Electrolux, a Stockholm, Sweden-based appliance manufacturer, said it has selected Memphis, Tenn., as the site of its new North American Cooking Products manufacturing center.
Construction of the 700,000-square-foot facility, which will make the company's Electrolux, Electrolux ICON and Frigidaire built-in and specialty cooking products, will begin in early 2011, according to the company.
Electrolux will shift production from its factory in l'Assomption, Quebec, Canada, to the new Memphis facility starting in mid-2012. The company announced this week that it will close the l'Assomption plant in 2013.
"We are very pleased to have found a great location for our new manufacturing center," said Kevin Scott, president, Electrolux Major Appliances-North America. "Important decisions like this are never easy, but this one became very clear-cut for Electrolux because of the extensive support we received from state, city and county elected officials and governing bodies."
The $190 million project "is subject to necessary government approvals including, but not limited to, payment-in-lieu-of-tax agreement," the company noted in a press release.
Why Memphis Made Sense
Electrolux, which has its North American headquarters in Charlotte, N.C., said it "conducted a comprehensive study of potential locations for the new manufacturing center, and Memphis emerged the clear winner based on several key factors."
The factors that made Memphis the top choice were its lower cost structure; skilled labor pool; and central location and "excellent logistics," according to the company.
The location also offers "synergies with other plants," particularly Electrolux's Cooking Products plant in Springfield, Tenn., where the company produces freestanding gas and electric ranges. The Springfield plant, which employs about 2,900 people, is the home of the Electrolux Cooking Technology Center for North America.
"Locating this Electrolux cooking products plant in Memphis will strengthen the company's position in North America," Scott said. "The company is the largest manufacturer of cooking products sold in the United States and Canada, and we are widely recognized for innovations based on deep consumer insights. The new plant will bring innovative new generations of products and designs to meet consumer needs and desires."
The plant, which will employ more than 1,200 people when fully operational, will be located in the Frank C. Pidgeon Industrial Park in Memphis. Electrolux intends to design and construct the facility for LEED certification.
