F&P Appliances chooses Ohio for US production

Fisher & Paykel Appliances is to locate its new manufacturing facility in the United States at Clyde, Ohio.

In July, the company said it would move its Smart Drive washing-machine production line now in Cleveland, Australia, and a motor manufacturing line in Auckland, to a North American site.

"Clyde is central to our major customers in the US," chief executive John Bongard said. "Our motives for moving to an American location were to reduce costs of production, freight and working capital associated with supplying that market, and this can be achieved by being in Ohio."

He said Clyde also offered a good infrastructure, with several companies capable of supporting the production of washing machines and motors.

The new plant will employ about 50 staff. Although 10 jobs are going in Australia, there will be no redundancies in New Zealand, just "lost future opportunities", a spokesman said.

The Ohio plant is expected to be working by the end of this fiscal year.

- NZPA