GE Consumer & Industrial
Encyclopedia
GE Consumer & Industrial is a subsidiary of General Electric
headquartered in Louisville, Kentucky
at Appliance Park. GE Consumer & Industrial is one of the largest suppliers of appliances in the world. It was created in January 2004 when GE Consumer Products merged with GE Industrial Systems. Appliance Park has its own zip code
, 40225.
, Kentucky
on Appliance Park, the 1000 acres (4 km²) manufacturing facility that would eventually employ 25,000 full-time employees.
, MDI
, Arsenic
, and PCBs
were dumped into the ground for over 30 years before the landfill became inactive .
. The force patrols the park for safety hazards 365 days a year. They have a 21-member force with KY certified EMTs
protecting the park. At one time the guard force was at 70 members but has drastically been reduced over the last 20 years to coincide with Appliance Park.
General Electric
General Electric Company , or GE, is an American multinational conglomerate corporation incorporated in Schenectady, New York and headquartered in Fairfield, Connecticut, United States...
headquartered in Louisville, Kentucky
Louisville, Kentucky
Louisville is the largest city in the U.S. state of Kentucky, and the county seat of Jefferson County. Since 2003, the city's borders have been coterminous with those of the county because of a city-county merger. The city's population at the 2010 census was 741,096...
at Appliance Park. GE Consumer & Industrial is one of the largest suppliers of appliances in the world. It was created in January 2004 when GE Consumer Products merged with GE Industrial Systems. Appliance Park has its own zip code
ZIP Code
ZIP codes are a system of postal codes used by the United States Postal Service since 1963. The term ZIP, an acronym for Zone Improvement Plan, is properly written in capital letters and was chosen to suggest that the mail travels more efficiently, and therefore more quickly, when senders use the...
, 40225.
Production
In 1951 construction began in LouisvilleLouisville, Kentucky
Louisville is the largest city in the U.S. state of Kentucky, and the county seat of Jefferson County. Since 2003, the city's borders have been coterminous with those of the county because of a city-county merger. The city's population at the 2010 census was 741,096...
, Kentucky
Kentucky
The Commonwealth of Kentucky is a state located in the East Central United States of America. As classified by the United States Census Bureau, Kentucky is a Southern state, more specifically in the East South Central region. Kentucky is one of four U.S. states constituted as a commonwealth...
on Appliance Park, the 1000 acres (4 km²) manufacturing facility that would eventually employ 25,000 full-time employees.
- Appliance Park Building 1 (AP1) - was opened by late 1951 with Laundry Care being manufactured in the 10 acres (40,468.6 m²) building, which included washers and dryers. AP1 was the location of the world's first non-government used computer that was stored in what is today the GE Industrial Data Center. From 1951–1953 Appliance Park Building 2 (AP2) - Appliance Park Building 6 (AP6) were finished bringing production full steam at Appliance Park.
- Appliance Park Building 2 (AP2) made Ranges until 2000 when GE moved production to Mexico. Currently AP2 runs approximately 65 employees to support Appliance Park Building 3's (AP3) dishwasher operations.
- Appliance Park Building 3 (AP3) currently makes dishwashers and plans for portable dishwashers have been approved to start in early 2007. AP3 makes up the largest percentage of Appliance Park employees, with over 1,000. HotpointHotpointThe Hotpoint Electric Heating Company is a British brand of domestic appliances. The brand is currently fully owned by Italy's Indesit....
, GE Profile, and GE Monogram models are all made here.
- Appliance Park Building 4 (AP4) utilizes empty space to support AP3's dishwasher operations. AP4 is also the Information Technology headquarters for GE Industrial.
- Appliance Park Building 5 (AP5) is where the Refrigerators are put together with parts made from other locations. Until the 1980s AP5 was the largest building in terms of employees, production, and production space.
- Appliance Park Building 6 (AP6) contained Room Air until the division was sold in 1982 after its most profitable year. Since then, AP6 has been leased out to vendors and suppliers for GE and other companies. AP6 is also the new location for various electrical systems engineering teams, moved from Connecticut in 2005.
Production support operations
The remaining buildings are Product Support Operations (PSO) or often referred to as the "Back 40." At the start of the park, Appliance Park was a self-sufficient city that provided for its own needs. Until recently it had its own post office staffed by United States Postal Service employees to handle the complex's high volume of mail.- Appliance Park Building 10 (AP10) is a 47 acres (190,202.4 m²) warehouse on the western side that is used as a distribution center for GE Appliances and others such as Kenmore that GE manufactures. Over three miles (5 km) of conveyors deliver completed products from the assembly lines to the warehouse for storage.
- Appliance Park Building 20 (AP20) The Boiler House is where the main power was made due to the high demand of service needed by Appliance Park which could not be reliably provided by Louisville Gas & ElectricLouisville Gas & ElectricLouisville Gas & Electric is a utilities company based in Louisville, Kentucky. A subsidiary of PPL Corporation through the LG&E and KU Energy subsidiary, LG&E serves over 350,000 electric and over 300,000 natural gas customers, covers an area of 700 square miles , and has a total regulated...
(LG&E) at the time Appliance Park was built.
- Appliance Park Building 21 (AP21) is the electrical substation that is powered from LG&E.
- Appliance Park Building 24 (AP24) is an Industrial Waste Treatment Plant that treats all of the waste from Appliance Park.
- Appliance Park Building 26 (AP26) houses Central Maintenance (MACO) along with Environmental, Health, and Safety (EHS).
- Appliance Park Building 27 (AP27) is the Mill Water Pump House where GE's water supply and water runoff are processed. All water runoff from the 1000 acres (4 km²) facility is sent to the Mill House where it is skimmed and skimmed over a couple days before excess water is allowed to trickle to the reservoir. The stored water is used to supply water mains for GE's private water source which supplies Fire Hydrants to supplement the domestic water supply that the Louisville Water CompanyLouisville Water CompanyLouisville Water Company is a municipal water company which provides water to the more than 800,000 people in Louisville, Kentucky as well as parts of Oldham and Bullitt counties. Additionally, they provide wholesale water to the outlying counties of Shelby, Spencer, and Nelson counties...
couldn't provide if ever needed for a major fire at Appliance Park.
- Appliance Park Building 28 (AP28) is also known as "The Firehouse." GE Appliance Park employees its own fleet of Firefighters, EMT's, Hazardous Materials Team, and Security Guards complete with Ambulances, Fire engines, Fire trucks, Haz-Mat units, and Patrol trucks.
- Appliance Park Building 35 (AP35) houses the GE Consumer and Industrial Global Consumer Center. GE Industrial's CEO's Office along with the President of the division and many other executives reside in AP35. Also in AP35 is engineering and Research and Design. This building utilizes its many conference rooms to talk to Consumers and Customers about how to redesign products and receive feedback from end users. In 2007, the 9000 sq ft (836.1 m²) Monogram Experience Center opened to provide architects, designers, contractors and other home-industry professionals the opportunity to interact with appliances from the Monogram Collection.
- Appliance Park Building 90 (AP90) is the GE Consumer and Industrial Global Training Center
Landfill
GE utilized its own landfill on approximately 20 acres (80,937.2 m²) from the early 1950s until the mid 1980s when the EPA started enforcing stricter policies for big companies. Chemicals such as TDIToluene diisocyanate
Toluene diisocyanate is an aromatic diisocyanate. It is produced for reaction with polyols to form polyurethanes. It exists in two isomers, 2,4-TDI and 2,6-TDI . 2,4-TDI is produced in the pure state, but TDI is often marketed as 80/20 and 65/35 mixtures of the 2,4 and 2,6 isomers respectively...
, MDI
Methylene diphenyl diisocyanate
Methylene diphenyl diisocyanate, most often abbreviated as MDI, is an aromatic diisocyanate. It exists in three isomers, 2,2'-MDI, 2,4'-MDI, and 4,4'-MDI, but the 4,4' isomer is most widely used. This isomer is also known as Pure MDI. MDI reacts with polyols in the manufacture of polyurethane...
, Arsenic
Arsenic
Arsenic is a chemical element with the symbol As, atomic number 33 and relative atomic mass 74.92. Arsenic occurs in many minerals, usually in conjunction with sulfur and metals, and also as a pure elemental crystal. It was first documented by Albertus Magnus in 1250.Arsenic is a metalloid...
, and PCBs
Polychlorinated biphenyl
Polychlorinated biphenyls are a class of organic compounds with 2 to 10 chlorine atoms attached to biphenyl, which is a molecule composed of two benzene rings. The chemical formula for PCBs is C12H10-xClx...
were dumped into the ground for over 30 years before the landfill became inactive .
Recycling
In order to decrease operational expenses at Appliance Park, a recycling initiative was introduced in December, 2006 . In addition to cutting costs, this initiative aims to make the site more environmentally friendly. Major waste streams include cardboard, wooden pallets, metals, electronics, and plastics. Waste office paper will be recycled through the Metro Louisville's "Office Paper Recycling Program". Proceeds will benefit BrightSide, a city beautification campaign initiated by Metro Louisville Mayor Jerry Abramson.Protection
The firefighters, EMS, Haz-Mat, and security force is the only one of its kind left in GEGeneral Electric
General Electric Company , or GE, is an American multinational conglomerate corporation incorporated in Schenectady, New York and headquartered in Fairfield, Connecticut, United States...
. The force patrols the park for safety hazards 365 days a year. They have a 21-member force with KY certified EMTs
Emergency medical technician
Emergency Medical Technician or Ambulance Technician are terms used in some countries to denote a healthcare provider of emergency medical services...
protecting the park. At one time the guard force was at 70 members but has drastically been reduced over the last 20 years to coincide with Appliance Park.