GE Appliances launches in-house water filter manufacturing at Appliance Park
GE Appliances, a Haier company, has launched its first in-house water filter manufacturing operation at its Appliance Park headquarters in Louisville, Kentucky. The new operation brings production of high-demand refrigerator water filters under one roof and is part of the company’s ongoing $3 billion, five-year investment in U.S. manufacturing.
The company says the facility is designed to strengthen quality control, supply chain resiliency, and efforts to address counterfeit water filters, which can pose risks to water quality, consumer health, and appliance performance.
“This investment is exactly what advanced manufacturing should look like in America,” said Bill Good, vice president of Manufacturing for GE Appliances, in a press release. “We’re combining cutting-edge automation, digital tools and highly skilled teams to build a manufacturing operation that raises the bar on quality and efficiency. This new water filter manufacturing is another proof point of how we are putting our $3 billion U.S. investment commitment to work.”
According to GE Appliances, the highly automated manufacturing line includes robotic assembly and packaging, machine-vision-guided pick-and-place systems, and 100% in-line air leak testing of every filter, along with end-to-end traceability. Virtual reality, digital twin technology, and advanced simulation tools were used during design and development to optimize the line before it was built.
“Water quality is a concern for close to two-thirds of U.S. consumers, which is why GE Appliances has invested millions of dollars in our ice, water and filtration research and testing labs here in Kentucky,” said James Downey, senior director of Water Filtration for GE Appliances, in a press release. “That commitment to quality starts with a talented research and development team and world-class laboratories, and now our new multi-million-dollar water filter line and highly skilled manufacturing team. We now own the entire process, which will give consumers greater confidence they’re getting the genuine, certified filters they expect.”
The operation will run three shifts and is expected to create 30 new jobs, with potential to expand. GE Appliances said the investment also supports faster response to customer demand while improving oversight of testing and certification as scrutiny around drinking water quality and filtration performance continues to grow.