Whirlpool Eyeing Mexico after

$100M Investment in U.S. Manufacturing

by JACK LYNE. Site Selection Executive Editor

of Interactive Publishing

BENTON HARBOR, Mich. – Whirlpool, just completing a US$100-million spin cycle of sorts at seven of its U.S. plants, has now turned its manufacturing-expansion focus to Mexico.

The No. 1 U.S. home-appliance maker, however, has provided very few specifics on the Mexican project. In fact, Whirlpool’s southward site-selection designs were only pithily mentioned at the very end of a recent news release, included in a one-paragraph insertion that appeared almost an afterthought.

Whirlpool’s Wide-Ranging Optimization

Whirlpool is nearing the completion of a $100-million stage in its ongoing optimization of its manufacturing network. The initiative optimized processes and installed new product platforms at seven U.S. facilities. The company hasn’t specified how much was invested in each plant, citing competitive reasons. The optimization process has included:

• Clyde, Ohio: Consolidated North American top-loading clothes-washer production at a 3,000-employee plant.

• Findlay, Ohio: Expanded production of dishwashers at a 2,000-employee plant.

• Evansville, Ind. Expanded production of new refrigerator models at a 2,300-employee plant.

• LaVergne, Tenn. Expanded production of a new line of room air-conditioners and built-in refrigerators at a1,100-employee plant.

• Marion, Ohio: Increased production of clothes dryers at a 2,800-employee plant.

• Oxford, Miss. Expanded production of new cooking products at a 500-employee plant.

• Tulsa, Okla. Expanded production of new cooking products at a 1,500-employee plant.

The company also expects to make additional investments to strengthen its North American refrigeration competitiveness through the expansion of Whirlpool’s operations in Mexico, Whirlpool’s statement said in part.

The Benton Harbor, Mich.-based company continues to be mum, though, about any exact locations that it’s eyeing in Mexico. Whirlpool spokesperson Christopher Wysethe said that the Mexican plant’s site selection is just getting under way.

Whirlpool’s statement, however, did specify that the new operation is expected to produce the company’s next generation of side-by-side refrigerators for Mexico’s domestic and export markets in 2005.

And Whirlpool’s further noted that some of the Mexican operation’s work will be relocated from the U.S. including some models currently manufactured at the Ft. Smith, Ark. operation. Whirlpool’s Ft. Smith facility employs some 4,500 workers and ranks as the city’s largest employer.

But final specifics on the new Mexican plant won’t surface any time soon. Details regarding the location, scale and costs of the new facility will be finalized in early 2005, Whirlpool said in the statement.