GE is one of the leading manufacturers of household appliances. Its headquarters are in Louisville.
The brand labels most of its products as “made in America,” which means that 70 to 90% of the product is USA-based.
So, where are GE appliances made?
Manufacturing Locations of GE Appliances
Most GE appliances are made in the USA. The company has manufacturing units in five states of America, including Kentucky, Georgia, Tennessee, Alabama, and South Carolina. Apart from these units, some appliances are also built in Mexico and China.
More About the Exact Locations Where GE Appliances Are Made
GE Appliances is an American company owned by Haier.
This company is highly committed to making most of its products “American-based.”
This means that at least 70 to 90 percent of the money that goes into manufacturing an appliance goes into the American economy.
However, this doesn’t mean that as many as 70 to 90 percent of the components are made in America.
Most GE appliances in the American market come from their manufacturing units in the USA.
Nonetheless, the brand also has manufacturing facilities in other parts of the world, like Mexico and China.
So let’s take a closer look at each GE manufacturing facility and find out which products are made there.
1. GE Manufacturing Unit in Kentucky
GE’s largest manufacturing facility in the USA is in Louisville, Kentucky.
This location also happens to be the brand headquarters.
The Kentucky facility was set up in 1951, and most of the company employees are based in this location.
The Kentucky factory is massive, occupying nearly 900 acres of land. It hosts over 7000 employees.
It’s also popularly known as GE Appliance Park. There are five separate manufacturing factories in this location alone.
As you would expect, this unit handles the bulk of appliance production for the US market.
It produces a wide range of GE home appliances like refrigerators, dishwashers, dryers, freezers, and appliance parts.
The Louisville GE Appliance Park is set for further expansion.
The company intends to add more manufacturing units in this location to produce more kitchen and bath products in the future.
After a mammoth fire disrupted operations in 2015 in this unit, the brand transformed it into a sustainable green space through an employee-led initiative.
Related Reading: 6 Ways to Reduce the Runtime of GE Dishwashers
2. GE Manufacturing Unit in Alabama
GE Appliances has a large manufacturing facility in Decatur, Alabama.
This unit is over 40 years old, and it mainly concentrates on the production of refrigerators.
It has 1300 employees, and the factory is recognized as one of the best employers in Morgan County.
GE Appliances recently increased investment in this facility to 115 million dollars and increased the number of job opportunities in the plant as well.
Several attractive features add to the appeal of this plant.
The Decatur factory is also considered a smart factory because it uses automation to reduce manual labor.
Robotic units automate repetitive tasks in this factory, leading to higher productivity, and there are nearly 50 robots performing labor-intensive activities.
3. GE Manufacturing Unit in Georgia
This GE manufacturing unit is in LaFayette, North-West Georgia.
It focuses on the production of electric ovens, gas and electric cooktops, and electric cooking ranges.
This manufacturing unit currently has nearly 2600 employees, and the company has invested 119 million dollars in the plant.
The Georgia plant is heavily automated, with robots handling a good part of the heavy work.
However, this unit is still barely able to meet the demand for electric ranges, ovens, and cooktops.
So the company plans to expand its investment in this manufacturing unit and hire 600 new employees by the end of 2024.
This added investment and increased workforce should be able to increase the capacity of the plant by 50%.
Apart from the factory in LaFayette, GE also has a distribution facility in Commerce, a logistics unit in Crandall, and a factory dispatch center in Marietta, Georgia.
4. GE Manufacturing Unit in Tennessee
The GE manufacturing facility in Tennessee is one of the company’s smaller units.
This unit was constructed mainly to move operations from their plant in Mexico to the USA and bring the production closer to the customers.
By doing so, GE could reduce the complexity of shipping products to the end destination and make the installation process smoother.
The Tennessee GE manufacturing unit is in Selmer and has less than 500 employees.
This manufacturing unit mainly produces air conditioners for hotels and Monogram column-style refrigerators.
Their most popular models include the GE Café Series 42″ and 48″ and the GE Profile series 42″ and 48″.
Apart from these main product lines, it also produces high-end refrigerators in the Monogram®, Café™, and GE Profile™ brands.
GE Appliances also has a national customer service support center with more than 1000 associates in Tennessee.
Related Reading: Do Refrigerators Have Fuses?
5. GE Manufacturing Unit in South Carolina
GE has a dedicated manufacturing unit in South Carolina that exclusively produces water heaters.
This unit previously manufactured refrigerators.
However, the facility was later changed to build only water heaters in 2020, and the company invested nearly $60 billion to make this change.
The manufacturing unit in South Carolina is a highly advanced unit with advanced systems for metal fabrication and welding, robotics for material handling and processing, and the enameling of steel.
It’s a center of excellence for water heaters due to the extensive technology and expertise that has gone into the planning and implementation of this unit.
Another unique feature of this plant is that it’s vertically integrated.
6. GE Manufacturing Units in China
Most of the GE appliances are made in America.
However, the company was acquired by Haier, a Chinese company, in 2016.
Most GE appliances continued to be produced in the USA even after they were acquired.
However, the brand has several foreign-made products as well.
Some of their smaller home appliances, like ovens, microwave ovens, and mini-refrigerators, are built in countries like China.
Their compact laundry machines are also often made in China.
The Jes1344sk Countertop Microwave Oven, GE Countertop Microwave Oven, and GE Mini Fridge with Freezer are just some examples.
The company cites convenience of production as the primary reason for moving the manufacturing of these appliances overseas.
The demand for these appliances is also higher in China and nearby countries than in America.
So it makes sense to manufacture them nearer to their market.
7. GE Manufacturing Units in Mexico
Mexico is another overseas location where GE appliances are made.
There are several manufacturing units in different parts of Mexico that produce different GE appliances.
Some locations include:
- Mexico City,
- Nuevo Leon,
- Coahuila,
- Guanajuato,
- San Luis Potosi, and
- Queretaro.
The plant in Nuevo Leon is responsible for the greater share of production in Mexico.
Nearly 41 percent of GE appliances sold in Latin America come from this unit.
Mexico used to be the hub for producing most GE appliances for the American market a while ago.
However, over the years, the company moved most of its production units to the USA and reduced focus on Mexican production facilities.
Currently, the Mexican manufacturing units of GE Appliances produce products primarily for Latin American countries.
Mexico still has a solid supply chain which makes it easy for the company to produce different types of appliances in this country.
