mixer – is driving the need for increased production capacity. Overall small appliance production has doubled during the past five years at the Greenville facility. The company is seeing significant growth across the globe. With increasing market demand due to consumers' desire for premium products and recent introductions of the KitchenAid brand in to new geographies; the company is confident this growth will continue.

"This expansion project recognizes the outstanding skills of our Greenville employees, as well as strong partnership and support from the state of Ohio, the city of Greenville and Darke County," said Jeff Fettig, Chairman and CEO of Whirlpool Corporation. "With several global options for this project, our decision to expand our Greenville, Ohio facility is another way Whirlpool continues to demonstrate our commitment to American manufacturing. As the KitchenAid brand continues to expand its small appliance portfolio globally, this major expansion will ensure Greenville remains the manufacturing hub of our small appliance business."

Whirlpool produces KitchenAid brand stand mixers and attachments, hand mixers and blenders at the Greenville facility, which has been in operation since 1942. The facility currently employs approximately 1,000 men and women who produce an average of 16,000 units per day. Downtown Greenville, Ohio is also home to the KitchenAid Experience® store, a retail destination open to the public. The KitchenAid brand celebrates its 95^th anniversary this year.

Whirlpool will launch the project following final approval of state and local assistance.

Whirlpool Corporation employs approximately 15,000 U.S. manufacturing workers – more than all of its major competitors combined. Of the products Whirlpool makes, eighty percent of the products Whirlpool sells in the U.S. are made in the U.S. and the company is committed to investing $1 billion in its U.S. footprint between 2010 and 2014. That commitment includes investments at the company's Greenville and Clyde, Ohio, facilities, additional manufacturing operations and a new office complex at the company's headquarters town of Benton Harbor, Michigan.

About Whirlpool Corporation

Whirlpool Corporation is the world's leading global manufacturer and marketer of major home appliances, with annual revenues of approximately $19 billion in 2013, 69,000 employees and 59 manufacturing and technology research centers around the world. The company markets Whirlpool, Maytag, KitchenAid, Jenn-Air, Amana, Brastemp, Consul, Bauknecht and other major brand names to consumers in nearly every country around the world. Additional information about the company can be found at http://www.whirlpoolcorp.com.

Logo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20040202/DETU004LOGO

SOURCE Whirlpool Corporation