GE Appliances today announced the launch of its first-ever in-house water filter manufacturing operation at Appliance Park near Louisville, Kentucky.
The company said the new manufacturing operation will help safeguard consumers by strengthening GE Appliances’ ability to crack down on counterfeit water filters that threaten 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 statement. “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. The new water filter manufacturing facility is another proof point of how we are putting our $3 billion U.S. investment commitment to work."
GE Appliances
The new equipment was built by ATC in Cookville, Tennessee. Virtual reality, digital twin technology, and advanced simulation tools were used during design and development of the new manufacturing line, allowing teams to virtually test the equipment and optimize the design before it was built. The new manufacturing operation features fully automated assembly and packaging, robotic pick-and-place systems guided by machine vision, 100% in-line air leak testing of every filter, and new genealogy capabilities with end-to-end traceability.
The highly automated manufacturing operation is engineered to produce water filters in seconds and is supported by a skilled workforce, including control technicians, maintenance specialists and quality professionals who oversee performance, data integrity and continuous improvement.
Prior to the launch, engineers and hourly control technicians spent weeks onsite at the equipment manufacturer learning about the new line and the advanced controls. The operation will run on three shifts and was designed with lean manufacturing principles, ergonomics and energy efficiency in mind, including a conditioned manufacturing space, optimized material flow, and reduced packaging materials. The new operation will create 30 new jobs with the potential to expand.
GE Appliances
