Latest news with #washingmachines
BBC News
17-07-2025
- Business
- BBC News
Telford laundrette ordered to turn machines off overnight
Operators of automatic washing machines at a supermarket have been told to switch them off overnight to protect the amenity of nearby modular laundrette unit, next to the entrance of Morrisons in Lawley, Telford, was installed earlier this year, with a retrospective application at Telford and Wrekin Council said the machines should be switched off between 22:00 and 07: also gave temporary planning permission for one year for the unit, so that the effect of it could be assessed. The laundrette includes two washing machines and one drying Group International PLC, the agents for the laundrette owners, said the machines were designed to be maintenance-free, and were served by a network of more than 150 local engineers, who aimed to attend breakdowns within 24 visits were also scheduled, it told the applicants that there were flats and retail units less than 10m (32ft) away."Given the close proximity of the unit's location to neighbouring residential properties the local planning authority consider a one-year temporary consent to be appropriate, so the site can be monitored over a longer time period to ensure no significant detrimental impacts would occur," planners said."Following a period of one year, the applicant could reapply for a permanent consent, ensuring sufficient evidence is submitted to demonstrate that no significant adverse impacts have occurred and no harm would arise from the development on a permanent basis."This news was gathered by the Local Democracy Reporting Service, which covers councils and other public service organisations. Follow BBC Shropshire on BBC Sounds, Facebook, X and Instagram.
New York Times
07-07-2025
- General
- New York Times
Front-Load Washing Machines Changed Laundry Forever. Why Are Top-Loaders Still So Popular?
GE Sometimes, more water actually is better, according to Eric Farrington, a former senior engineer at Whirlpool. It's the 'most important factor' for cleaning loads packed with mud and lint and other solids, Farrington said. Water helps loosen the particulates and then keeps them suspended so they don't redeposit onto the clothes. Front-loaders have certain cycles and settings that use extra water. And Andrea points out that you can shake, vacuum, or pre-rinse your clothes before you toss them into a front loader, if you have a really filthy load only occasionally. But top-loaders are better at washing away solid soils by default, and it's easier to find an affordable top-loader with an 'add water' or 'deep fill' option (including our favorite model) that can really flood the tub when it's needed. If you want a machine with a pounding agitation action — something that 'abuses the living tar' out of oil and grease stains and 'heavy, heavy stuff,' as Conrad put it — only an old-school top-loader will do. Most modern high-efficiency top-loaders don't hit as hard as the traditional machines did. (That's true even if they have a pole agitator, most of which are purely decorative at this point, as a few product managers have revealed to us.) But a couple of the old-school models are still in production, and it's not too hard to find refurbished secondhand units. Essentially a commercial washing machine without the coin slot, this tried-and-true model has barely changed in decades. It's rough, but sometimes that's what you need. Odor is another big difference. Top-loaders rarely get smelly, while front-loaders can really stink if they don't get a chance to dry out. The stench is usually avoidable if you're diligent about leaving the door open and doing some other basic maintenance, and it's less of a problem in dry climates. A few front-loaders also have a fresh-air ventilation fan. But water just doesn't pool and stagnate inside top-loaders, for the most part, and you won't have to put any effort into odor control. Farrington did point out that, just like front-loaders, high-efficiency top-loaders can develop biofilm; this is a sticky mix of cleaning products, bodily fluids, fungus, and bacteria that you might find building up around a washer's outer tub, detergent drawer, and drain lines. It's gross, and even though it probably won't stink, you should run self-cleaning cycles to mitigate the buildup. Another key difference between front- and top-loaders: ergonomics. Some people ('particularly the older crowd,' as Yale Appliance CEO Steve Sheinkopf put it) are more comfortable loading and unloading a top-loader because there's no crouching involved. Farrington also pointed out that a scrunched-up sock or T-shirt is less likely to be left behind in a top loader, because you can see the entire tub from the top. You could put a front-loader on a pedestal or a riser and get many of the same benefits, but that often costs extra. And in some situations, a top-loader can also be quieter. Front-loaders spin toward the ground, so if the machine isn't level, or if it's installed between the floor joists on an upper level of a wood-framed house, the spin cycle can sound like a plane taking off and even shake the building. Modern suspension systems have helped ease this problem. But because top-loaders spin parallel to the ground, they're still less likely to rattle the walls. They also tend to be lighter, so it's easier to adjust the legs or reposition the cabinet as needed.
CNN
27-06-2025
- Business
- CNN
Why GE Appliances will make more washing machines in Kentucky instead of China. It's not what you think
Source: CNN Some of President Donald Trump's steepest tariffs are on products like washing machines, and on Thursday, GE Appliances said it would spend a half a billion dollars to make even more of them in the United States. Tariffs, however, weren't the driving factor behind the decision, the company's CEO says, but they did serve as an accelerant. GE Appliances announced it would spend $490 million to move some washing machine production from China and build a high-tech clothes care operation at its massive industrial park and headquarters in Louisville, Kentucky, where it already churns out washers and dryers for the US market. The move of more than a dozen front-load washer models comes as US trade policy uncertainty has reached a high-stakes fever pitch as Trump's July 9 tariffs deadline approaches. GE Appliances move that is expected to be complete in 2027 and add 800 jobs, has been in the works for six years — shortly after a new line of front-load washers launched in 2019 — and follows a several-year stretch of high-dollar investments made to bolster the company's US manufacturing footprint, CEO Kevin Nolan told CNN. 'We've had a strategy that making appliances in America makes sense; it's an economic thing, and it's also how we can serve our customers in a better, more efficient way,' Nolan said, adding that GE appliances is 'not a company that was saying, 'Hey, we're going to outsource everything, and oh my God, now we've got to bring it back.'' '[The trade policy] makes the payback for these things much, much greater,' Nolan added. 'And with that, of course it's going to accelerate (plans), because the quicker we can do these things, the quicker we can realize those benefits.' The emergence and threat of tariffs also are influencing future decisions, Nolan said, noting that plans to reshore other components and parts are moving up the pecking order. Earlier this week, an expansion of Trump's 50% tariffs on steel extended to 'derivative products,' including consumer appliances such as dryers, washing machines, refrigerators, ovens and garbage disposals. The US currently has a minimum 30% tariff on Chinese exports; however, it has soared as high as 145% in recent months. 'The current trade policy is the most dynamic thing anyone's ever seen in their business career; I mean, it can change in a day, it can change in a week, it can change in a month,' Nolan said. 'These investments are strategic, and you've got to look at the long term and what makes sense. You can't do these just for trade policies.' The move follows similar reshoring efforts made by GE Appliances in recent years, Nolan said. The company, which has been a subsidiary of China-based Haier Group since 2016, has invested $3.5 billion in its US manufacturing facilities during the past decade, he said. Still, in recent months, the dramatic shifts in US trade policy and the Trump administration's tumultuous tariff rates have loomed large over manufacturers like GE Appliances and its parent company's appliance-making affiliate Haier Smart Home. Earlier this month, Haier Smart Home executives told investors that the company's localized supply chain in North America could help reduce its tariff exposure, according to translated company filings from June 4. Haier also flagged opportunities in 'tariff-driven competitor weakness,' according to the filing. In 2019, GE Appliances wanted to move quickly to market after developing what it believed was an innovation in the clothes care space: Making a less stinky front-load washer. 'To get this washer out fast, we said we're going to tackle building the dryer plant (in Louisville) to make those and we'll share the load and have the washer made in China,' he said. 'We always had a forward-looking view that this thing was going to come back to America, but to get the things in the market quick, we did it that way in China first.' The high-tariff environment 'definitely made the numbers on this look very good; so, we said, 'OK, let's pull this thing in; let's get this thing done now,' because it just makes sense. The engineering work's been going on; there's a reason we can move fast on this,' he said. 'But these tariffs could go away tomorrow, and once we make these decisions, we don't back off. So that's where you've got to make sure it's the right thing to do.' The half-a-billion-dollar investment announced Thursday will bring over more than 15 models of front-load washing machines, including a washer-dryer combo, to the 750-acre, multi-plant Appliance Park, where the company already manufactures top-load washers and clothes dryers. The latest addition — which is expected to heavily feature automation, including robotics, automated guided vehicles and autonomous mobile robots — is expected to bring the company's clothes care production at the site to 33 football fields in size. Still, when it's complete in 2027, the new production lines are expected to result in the addition of 800 full-time jobs to the 8,000-person campus. 'It'll definitely be our flagship plant from a technology standpoint, so a lot of opportunities for upskilling employees,' Nolan said, referring to efforts for employees to learn new skills. 'In order to be able to successfully manufacture in the United States, we have to be efficient.' In recent years GE Appliances has touted a 'zero distance' strategy to be closer to customers from a physical and design standpoint. To that end, the company's 11 US plants include maker spaces and microfactories aimed at innovation and small-batch production. The approach is a far cry from that taken in the 1980s and 1990s, when then-General Electric CEO Jack Welch leaned heavily into outsourcing and offshoring. GE Appliances declined to share specifics as to what percentage of its manufacturing is now domestic versus overseas; however, the intent is to continue the reshoring efforts and expanding US manufacturing operations, Nolan said. Trump, like presidents Obama and Biden before (and after) him, has long stated a desire to revive the US manufacturing industry and sought to wield tariffs to make that happen. However, economists and supply chain efforts have questioned the effectiveness in broad-based tariffs to that approach. Several companies in recent months have announced plans to make investments in US manufacturing in recent months — with the White House taking credit — however, not only were these decisions already longer term in nature, any kind of large-scale rebound in domestic manufacturing will take time, said Jason Miller, a professor of supply chain management at Michigan State University. 'Right now, given all the profound uncertainty about tariffs, folks are not going to take action until some clarity emerges,' he said. Companies that are able to announce or make moves now, he added, likely have existing capacity currently in place. To build a factory from scratch not only would take many months, if not many years, and then companies would run up against another challenge: finding enough skilled workers, he said. About 22% of US plants have cited a lack of labor or labor skills as a key reason for their facilities running below full capacity, Miller said, citing his analysis of recent Census Bureau data. GE Appliances has a waitlist of folks for jobs at its plants, but there's still a huge need for a stronger pipeline of skilled workers, Nolan said. 'That's just a national shortage,' he said. 'When you look at us versus other countries, how many engineers are graduated, we're way underrepresented. And then when you look at out of those engineers who are skilled in the art of manufacturing, it's even worse. That's the thing as a nation we've got to really grapple with.' See Full Web Article
Reuters
26-06-2025
- Business
- Reuters
GE Appliances to spend $490 million reshoring production of washing machines from China
June 26 (Reuters) - Chinese-owned GE Appliances said on Thursday it will spend $490 million to shift production of some washing machines to the U.S. from China as it rebalances its factory footprint amid extreme trade tensions between the world's two largest economies. The washers will be built at the company's "Appliance Park" in Louisville, Kentucky, a sprawling complex of factories that serves as its U.S. hub. The company, a division of China's Haier, said it will add 800 workers after U.S. production begins in early 2027. The Kentucky government will provide up to $113.5 million in tax incentives for the project. CEO Kevin Nolan said GE Appliances planned to bring the production back to the U.S. before the latest trade friction and tariffs, but the clash sped the process. "There was a lot more urgency to the plan given the current climate," said Nolan, speaking to Reuters. Other major manufacturers have emphasized domestic investments as President Donald Trump has ramped up tariffs. Texas Instruments last week announced a $60 billion expansion of its U.S. factory footprint. GE Appliances' recent $180 million revamp of its Georgia range factory included moving some production from Mexico. The washer line to be made in Kentucky originated with a product development model GE Appliances started in Louisville before its acquisition by Haier in 2016. In a hackathon, engineers from the company's laundry business created a prototype of the washers in 2019. The company launched the Chinese-manufactured machine in the U.S. in 2023 to test consumer response before investing in large-scale domestic production. Not all products developed this way quickly attain the scale necessary to make the move, according to the company.
Yahoo
26-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Why GE Appliances will make more washing machines in Kentucky instead of China. It's not what you think
Some of President Donald Trump's steepest tariffs are on products like washing machines, and on Thursday, GE Appliances said it would spend a half a billion dollars to make even more of them in the United States. Tariffs, however, weren't the driving factor behind the decision, the company's CEO says, but they did serve as an accelerant. GE Appliances announced it would spend $490 million to move some washing machine production from China and build a high-tech clothes care operation at its massive industrial park and headquarters in Louisville, Kentucky, where it already churns out washers and dryers for the US market. The move of more than a dozen front-load washer models comes as US trade policy uncertainty has reached a high-stakes fever pitch as Trump's July 9 tariffs deadline approaches. GE Appliances move that is expected to be complete in 2027 and add 800 jobs, has been in the works for six years — shortly after a new line of front-load washers launched in 2019 — and follows a several-year stretch of high-dollar investments made to bolster the company's US manufacturing footprint, CEO Kevin Nolan told CNN. 'We've had a strategy that making appliances in America makes sense; it's an economic thing, and it's also how we can serve our customers in a better, more efficient way,' Nolan said, adding that GE appliances is 'not a company that was saying, 'Hey, we're going to outsource everything, and oh my God, now we've got to bring it back.'' '[The trade policy] makes the payback for these things much, much greater,' Nolan added. 'And with that, of course it's going to accelerate (plans), because the quicker we can do these things, the quicker we can realize those benefits.' The emergence and threat of tariffs also are influencing future decisions, Nolan said, noting that plans to reshore other components and parts are moving up the pecking order. Earlier this week, an expansion of Trump's 50% tariffs on steel extended to 'derivative products,' including consumer appliances such as dryers, washing machines, refrigerators, ovens and garbage disposals. The US currently has a minimum 30% tariff on Chinese exports; however, it has soared as high as 145% in recent months. 'The current trade policy is the most dynamic thing anyone's ever seen in their business career; I mean, it can change in a day, it can change in a week, it can change in a month,' Nolan said. 'These investments are strategic, and you've got to look at the long term and what makes sense. You can't do these just for trade policies.' The move follows similar reshoring efforts made by GE Appliances in recent years, Nolan said. The company, which has been a subsidiary of China-based Haier Group since 2016, has invested $3.5 billion in its US manufacturing facilities during the past decade, he said. Still, in recent months, the dramatic shifts in US trade policy and the Trump administration's tumultuous tariff rates have loomed large over manufacturers like GE Appliances and its parent company's appliance-making affiliate Haier Smart Home. Earlier this month, Haier Smart Home executives told investors that the company's localized supply chain in North America could help reduce its tariff exposure, according to translated company filings from June 4. Haier also flagged opportunities in 'tariff-driven competitor weakness,' according to the filing. In 2019, GE Appliances wanted to move quickly to market after developing what it believed was an innovation in the clothes care space: Making a less stinky front-load washer. 'To get this washer out fast, we said we're going to tackle building the dryer plant (in Louisville) to make those and we'll share the load and have the washer made in China,' he said. 'We always had a forward-looking view that this thing was going to come back to America, but to get the things in the market quick, we did it that way in China first.' The high-tariff environment 'definitely made the numbers on this look very good; so, we said, 'OK, let's pull this thing in; let's get this thing done now,' because it just makes sense. The engineering work's been going on; there's a reason we can move fast on this,' he said. 'But these tariffs could go away tomorrow, and once we make these decisions, we don't back off. So that's where you've got to make sure it's the right thing to do.' The half-a-billion-dollar investment announced Thursday will bring over more than 15 models of front-load washing machines, including a washer-dryer combo, to the 750-acre, multi-plant Appliance Park, where the company already manufactures top-load washers and clothes dryers. The latest addition — which is expected to heavily feature automation, including robotics, automated guided vehicles and autonomous mobile robots — is expected to bring the company's clothes care production at the site to 33 football fields in size. Still, when it's complete in 2027, the new production lines are expected to result in the addition of 800 full-time jobs to the 8,000-person campus. 'It'll definitely be our flagship plant from a technology standpoint, so a lot of opportunities for upskilling employees,' Nolan said, referring to efforts for employees to learn new skills. 'In order to be able to successfully manufacture in the United States, we have to be efficient.' In recent years GE Appliances has touted a 'zero distance' strategy to be closer to customers from a physical and design standpoint. To that end, the company's 11 US plants include maker spaces and microfactories aimed at innovation and small-batch production. The approach is a far cry from that taken in the 1980s and 1990s, when then-General Electric CEO Jack Welch leaned heavily into outsourcing and offshoring. GE Appliances declined to share specifics as to what percentage of its manufacturing is now domestic versus overseas; however, the intent is to continue the reshoring efforts and expanding US manufacturing operations, Nolan said. Trump, like presidents Obama and Biden before (and after) him, has long stated a desire to revive the US manufacturing industry and sought to wield tariffs to make that happen. However, economists and supply chain efforts have questioned the effectiveness in broad-based tariffs to that approach. Several companies in recent months have announced plans to make investments in US manufacturing in recent months — with the White House taking credit — however, not only were these decisions already longer term in nature, any kind of large-scale rebound in domestic manufacturing will take time, said Jason Miller, a professor of supply chain management at Michigan State University. 'Right now, given all the profound uncertainty about tariffs, folks are not going to take action until some clarity emerges,' he said. Companies that are able to announce or make moves now, he added, likely have existing capacity currently in place. To build a factory from scratch not only would take many months, if not many years, and then companies would run up against another challenge: finding enough skilled workers, he said. About 22% of US plants have cited a lack of labor or labor skills as a key reason for their facilities running below full capacity, Miller said, citing his analysis of recent Census Bureau data. GE Appliances has a waitlist of folks for jobs at its plants, but there's still a huge need for a stronger pipeline of skilled workers, Nolan said. 'That's just a national shortage,' he said. 'When you look at us versus other countries, how many engineers are graduated, we're way underrepresented. And then when you look at out of those engineers who are skilled in the art of manufacturing, it's even worse. That's the thing as a nation we've got to really grapple with.'
