Built for America: GE Appliances Announces First-ever Water Filter Manufacturing at Its Louisville, Kentucky Headquarters

The new advanced manufacturing operation will be GE Appliances’ fastest yet, producing millions of water filters annually

With insourced manufacturing and owned R&D, GE Appliances boosts water filter quality, supply chain resilience, and consumer protection

LOUISVILLE, Ky.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--GE Appliances, a Haier company, today announced the launch of its first-ever in-house water filter manufacturing operation at Appliance Park, marking a major milestone in the company’s commitment to U.S. manufacturing. The operation represents another major project stemming from GE Appliances’ ongoing $3 billion investment in U.S. manufacturing over five years. The new manufacturing operation helps safeguard consumers by strengthening GE Appliances’ ability to crack down on counterfeit water filters that threaten water quality, consumer health and appliance performance.

The state-of-the-art water filter manufacturing operation is the first of its kind for GE Appliances, and the investment brings production of high-demand refrigerator water filters to Appliance Park – the company’s global headquarters. By designing, testing and manufacturing water filters under one roof, GE Appliances further strengthens quality, supply chain resiliency and its ability to protect consumers from counterfeit products.

“This investment is exactly what advanced manufacturing should look like in America,” said Bill Good, vice president of Manufacturing for GE Appliances. “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. This new water filter manufacturing is another proof point of how we are putting our $3 billion U.S. investment commitment to work.”

“GE Appliances is making a game-changing investment in American manufacturing while setting up Kentucky to lead the way on this exciting new chapter,” said Gov. Andy Beshear. “I’m proud that Kevin Nolan and the entire GE Appliances team trust Louisville’s Appliance Park to successfully launch the company’s first-ever water filter manufacturing operation – and I know we’ll deliver great results. This $3 billion U.S. commitment is creating 800 new jobs for Kentuckians, and I am thankful to this iconic company for their continued commitment to our commonwealth and our workforce.”

“This announcement further cements Louisville as the home for advanced manufacturing,” said Louisville Mayor Craig Greenberg. “It’s incredible when new and existing business like GE Appliances continue to invest and grow in Louisville because of our geographic location, logistics capabilities, and tremendous workforce. This is the latest in many wins for Louisville and GE Appliances.”

“For more than 70 years, GE Appliances has been a cornerstone of Louisville’s economy and a source of opportunity for Kentucky families,” said Senate President Robert Stivers, R-Manchester. “The Kentucky General Assembly remains committed to policies that support continued investment and growth by GE Appliances here in the Commonwealth.”

“The introduction of the in-house production of water filters is great news for the company and great news for this community,” said House Speaker David Osborne. “We’ve said all along that advanced manufacturing is one of Kentucky’s signature industries, and GE Appliances has been at the heart of it since the first dryer rolled out of Appliance Park. We’re proud to partner with the company as it continues to invest, grow, and expand here in the Commonwealth.”

The new equipment was built by ATC in Cookville, Tenn. 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 GE Appliances’ most advanced automation for water filter production to date, including 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.

“Water quality is a concern for close to two-thirds of U.S. consumers, which is why GE Appliances has invested millions of dollars in our ice, water and filtration research and testing labs here in Kentucky,” said James Downey, senior director of Water Filtration for GE Appliances. “That commitment to quality starts with a talented research and development team and world-class laboratories, and now our new multi-million-dollar water filter line and highly skilled manufacturing team. We now own the entire process, which will give consumers greater confidence they’re getting the genuine, certified filters they expect.”

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.

Protecting Consumers from Counterfeit Filters

The new manufacturing operation also strengthens GE Appliances’ efforts to combat counterfeit water filters, which pose risks to performance, appliance longevity, and, in some cases, water quality. Counterfeit filters often bypass required testing and certification standards and can contain inferior materials.

“Counterfeit and deceptively labeled water filters are sold every day through online channels, often appearing identical to brand-name products, but they don’t meet the safety, performance, and structural standards consumers expect,” said Jill Notini, vice president of communications at the Association of Home Appliance Manufacturers. “By bringing water filter manufacturing to Appliance Park, GE Appliances is making authenticity and quality easier to identify and giving families greater confidence in the water they drink.”

By manufacturing filters at Appliance Park, GE Appliances is increasing capacity and enabling faster response to customer demand as well as further improving quality with advanced manufacturing and automation. The company continues to work with industry partners, retailers and organizations such as the Association of Home Appliance Manufacturers, www.filteritout.org and the Water Quality Association to educate consumers on how to identify genuine filters and avoid counterfeits. GE Appliances has also partnered with Amazon to help detect and remove counterfeit listings from online marketplaces.

This investment in water filter manufacturing builds on GE Appliances’ broader strategy to expand advanced manufacturing capabilities across its 11 U.S. plants and microfactories, create high-skill jobs and deliver products for every home in America.

About GE Appliances, a Haier company

At GE Appliances, a Haier company, we come together to make good things, for life. Headquartered in Louisville, Kentucky, we are a leading U.S. manufacturer of home appliances with 15,500 team members nationwide. GE Appliances, found in half of all U.S. homes, is proud to be rated America’s #1 Appliance Company¹, trusted by millions of families nationwide. We manufacture and sell products under the Monogram™, Café™, GE Profile™, GE®, Haier™, and Hotpoint™ brands. Our operations support nearly 98,000 additional American jobs and represent an investment of more than $3.5 billion since 2016. We are deeply committed to the communities where we live and work, passionate about getting closer to our product users to understand their needs and driven by the belief that there’s always a better way.

To learn more about our company, brands, career opportunities, and impact, visit geappliancesco.com or connect with us on LinkedIn.

1 OpenBrand Consumer Tracking Survey, Q1 – Q4 2024, Based on Volume of Total Majors/MO/RAC – Retail Units