Whirlpool announced today a new industrial investment in Łódź, dedicated to its oldest factory in the city – Cooking Plant, which celebrates its 20th anniversary. For the investment of about PLN 100 million, a modern production platform is being created, which will allow the production of the most technological and advanced free-standing cookers with attractive design. These appliances will be offered to Polish consumers and exported, among others, to demanding markets such as Scandinavian and American.
“The 20th anniversary of the Cooking Plant is extremely important to us, because it testifies to the roots of Whirlpool in Łódź and it represents a good assessment of the local business environment,” comments Szymon Krupiński, Director of the Łódź Industrial Zone of Whirlpool Company Polska. “At the same time, it is a great opportunity to share information on new investments. On one hand, the development of the factory is important for the people of Whirlpool who work here, spend their days and organize their lives thanks to working together. The planned investment may result in increased employment in 2020. On the other hand, investments in Łódź are crucial for the company’s operations in Poland.”
The new investment was announced at the headquarters of the Łódź Special Economic Zone, in the presence of the authorities of the American Chamber of Commerce in Poland. Together with these partners, Whirlpool organized the 20th anniversary in Łódź. Representatives of authorities, investors and suppliers were invited. Such an event was a great opportunity to discuss American investments in Poland, as well as directions and development perspectives for Łódź.
“Very good cooperation with such a big company as Whirlpool shows that the Łódź Special Economic Zone is a good place to locate business. Three investments in the zone worth almost one billion PLN of and almost two thousand created jobs. This shows how important American investments are in the development of the Łódź region. Whirlpool factories in Łódź and Radomsko determine the strength of the household appliances industry in the Łódź voivodeship, Poland and Europe. The export of household appliances growing from year to year is largely due to Whirlpool’s investments. As a result, home appliances produced in Łódź are known all over the world. What we are proud of and looking at the dynamic development of Whirlpool we are optimistic about the future.” says Marek Michalik, President of the Management Board of the Łódź Special Economic Zone.
“The scale of Whirlpool’s investments in Poland is a great example of how important American companies for Poland are. It is one company but with great potential with investments which includes production, services, logistics as well as research and development. Poland, with its excellent resources and market, is a unique investment place for such companies, and Łódź is particularly attractive. Apart from the historical industrial base, Łódź is constantly changing and modernizing. Today, modern office buildings are developing there, and the city center impresses tourists and offers residents an ever better quality of life. ”comments Tony Housh, President of AmCham.
Whirlpool currently employs approximately 6,000 people in Poland. It has three large production sites in Łódź, Wrocław and Radomsko, as well as a commercial office in Warsaw, EMEA Shared Services Center for Finance (opened in 2017) and Supply Chain (opened in 2019) in Łódź, as well as the Research and Development Center in Wrocław, which also includes the Global R&D Center for Refrigerators. In April 2018, the process of unification of the enterprise into one legal entity was completed, what was the consequence of the acquisition of Indesit Company by Whirlpool Corporation in 2014. Whirlpool is the third largest American investor in Poland and the largest producer of home appliances in Poland.