General Electric purchased a 900-plus-acre farmland parcel in 1950 on which to build its appliance manufacturing base.
Sprawling industrial complex compiles a long list of industry firsts
By Alan Wolf, YSN
It was 70 years ago that General Electric shipped its first appliance — a dryer— from an emerging industrial complex just outside Old Louisville, Ky.
The campus, christened Appliance Park, would soon become synonymous with America’s manufacturing might and ingenuity and, for those within the trade, the heritage of GE’s home appliance division.
Today, 70 years and more than 240 million appliances later, GE Appliances (GEA) and its corporate parent Haier Group are celebrating the sprawling headquarters, production and R&D facility which, like the old General Electric tagline, brings good things to life.
“For seven decades, Appliance Park has been a pioneer in the home appliance industry,” said Kevin Nolan, president and CEO of GEA. “Here in Louisville, GE Appliances invents and builds products that help improve life in the home for families across the country.”
Peter Pepe, the company’s VP of clothes care, has a special appreciation for Appliance Park and its heritage, as his team works in AP1, the facility’s first manufacturing plant. “You can find a GE appliance in half of all U.S. homes thanks to the thousands of employees who have worked here at Appliance Park through the years,” he said.
Pepe also spoke to a legacy of innovation that can be traced back to Thomas Edison. Among Appliance Park’s many firsts were:
- One of the first industrial parks in the U.S. (1953)
- Home to the first commercial UNIVAC computer (1954)
- First self-cleaning oven (1963)
- First custom through-the-refrigerator-door ice and water dispenser (1969)
- First portable room air conditioner (1971)
- First over-the-range (OTR) microwave, to free up counter space (1978)
- First smart dishwasher, using auto sensing to gauge soiled dishes (1995)
- First to deploy cooking modes to customers’ appliances via over-the-air (OTA) software updates (2021)
Today that legacy continues, as more than 1,600 engineers are at work throughout Appliance Park’s 80-plus high-tech labs to design the latest home appliances, to be built by 6,000 production associates in five state-of-the-art plants.
Looking ahead, CEO Nolan said “We’re more energized than ever to continue serving as a leader in American manufacturing … Through continued investments at Appliance Park, we’re developing even smarter products, breakthrough solutions and quality experiences that simplify and bring value to people’s lives.”
