GE

GE CEO cites five potential bidders for appliances

June 12, 2008 By NightOwl

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.

Newly Expanded GE Café Series of Appliances

May 16, 2008 By NightOwl

The newest additions to the GE Café series include two counter-depth refrigerators, and a new electric range.

Refrigerators:

The counter-depth styling allows the appliances to blend seamlessly with the surrounding cabinetry, achieving a built-in look without the added expense of a built-in model.
The new counter-depth 25-cubic-foot side-by-side refrigerator is available with ClimateKeeper2™ technology, featuring a dual-evaporator system to create two zones of air circulation that help foods stay fresh. Because air is no longer circulated between the fresh-food and freezer compartments, the freezer’s cold, dry air won’t prematurely dry out foods, and odors won’t transfer between the compartments. Suggested retail price for this refrigerator is $3,249.

For home chefs who prefer the convenience of keeping produce and meats at eye level, GE will launch the 21-cubic-foot GE Café counter-depth bottom freezer with French doors. Now available with an internal water dispenser. Suggested retail price is $2,899.

Offered as a free-standing, slide-in range, the new GE Café Electric Range offers consumers without a gas line the ability to have a restaurant-inspired range. The range includes a fifth center burner and cast-iron griddle on the cooktop, a PreciseAir™ convection oven, and a double-oven configuration with a drawer that heats up to 450 degrees for added cooking flexibility. An optional stainless steel backsplash is available (model JXS80SS). The GE Café electric free-standing range (model CS980SNSS) will be available November 2008 with an estimated retail price of $2799.

GE Brings Good Things to an End – Exits the Appliance Business

May 14, 2008 By WorkinMan

Its all about gross margins. General Electric confirmed today that they are leaving the appliance business and will sell their appliance division to the highest bidder, as part of the “most active portfolio change in the history of the company.” GE, which entered the appliance business in 1907, is closing one of its signature divisions and strongest links to its past.

The industrial division that includes appliance manufacturing has stayed steady at around 17.7 billion dollars per year, a bit over 10 percent of the company’s 172 billion dollars in annual revenue. The company continues to produce well received, high quality innovative products.

But in the face of a 6 percent drop in profit, and heavy pressure from Wall Street, the suits in the executive suite at GE Corporate have spent the last year shedding almost 60 billion dollars in divisions that represent stability rather than growth. GE decided that appliances weren’t sexy enough anymore.

Chief Executive Jeff Immelt has been under pressure to restructure the industrial and financial conglomerate, particularly since last month’s surprising report that profit fell in the first quarter.At the time, Immelt brushed off questions about GE spinning off businesses. But with an 11 billion dollar sale of its plastics division, and a 5 to 8 billion dollar sale of its appliance division, GE is quickly liquidating those core industrial divisions that might face slower growth in today’s economic environment.

Don’t be surprised if the GE nameplate soon has mandarin subtitles.

LG and GE to Share Patents

March 17, 2008 By NightOwl

News from appliancemagazine.com a trade magazine, reports:

LG Electronics has entered into a cross licensing agreement with GE Consumer & Industrial that will allow LG and GE to use one another’s patents for refrigerators and cooking appliances without paying licensing fees.

“We believe that this licensing arrangement with GE will enhance our ability to deliver winning products and move us further toward our goal of becoming one of the top global brands in consumer electronics and home appliances,” said Young Ha Lee, president and CEO of LG Electronics Digital Appliance Company. “Our long history of working together with GE will help us take advantage of this agreement even more quickly.

“This agreement is part of a win-win strategy for both GE and LG,” said Lynn S. Pendergrass, president and CEO, GE Consumer and Industrial—Americas. “We expect the synergies resulting from the strong relationship between our two companies will contribute substantially to the success of both GE and LG.”

LG and GE have collaborated on cooking appliances since 1999, both in technologies and product development. The companies say the new agreement will help the companies strengthen their competitiveness worldwide. It will be especially helpful to LG, it said, in its push to expand its presence in digital appliances globally. The company currently sells its products through all three of the top retailers in North America: The Home Depot, Sears and Best Buy.

LG has previously entered into key partnerships with other top companies to build its technology and customer base. In 2000 the company partnered with Matsushita’s air-conditioning division and in 2001 LG allied itself with both Microsoft and Intel in the home networking sector.

GE Tankless Gas Water Heater

February 27, 2008 By NightOwl

A hot shower. Few rituals bring as much pleasure as does standing beneath a warm spray. And few things can spoil that ritual as much as finding that the person who showered before you has used up every drop of hot water.

The new line of GE® tankless gas water heaters provides a continuous supply of hot water* when and where you need it. No more dipping the finger into the spray to see if the temperature is just right, or standing in a cold bathroom waiting for hot water that’s been drained from the tank.

Unlike conventional water tanks that heat and store hot water around the clock, GE’s tankless gas water heater only activates when you start to use hot water, and immediately de-activates when you are done. The result is a more energy-efficient system; using a tankless gas heater can save homeowners up to 25% annually on water heating costs on their energy bill over a standard 40-gallon gas tank water heater.** Those savings are a result of eliminating standby losses–the energy lost from warmed water sitting in a tank. GE’s tankless gas heaters have an Ef rating of. 82, whereas a standard gas water heater has an Ef rating of just .53–.62.

The tankless system delivers continuous hot water at the precisely heated temperature to every faucet, fixture or appliance in the home. The electronic digital control allows the homeowner to adjust the hot water temperature at the touch of a button, while the Precise Temp feature keeps water temperature within three degrees (+/-)of the heater’s set point.

Another advantage of the tankless gas water heater is that with proper sizing, it is capable of providing continuous hot water even when multiple showers, tubs, sinks or appliances are in use at the same time.

GE’s tankless gas water heaters also fit in small spaces. Available in both outdoor and indoor models, the tankless gas water heater’s compact footprint (approximately 23-inches height x 14-inches width x 10-inches; deep, and weighing 50 pounds) allows installation in attics, garages, closets or other out-of-the-way locations. For the ultimate in convenience, units can be equipped with an optional remote controller, which allows the user to monitor and adjust hot water temperature in the bathroom, kitchen, laundry room or any other room. Outdoor units are equipped with ceramic heaters that prevent them from freezing at temperatures as low as –30°F.

Available June 2008, the GE tankless gas water heater is available in two sizes (7.5-gallon-per-minute flow and 9.4-gallon-per-minute flow), indoor and outdoor. The 7.5-gallon-per-minute flow is available in natural gas; the 9.4-gallon-per-minute flow is available in natural gas or LP gas.