Gathering Strength For U.S. Manufacturing: Whirlpool Moves Production Of Washers To Ohio From Mexico

[Judi Lynn]

Source: Forbes

12/20/2013 @ 8:35AM
Gathering Strength For U.S. Manufacturing: Whirlpool Moves Production Of Washers To Ohio From Mexico

A bit more good news for American manufacturing as Whirlpool announced it would move its commercial washing-machine production from Mexico to the United States.

According to a press release, Whirlpool will shift production of its commercial front-load machines from Monterrey, Mexico to Clyde, Ohio. At 2.4 million square feet, the Clyde plant is the largest washing-machine factory in the world. Operations are due to begin in April, 2014. The Wall Street Journal first reported the story.

Whirlpool said the relocation will make the company more efficient, since 90% of the commercial machines are sold in the U.S. (the rest are sold in Europe, Latin America and Asia). Manufacturing them in Ohio will allow the company to tie more directly into U.S. logistics, and avoid having to ship the units across the border.

About 80-100 jobs will be created in Ohio, the company said. It currently employs 15,000 U.S. manufacturing workers and says it is committed to spending $1 billion from 2010-2014 to expand its manufacturing facilities in the U.S.

Whirlpool is among a number of U.S. companies


Read more: http://www.forbes.com/sites/danbigman/2013/12/20/another-sign-of-gathering-strength-for-u-s-manufacturing-as-whirlpool-moves-production-of-washers-to-ohio-from-mexico/

[reformist2]

1. Let's hold our applause until we find out what they'll be paying...

All it tells me is that rural America now has roughly the same standard/cost of living as Mexico.

[BrotherIvan]

17. This!

I cynically thought the same thing.

Hopefully it means that companies are figuring out that Made in the USA is a big draw to customers. Fingers crossed.

[Flatulo]

25. Not necessarily the same...

I could be that the cost of Mexican labor, plus the cost of shipping and sourcing parts in a foreign country are now more than American wages.

Still, I'm glad to hear that the jobs are coming here.

[awoke_in_2003]

33. I'd bet $10...

That they will be low paying, non union jobs.

[Brigid]

2. Maybe US companies . . .

Are starting to wake up to the fact that chasing cheap labor all over the globe is not the great idea they once thought it was.

[Plucketeer]

8. I don't think so

I think this is an indication that they've made the US labor pool desperate enough to work for a pittance. I'd bet a buck to a cops donut that they'll pay LESS than when they'd previously built these machines in the USA.

[progressoid]

12. Yup. n/t

[okaawhatever]

9. The costs are getting higher elsewhere. People in China are starting to form unions and there have

safety reforms. With some American computer and cell phone manufacturers they're having problems with the Chinese installing malware/worms/hardware to collect data directly into the computers. I heard Apple say that X amount of computers came here and straight out of the box had bugs in them. I say that because there are a lot of reasons manufacturing will start moving back. Security is a factor, and the costs aren't what they used to be.

[pampango]

22. I hope you are right. It's about time. Companies in other developed countries figured this out long

ago. These countries pay high wages but make their economies work and keep their middle classes strong.

[geardaddy]

3. Hopefully, they'll be union jobs.n/t

[xfundy]

4. With Wal-mart wages, no doubt.

Guess I'm in a mood. But nothing would surprise me.

[doc03]

5. That is great news, I hope they buy American steel. Whirlpool used to be

probably our number one customer at Wheeling Pittsburgh Steel up until they moved south
for cheap labor back in the late 70 s.

[Botany]

7. I told Lowes when I bought my dishwasher I did not want whirlpool because they had moved ...

.... outside of the US.

This could mean lots of jobs.

[loudsue]

11. Bosch is made in North Carolina.

That's who I got my dishwasher from.

[Botany]

15. That is the one i got

German company but made in America w/American made parts

Best dishwasher I have ever had

[loudsue]

16. Me, too. I'm loving mine.

I'm glad more people are buying them!

[Botany]

6. This could be very good news

skilled labor force, close to good rail, shipping, and train transportation, and Ohio needs the jobs too.

[hobbit709]

10. They used to have a plant in Marion, OH until they offshored the jobs.

And they had a lot more than 80-100 people working there at the time.

[asjr]

24. Just one of plenty that moved lock, stock and churn out of USA.

[HoneychildMooseMoss]

36. They used to have a plant in Fort Smith, Arkansas as well

which at one time employed 4500 workers.

http://www.arktimes.com/arkansas/whirlpool-withdrawal-in-fort-smith-careers-shattered/Content?oid=2552554

[Mopar151]

13. At least for Cummins Engine

Other costs (JMHO - bribes, extortion, armed guards) tend to balance the lower wages in Mexico. IIRC $6/hr in Mexico = $20/hr US

[JDPriestly]

14. So, now if I decide to replace my washer, I will know what brand to buy.

This is good news. Not a whole lot of jobs, but every job counts.

With only 200 employees, I wonder whether this is an assembly plant or really the manufacturing facility.

[Botany]

18. The Whirlpool machines will be commercial washers .....

... make sure to buy an american made one for your home.

[No Vested Interest]

19. I am always looking to buy American-made products.

This is even better - in Ohio, my state.
I would prefer American-owned, given the choice.

I will be purchasing a GE range today - not sure of its manufacturing locale, but I need it ASAP - before Christmas to heat/cook our christmas dinner.
My current stove is ca 40 years - A Whirlpool made in Dayton, Ohio when GM owned Whirlpool (that's what I was told by salesman who looked at it. My repair man says to stick with the older products as they are so much better made, but, alas, the oven thermostat has gone out and there are none available for that older model.

Well, anyway, a local salesman will get a commission from my purchase.

[Spitfire of ATJ]

20. Now all they need is to improve their cracking clutches.

[Bradical79]

21. So I guess this means wages are low enough,

and shipping costs are high enough, that this is their least expensive option. It's all a math formula. I wonder what the workers will get paid?

[Andy823]

23. I just bought a Speed Queen front loader

The place I buy from is local and the owner sells Speed Queen plus Maytag and Whirlpool, which are both owned by the same company. The owner told me that Maytag and Whirlpool were not as good as they used to be, and since Speed Queen was made in the USA, I bought it instead of one of the others. It had a better warranty, 3 full years on everything, than the other two. So far we love it.

[Skeeter Barnes]

26. They shut down a big plant in LaVergne, TN years ago. Moved production to Mexico.

[benld74]

27. I thought they just moved to Mexico around 2006?! No?

[bvar22]

28. Ross predicted the return of manufacturing jobs to the US...

... just as soon as the UNIONS were busted, and wages and benefits were reduced to 3rd World levels.

Ross was right,
but Bill was smooooth.


Sorry, Virginia,
but there is NO such thing as "Free Trade.
There is no such thing as a "Free Market",
and there certainly is NO All Powerful "Invisible Hand" that protects you.
The RICH made that shit up,
and used smooth talking politicians to sell it to naive Americans.

[Brigid]

29. I have come to the conclusion . . .

That Ross Perot was ahead of his time.

[reformist2]

30. I voted for him instead of Bush or Clinton.

[mountain grammy]

35. Of course he was, on the issue of NAFTA, he was dead right.

But, as a billionaire businessman, I felt he had a "privatize government" agenda and that worried me.

But I believed NAFTA to be poor policy for America and he almost got my vote. Stuck with Clinton.

[pa28]

31. Most people, including me thought he was being a protectionist quack.

Turns out he was exactly right about everything.

[bvar22]

32. Like I said, Bill was SMOOTH.

Bill Clinton was so smooth that he was able to tell America that competing with 3rd World Slave Labor Countries for our jobs, and would produce MORE and Higher Paying jobs here at home,
....and we believed him.

So smooth that some people STILL believe him despite the cold, hard evidence spread across our nation.

[pampango]

34. He was right because he could read a chart. Manufacturing employment had been going down since 1955.

US manufacturing employment has kept going down since 1955 and manufacturing output has kept going up. If NAFTA had taken effect in 1955 you might be able to blame it.

Long term trends simply continued. It did not take a genius to predict that.