Team leader Lance Estus with one of the 14 new induction models GE is launching from its Roper Corp. cooking plant.
New 14-cooktop line produced at Roper’s LaFayette plant
By Alan Wolf, YSN
GE Appliances is turning up the heat at its Roper Corp. factory in LaFayette, Ga.
Besides producing conventional ranges and cooktops, the 50-year-old facility is becoming something of an induction cooking mecca, thanks in part to a $118 million capital infusion announced two years ago. The investment is fueling advanced manufacturing technologies including automation and autonomous vehicles that will increase assembly line efficiency and help double the plant’s capacity, while also supporting new product development.
See: GE Cooking Up More Production Capacity
“Our plant here in Georgia is key to GE Appliances’ leadership in delivering innovative induction cooking technology,” said Luther Ingram, executive plant director and president of Roper Corp., which is a wholly owned GE subsidiary. The manufacturer said consumer interest is growing in the technology, which utilizes electromagnetic currents that heat the cookware but leave the cooktop surface cool to the touch, resulting in faster, more efficient heating and an easier-to-clean surface.
In response to that demand, GE has introduced a new 14-model line of induction cooktops that, it said, offer maximum responsiveness with 11 to 19 heat settings, allowing burners to quickly adjust from a boil to a simmer. Another feature, unique to GE, is precision temperature control, which uses a smart pan to allow owners to finely adjust temperatures within a range of 100 to 500 degrees. In addition, Café and GE Profile cooktops offer guided cooking, which provides owners with thousands of video-guided recipes that walk the home chef through each step of the process and sync to the cooktop to automatically adjust cooking time and temperature.
One of the models, the GE Profile 36-inch touch control induction cooktop, recently won the Best of Kitchen & Bath Industry Show Connected Home Technology Silver Award.
“We are excited to expand our lineup of induction cooktops with best-in-class connected appliance features such as precision temperature and guided cooking that are raising the bar in the industry,” said Keith Larsen, executive director of product management for GE Appliances.
The induction units are joined by 14 new radiant cooktops, for a total of 28 new electric cooktops that are now launching out of LaFayette, GE said.
