Dive Brief:
- Luxury appliance maker Miele is establishing its first U.S. plant in Opelika, Alabama, which is expected to begin production by the end of 2024, the Germany-based company announced Dec. 7.
- Miele plans to acquire an existing facility in addition to building a new facility that will serve as its U.S. production center by 2030. Miele declined to comment on the investment.
- The plant will produce range cookers, built-in ovens and, eventually, ventilation hoods, for markets in the U.S., Canada and Mexico, Stefan Breit, executive director, technology, said in a video posted on LinkedIn.
Dive Insight:
With the United States being Miele’s largest market outside of Germany, the Opelika plant will help cut down delivery time from 10 weeks to just a few days, Breit said in a statement.
“The U.S. is a very important market for Miele, and we feel this is a necessary long-term investment that will ensure the strength of the Miele brand,” Axel Kniehl, executive director, marketing and sales at the Miele Group, said in a statement earlier this year.
The company initially announced it was building a U.S. production site in March, noting that it chose Opelika for its location near three major highways, Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, Auburn University as well as other schools in the area.
The site’s local supplier network will also help Miele reduce its carbon footprint as products don’t have to be transported across the Atlantic Ocean, Breit said in March.
Miele has been working on setting up its U.S. presence over the past year. Last October, the manufacturer opened an Emerging Technologies Lab in Peabody, Massachusetts, which focuses on finding and testing technologies for its global product lines in all categories.
