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Whirlpool Named to ‘World’s Most Ethical Companies’ and ‘Most Respected U.S. Companies’ Lists

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Whirlpool Corporation was recently named one of the World’s Most Ethical Companies by the Ethisphere Institute and one of the Top 25 Most Respected U.S. Companies by the Reputation Institute.

“We are proud to be recognized by Ethisphere Institute as one of the world’s most ethical companies and by the Reputation Institute as one of the most respected U.S. companies,” said Jeff M. Fettig, Whirlpool Corporation’s chairman and CEO. ” I am proud of all of our people around the globe who personify Whirlpool Corporation’s values and make recognition like this possible.”

World’s Most Ethical Companies

The Ethisphere Institute named Whirlpool to Ethisphere’s second-annual World’s Most Ethical Companies list. Ethisphere, a think-tank dedicated to the research and promotion of profitable best practices in global governance, business ethics, compliance and corporate responsibility, revealed the award at the Ethisphere and Forbes joint-conference, “Driving Profit through Ethical Leadership,” held on June 3 in New York, N.Y. The list of World’s Most Ethical companies also will be featured in the second quarter issue of Ethisphere Magazine.

Researchers and analysts reviewed several thousand companies in order to determine the finalists, which included a rigorous, multi-step evaluation process. The extensive research process included reviews of more than 10,000 of the world’s leading companies on six continents. Ethisphere analysts reviewed codes of ethics, litigation and regulatory infraction histories; evaluated investment in innovation and sustainable business practices; looked at companies’ activities to improve corporate citizenship; studied nominations from senior executives, industry peers, suppliers and customers; and worked with consumer action groups for feedback and rating.

America’s Most Respected Companies

In the third annual survey of U.S. consumers conducted by Reputation Institute, Whirlpool earned a Pulse rating of 74.41, placing it 22 on a list of the largest 150 companies in the U.S. and earning Whirlpool a Top 25 ranking in reputation among measured U.S. companies. Whirlpool also ranked 18 among the top 20 companies Americans say they would recommend to others.

Reputation Institute conducts an annual online Global Pulse Survey of the general public to measure the corporate reputation of more than 1,000 of the world’s largest companies within 27 countries. The companies were evaluated on seven key dimensions including products and services, governance, citizenship, workplace, innovation, leadership and financial performance. In this survey of worldwide consumers, Reputation Institute included 150 of the largest companies within the U.S.

Whirlpool Drops Part of Patent Suit Against LG

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Earlier this year, Whirlpool filed a patent infringement suit against LG Electronics.  Just last week LG announced that Whirlpool has abandoned part of its patent case against LG and the U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) has issued a ruling to that effect.

However, the company voluntarily withdrew suits over two of the five patents in the case in May, and the ITC’s partial termination decision came in June, LG said. The three other suits are still pending.

“We submitted documents with the ITC which show the five patents do not belong to Whirlpool,” an LG Electronics spokesman told Dow Jones Newswires.

In May, Whirlpool also filed a suit against LG with the U.S. District Court of Delaware over the infringement of seven patents. It has now abandoned a suit regarding one of those patents, the LG spokesman said.

Whirlpool 30 Minute Recipe Contest

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Let’s Eat In 30-Minute Meal Solutions Contest

Whirlpool brand and Newman’s Own, the experts in quick and easy meals at home, are looking for recipes. Submit your favorite 30-minute dish from June 2-July 31, 2008, and if it’s selected you could win a kitchen full of new Whirlpool brand appliances and a full year’s supply of Newman’s Own products.

To submit a recipe just click here.

Will GE’s Appliances Suffer Under a New Owner?

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By now, GE’s upcoming sale of their popular appliance division is common knowledge and many people are wondering what will become of one of the most popular brands in the US when it is sold.  GE appliances rank highly with sources such as Consumer Reports.  When news that GE was considering a sale of the appliance arm, the magazine reported how various GE appliances stacked up against rivals. Most did pretty well.   GE had many highly rated (though a few poorly rated, including a ‘not acceptable’ in upright freezers ) models in many product categories and across price points.

According to the Wall Street Journal’s Deal Journal, for the most part, those considered to be potential bidders for the GE business–Sweden’s Electrolux, LG Electronics, BSH Bosch & Siemens Hausgerate of Germany, to name a few–match that. The outlier? Haier. Haier’s Genesis is No. 22, or fourth from the bottom in the rankings of top-loading washing machines and dead last in both large countertop microwave ovens (No. 15) and side-by-side refrigerators (No. 34).

The obvious question? Would a Haier-GE combination lead to an improvement in Haier’s own brand or would it pull down the reputation of the GE brand? Unfortunately, the question isn’t, well, academic. The folks at consumer-satisfaction surveyer J.D. Power & Associates said studying whether or how an acquisition of a high-quality brand by a lower-quality brand affected either brand would be nearly impossible, since it would be difficult to identify what was an effect of the deal or integration as compared with the myriad other issues that affect quality, like design, manufacturing, parts/raw materials.

Of course, Haier has has been down this road before, coming close to but ultimately failing to acquire another well-regarded U.S. brand, Maytag, in 2005. Then Haier’s plan was said to follow the Lenovo way, referring to the Chinese PC maker’s slow conversion of IBM Thinkpads to the Lenovo brand after it acquired the Big Blue business. For its part, Haier declines to confirm whether it was indeed bidding for the GE business or comment on how it would handle the integration should it comsumate a deal.

Recall: Robert Bosch Tool Corp. Hammer Drills Due to Risk of Injury

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Name of Product: Bosch Hammer Drills

Units: About 9,700

Manufacturer: Robert Bosch Tool Corp., of Mount Prospect, Ill.

Hazard: The drill can continue to operate after the trigger has been released, posing a risk of injury to consumers.

Incidents/Injuries: None reported.

Description: The recalled hammer drill is blue with “BOSCH” printed on the side. The model number 1191VSR can be located on the product nameplate mounted on the side of the motor. The product’s packaging will be marked as 1191VSRK (the “K” indicates that the hammer drill was packaged with a case in a kit). Only drills with a serial number that begins with “7” are included in the recall.

Sold at: Menards and other hardware retailers and industrial distributors nationwide from July 2007 through April 2008 for about $100.

Manufactured in: Malaysia

Remedy: Consumers should stop using the recalled hammer drill immediately and contact the firm for a free repair.

Consumer Contact: For additional information, contact the Robert Bosch Tool Corp. toll-free at (877) 472-0007 between 7 a.m. and 7 p.m. CT Monday through Friday, or visit the firm’s Web site at www.boschtools.com

GE CEO cites five potential bidders for appliances

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General Electric Co Chief Executive Jeff Immelt on Wednesday named five non-U.S. appliance manufacturers, including China‘s Haier, South Korea‘s LG Electronics, Sweden’s Electrolux, Mexico‘s Controladora Mabe and Turkey’s Arcelik, as potential bidders for the company’s century-old appliances business.

The chief of the second-largest U.S. company by market capitalization said it was “obvious” who would be interested in the unit, which last year sold $7.2 billion worth of refrigerators, washing machines and other household appliances.

“The players have become somewhat obvious,” Immelt told reporters in South Korea. “It is Haier in China, it is LG in Korea, it’s Mabe in Mexico, it’s Arcelik in Turkey.”

In Beijing, he added another name to the list of suspects: “Whether LG or Haier or Electrolux or others participate remains to be seen.”

None of those companies confirmed their interest.

After stunning investors in April with an unexpected drop in quarterly profit, GE said this month it would look to sell or spin off its appliances unit, saying the business was too focused on the United States.

Analysts and investors have estimated the business, which is No. 2 in the U.S. behind Whirlpool Corp. could sell for $4 billion to $8 billion. Whirlpool is the world’s largest appliance maker.

Immelt’s comments could be an effort to see if there are other interested bidders who have not yet made themselves known to the company, said Peter Sorrentino, senior vice president and portfolio manager at Huntington Asset Advisors, which manages $6.5 billion in assets and holds GE shares.

“I wonder if he’s not tapping tree trunks with a stick trying to figure out if there’s bees in there,” Sorrentino said.

STILL ‘EARLY ON’

Immelt’s remarks came just a week after he told investors GE that the company was “seriously” considering spinning off the appliances unit.

“The appliance process is still very early on, and much still has to be decided,” Immelt said in Beijing on Wednesday.

GE’s well-known brand name could appeal to a foreign appliance manufacturer looking to build its profile in the United States while capitalizing on lower-cost production.

Goodmorning Shinhan Securities analyst Steve Lee said, “I doubt LG Elec would be interested in pursuing this deal, since there’s little the company can gain. There’s a lot of overlap between the businesses with little premium potential for LG.”

Lee said Immelt’s comments could be aimed at drumming up interest from a small pool of potential candidates with deep-enough pockets to buy the business.

Recycle Your Old Monitor and Other Electronics

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Best Buy will take and recycle your unwanted appliances free of charge.  One hundred seventeen stores in the Baltimore, San Francisco, and Minnesota areas are welcoming customers to bring in no more than two units per day, per household, for recycling at no charge. Customers can bring in items such as televisions and monitors up to 32-inches, computers, phones, cameras, and other electronics devices and peripherals.

Best Buy said it would work with its stores, recycling partners, and manufacturers to evaluate the success of the test and determine options for scaling it across the United States.

Dacor’s New Indoor/Outdoor Refrigerator

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Dacor’s newest addition to its Epicure line is designed to fit neatly under any counter in an outdoor patio or kitchen layout, the unit stands at 33″ tall and 24″ wide and will easily slide into standard cabinetry openings. An innovative digital electronic control panel allows users to adjust the temperature with the simple touch of a button, a charcoal filter removes unwanted odors, keeping contents pure and the unit boasts quiet storage due to a vibration-free compressor.

Available with a stainless steel door with left- or right-hand door swing options, the refrigerator is built to withstand temperatures from 50 degrees to 109 degrees Fahrenheit, is efficient at maintaining internal temperatures and can to be used to store milk and fresh food storage in addition to beverages. The refrigerator is the ideal accessory for any bar or entertainment area and has the capacity to hold 124 cans or 50 bottles.

Recall: Counterfeit Circuit Breakers By Specialty Lamp International Due to Fire Hazard

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Name of Product: Counterfeit Circuit Breakers labeled as “Square D”

Units: About 371,000

Distributor: Specialty Lamp International Inc., of Deerfield Beach, Fla.

Hazard: The recalled circuit breakers labeled “Square D” have been determined by Square D to be counterfeit and can fail to trip when they are overloaded, posing a fire hazard to consumers.

Incidents/Injuries: None reported.

Description: The counterfeit circuit breakers are black and are labeled as Square D QO-series models 115, 120, 130, 215, 220, 230, 240, 250, 260 and 2020 and Square D QOB-series models 115, 120, 130, 220, 230, 250, 260 and 1515. Actual Square D circuit breakers have (a) the amp rating written on the handle in white paint on the front of the breaker (authentic Square D circuit breakers manufactured prior to 2003 did not have white paint on the amperage numbers); (b) the Square D insignia molded onto the breaker side, and; (c) a yellow chromate mounting clip with half of the top of the clip visible. If your breaker, labeled as Square D, does not match this description, it could be counterfeit.

Sold by: Electrical product distributors nationwide from May 2005 through June 2006 for between $3 and $23.

Manufactured in: China or Unknown

Remedy: Consumers should contact Specialty to determine if the breaker they have is counterfeit and to arrange for a free inspection and replacement or refund if necessary.

Consumer Contact: For additional information, contact Specialty at (866) 650-3076 between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. ET, by email bart@specialty-lamp.com, or visit the company’s Web site at www.ebulb.net. This is not a Square D Company recall.

Whirlpool’s Fourth Annual Mother of Invention Grant Competition.

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We all know the old saying: “Better later than never” well, I’m a bit late, but there is still plenty of time to enter the competition for Whirlpool’s Mother of Invention grant.

Beginning on May 11, the 100th anniversary of Mother’s Day, and running through July 31, moms may submit their unique business, service or product ideas for consideration at http://www.whirlpool.com/moms . In addition, to recognize moms who develop an environmentally-friendly product/service or use natural/recycled materials to create their invention, the company has added a green category for the first time. Five winners will be announced in September and will receive grant money (up to $20,000), home appliance prizes and an invitation to a business boot camp at Whirlpool headquarters.

The program closes on July 31, 2008.