By The Associated Press
Friday, February 10, 2012
General Electric Co. is starting production of a hybrid water heater in Louisville, marking the first new product line at Appliance Park since 1957.
The company said Friday that the $38 million investment in the new product and revitalized facility is the first milestone in GE commitments since 2009 to invest $1 billion and create more than 1,300 new jobs in the U.S. by 2014. Most of that investment will be in Louisville.
The water heater and other recent investments also have created hundreds of salaried jobs in engineering, industrial design and manufacturing.
GE Appliances President and CEO Charles "Chip" Blankenship says it's the start of reversing decades of outsourcing.
GE chose Louisville as the production site for the water heater instead of China, where an earlier version was made.
