LOUISVILLE, Ky. — The first four-door refrigerator rolled out of the GE Appliance Park in Louisville in mid-May. 

What You Need To Know

  • GE Appliance Park has expanded to start producing new four-door refrigerators

  • The company spent $60 million on the expansion

  • Executives with the company say more than $1 billion has been spent on improving U.S. facilities

  • The expansion in Louisville creates 245 jobs, company executives said

Before that, they were made in China.

“We initially did that out of speed to get it into the market very quickly,” said Jason May, executive director of product management at GE Appliances. “Bringing it back to the U.S. has been a big commitment to this facility in particular.”

Demand for the four-door refrigerators has grown over the last few years, and the team in charge of GE Appliances put $60 million into the plant in Louisville to make sure it could keep up.

“Today, we’re here to celebrate what I would say is manufacturing in America,” CEO Kevin Nolan said. “We’re a clear example of what it means to be an American company.”

GE Appliances is owned by a Chinese company called Haier, but Nolan says they’re investing in the U.S., with more than a billion dollars spent on improvements to facilities in the country since 2016.

So why did we do this? Why did we restore this production to Louisville, Kentucky?” Nolan asked during a press conference Monday. “Because we’re committed. We’re committed to bringing manufacturing back to the United States.”

The company says 245 jobs have been added, which means politicians from the area are singing their praises.

 “You all have a long, beloved presence in our community, as you know as well,” Louisville Mayor Greg Fischer said. “So there has been a lot of cycles out here at appliance park, and it’s great to see us in an upcycle as well.”

The coronavirus pandemic made expansion at the plant a bit tougher while workers started making more PPE.

“As is the GEA way, they figured out a new and better way,” said Dave McCalpin, GE Appliances vice president. “We often use the analogy that we changed the tire without stopping the car.”

The workers at GE Appliances Park make 1,100 refrigerators a week, and once production fully ramps up, those in charge expect that output to triple.

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