Whirlpool Corporation Selects The Pizzuti Companies to Develop New Corporate Campus in Benton Harbor

BENTON HARBOR, Mich., Sept 09, 2010 /PRNewswire via COMTEX/ — Whirlpool Corporation today announced the selection of The Pizzuti Companies, of Columbus, Ohio as developer for its new corporate campus to be located at the intersection of Main Street and Riverview Drive in downtown Benton Harbor. The new development will transform the property into an office campus of three, three-story buildings and other amenities.

“Pizzuti offered a creative and talented team that not only embraced Whirlpool Corporation’s 100-year history but also demonstrated an understanding of what it takes to support our forward-looking innovation processes,” said Lee Utke, MCR, director of global corporate real estate for Whirlpool Corporation. “They offered a holistic solution, a commitment to using locally based contractors and service providers, and a demonstrated track record of successful community enhancement projects.”

The proposed design will also target LEED Gold certification.

Pizzuti’s development projects include the Heathrow International Business Center in Orlando, Florida and One and Two Miranova, a mixed-use redevelopment in downtown Columbus that features a luxury high-rise condominium tower and a 12-story Class A office building that serves as home to Pizzuti’s corporate headquarters. In addition, Pizzuti is serving as master developer for Exploration Park, a high-tech research and office park on the grounds of the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Pizzuti also has completed multiple buildings for Whirlpool Corporation, including a 1.6 million-square-foot, LEED-certified facility.

“We’re extremely pleased to continue our long-standing relationship with Whirlpool Corporation,” said Joel S. Pizzuti, president and COO of The Pizzuti Companies. “The entire Pizzuti team is committed to delivering a sustainable, world-class corporate headquarters that will allow Whirlpool to continue to retain and attract the best and brightest minds to its corporate workforce.”

“The development of Whirlpool’s new campus is a component in the ongoing rebirth of Benton Harbor,” Pizzuti added. “We are confident that Whirlpool’s new campus will serve as an anchor to downtown Benton Harbor, to attract others to invest in revitalizing the area, to enhance the local tax base and to create new jobs along the way.”

In July, Whirlpool Corporation announced plans to build a new office campus as part of a consolidation of its 15 owned and leased facilities – located throughout the greater Benton Harbor and Saint Joseph area – to three centralized office campuses. The changes are expected to take approximately five years to complete and will allow the company to deliver on improvements in productivity, operations, energy efficiency, and overall employee experience. These changes will also allow the company to reduce its operating costs, and will provide greater flexibility to adjust to changing business and staffing needs.

The final three campuses will include the existing Benton Harbor Administrative Center, the St. Joseph Technology Center location, along with the new Main Street Benton Harbor campus. In addition to these three campuses, the company plans to retain its Hilltop Drive South offices, Harbor Town offices and its Business Travel Center.

About Whirlpool Corporation

Whirlpool Corporation is the world’s leading manufacturer and marketer of major home appliances, with annual sales of approximately $17 billion in 2009, 67,000 employees, and 67 manufacturing and technology research centers around the world. The company markets Whirlpool, Maytag, KitchenAid, Jenn-Air, Amana, Brastemp, Consul, Bauknecht and other major brand names to consumers in nearly every country around the world. Additional information about the company can be found at http://www.whirlpoolcorp.com.

About The Pizzuti Companies

Established in 1976, The Pizzuti Companies is a recognized leader in the development, marketing and management of real estate. With operations in Columbus, Chicago and Orlando, Pizzuti has developed more than 40 million square feet of Class A office, medical and healthcare, retail, residential and institutional-quality industrial facilities throughout the Midwest and Southeast regions of the United States. Pizzuti also has considerable experience working with local governments in the development of creative public-private partnerships. A leader in sustainable design practices, Pizzuti has completed build-to-suit and speculative construction projects in each of their major markets. Pizzuti Solutions LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary, boasts a staff with more than a century of combined public-sector work experiences, and focuses extensively in the areas of public facilities, sports and recreation, cultural facilities, education and strategic planning. http://www.pizzuti.com

SOURCE Whirlpool Corporation

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Whirlpool Corporation Rocks the Appliance World with a 70-City Training Tour

Sales Teams Receive Arsenal of Product Information to Better Serve Customer Needs

BENTON HARBOR, Mich., Sept 07, 2010 /PRNewswire via COMTEX/ — Although not as famous as the latest summer tours of Bon Jovi or Lady Gaga, Whirlpool Corporation will soon be packing up and hitting the road as well. The seven-week initiative, “Whirlpool Corporation on Tour” will train sales associates in 70 cities across the United States on the latest new product innovations and key selling points of Whirlpool Corporation’s appliances.

“Whirlpool Corporation on Tour makes learning about the company’s products easy and entertaining,” said Liz Okon, Sales Training Manager at Whirlpool Corporation. “By bringing the training tools and field experts to sales associates across the nation, we are providing an unmatched, hands-on learning experience. A well-educated sales team offers customers better in-store experiences, and gives companies more opportunities to grow their business.”

Beginning in mid-September, the multi-day training will offer the latest product launch information on refrigerators, cooking appliances, dishwashers and laundry pairs from Whirlpool, Maytag and KitchenAid brands. Whirlpool on Tour’s “Backstage Pass” includes the newest laundry pairs from Maytag(R) and Whirlpool(R) brands.

Course content, led by field-brand experts, is geared towards sales teams of independent retailers, larger retail accounts, associate contract distributors, showroom consultants and designers, as well as home improvement stores. Sessions will be broken out into various segments in order to deliver customized training to meet the needs of each specific audience.

“Today’s sales associates assist homeowners in creating functional and efficient kitchen and laundry spaces. The branded vignettes on tour provide sales teams with examples of well-designed and practical recommendations for nearly all lifestyles,” added Okon.

For more information about Whirlpool Corporation on Tour, or to find out when a training event is coming to a city near you, contact your local account representative.

About Whirlpool Corporation

Whirlpool Corporation strives to exceed expectations with appliances that help building professionals create homes of distinction. The Inside Advantage(TM) is designed to meet the needs of Whirlpool Corporation’s building community customers. More than a program, The Inside Advantage(TM) provides trade customers with the strength of Powerful Brands, Innovative Products, Market Insight and Targeted Services, all from one company.

Whirlpool Corporation is the world’s leading manufacturer and marketer of major home appliances, with annual sales of approximately $17 billion in 2009, 67,000 employees, and 67 manufacturing and technology research centers around the world. The company markets Whirlpool, Maytag, KitchenAid, Jenn-Air, Amana, Brastemp, Consul, Bauknecht and other major brand names to consumers in nearly every country around the world. For more information on Whirlpool Corporation and its offerings for building professionals, please visit http://www.insideadvantage.com or call 1-800-952-2537.

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Whirlpool to Invest in Tennessee Plant

Appliance Maker, Along With Other Big Exporters, Is Fueling Productivity Gains by Revamping Domestic Production

Whirlpool Corp. will disclose on Wednesday the planned construction of a new plant in Tennessee that will serve as the centerpiece of a $300 million upgrade of domestic manufacturing facilities at the world’s largest household appliance maker by revenue.

The move highlights a shift by even export-driven U.S. manufacturers away from low-cost overseas locales in favor of rationalizing domestic operations to boost productivity.

Whirlpool considered sites in Mexico and elsewhere in the U.S. before opting to replacing a century-old factory in Cleveland, Tenn., where it assembles built-in cooking ranges and ovens. It will add 130 staff to an existing work force of 1,500.

The Benton Harbor, Mich., company has been aggressively reorganizing its North American assembly plants and distribution centers, consolidating smaller sites into larger facilities following its 2006 acquisition of rival Maytag Corp. It has closed plants in Evansville, Ind., Oxford, Miss., and recently outlined plans to close a Michigan plant.

The $120 million Cleveland project features a 400,000-square-foot distribution center and comes alongside a $175 million revamp of a plant in Clyde, Ohio, that will produce a new generation of washing machines.

A broader drop in manufacturing employment has masked improving international competitiveness. Caterpillar Inc., the world’s largest manufacturer of construction equipment, has disclosed plans for new plants or plant expansions at a half dozen locations in the U.S.

“If people gauge the strength of U.S. manufacturing on employment you come up with a very different conclusion than if you focus on production,” said William Strauss, senior economist for the Federal Reserve Bank in Chicago.

“Manufacturing has been recovering quite sharply. It’s probably the only sector of the U.S. economy that is experiencing a V-shaped recovery.”

U.S. manufacturing employment has been falling by an average of 0.1% a year for the past 60 years while factory output between 1950 and 2007 grew at an average annual rate of 3.4%, according to the Chicago Fed.

Factory automation and other productivity improvements have allowed companies to raise output while decreasing payrolls. Whirlpool reckons its revamped Clyde washing machine plant will cut the time needed to build a washer by at least 10% and boost output by more than 10%.

By building washers with more easily changeable components, Whirlpool will be able to assemble multiple models and brands from the same plant.

“Just about everything can be changed out,” said Frank Nekic, manager of washing machine development. “You can take one motor and replace it with another. It was much more difficult to create variations within the washers we had.”

Whirlpool sees similar production improvements coming from the new 1-million-square-foot Cleveland plant, which replaces a century-old factory where the company assembles built-in cooking ranges and ovens.

“This new plant will be laid out for cooking products,” said Al Holaday, vice president for North American manufacturing. “We won’t have parts going through the plant spaghetti.”

Preserving the Cleveland employees’ training and experience in lean manufacturing was a major consideration in choosing a site, he said. “Every one can pretty much duplicate the manufacturing process,” Mr. Holaday said. “What I can’t do is duplicate the experienced work force.”

Tennessee and local governments committed to providing Whirlpool with about $45 million in tax breaks, abatements and grants to offset the company’s costs of building the plant.

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The New Maytag(R) Bravos(R) is a High Efficiency Top Load Laundry Pair That Knocks the Water and Energy Savings of Front Load Laundry on its Back

Give Clothes Excellent Cleaning with a Laundry Pair that Offers Optimum Performance at a Budget-Friendly Price

CHICAGO, April 16, 2010 /PRNewswire via COMTEX/ — According to a recent Harris Interactive survey commissioned by Whirlpool Corporation, the majority of consumers (68 percent) want to live “green,” but only if it is convenient to their lifestyle. The same research shows nearly two-thirds of consumers continue to prefer the look and function of top load laundry appliances. Now, consumers can get superior performance and high efficiency most known in front load washers in top loaders – and at a price that meets every budget with the newest generation of the Maytag(R) Bravos(R) washer.

Built from the ground up to ensure long lasting performance and durability, every Maytag Bravos washer includes commercial-grade components and a 10-year limited warranty on the motor and the stainless steel wash basket to provide worry free maintenance for years to come.(i)

“When we began to design the newest Maytag Bravos laundry pair, we examined every part and design element of the machines, reduced the complexity and completely rebuilt an assembly line from scratch,” said Aaron Lynch, laundry manager for Maytag brand. “The result is what we call ‘better built from the ground up.’ We’ve created a brand new laundry pair that’s better built to provide performance, high efficiency and dependability in the top-load configuration Americans love.”

All Maytag Bravos washers are ENERGY STAR(R) qualified and use an IntelliFill(TM) sensor to regulate the amount of water being used, making automatic adjustments based on the size of the load and type of fabric. By using less water, consumers will save money and natural resources while delivering improved cleaning performance. With up to 11 different wash cycles and 18 options, the newest generation of Bravos washers is up for a number of cleaning challenges from sleeping bags to workout clothes. The dryer minimizes the risk of overdrying and shrinking with the IntelliDry(R) sensor by monitoring the moisture level of clothes as they tumble.

Mechanical, Chemical and Thermal

The Whirlpool(R) Institute of Fabric Science (WIFS) says three things (mechanical, chemical and thermal action) need to come together for excellent cleaning. The new Bravos washer combines all three for the ultimate cleaning performance.

The Power Wash cycle combines a commercial-grade impeller and stainless steel wash basket to create the best cleaning performance by moving independently of each other, creating more mechanical action and scrubbing for extra clean clothes. The extra cleaning action loosens stains and ground-in dirt while enhanced stain removal utilizes hot water to fight difficult stains such as coffee. A thorough rinse flushes out any remaining detergent or lingering soils.

Automatic detergent and fabric softener dispensers, as well as a gravity-fed bleach dispenser, evenly distribute the additives into the load and different soil level options select the appropriate soil level and wash time for each cycle. Variable temperature settings provide wash and rinse temperature options for a variety of load types. Ensure customized drying performance with the Bravos dryer’s multiple temperature controls, which allow consumers to select from a variety of temperature options based on the type of load. Consumers won’t need to think twice about their laundry.

In addition to the automatic settings, Bravos washers come equipped with a 4.3 cu. ft. I.E.C. capacity equivalent(ii), which accommodates larger loads, for fewer total loads per week. The dryer’s 7.4 cu. ft. capacity provides enough space to easily dry large loads, such as sleeping bags and comforters.

The new Maytag Bravos pair described above will be available in July 2010 at retailers nationwide. The washer (MVWX700W), which comes with a 10-year limited warranty on the motor and stainless steel wash basket from the date of purchase will have an MSRP starting at $699. The dryer (ME/GDX700XW) will have an MSRP starting at $699. Additional washer models (MVWX500W) will have an MSRP starting at $549. Please visit http://www.maytag.com for more information.

About Maytag Brand

For more than a century, Maytag brand appliances have been synonymous with dependability and durability. Through the commitment of Whirlpool Corporation, Maytag brand’s enduring tradition of quality production and performance continues to thrive. Exceptionally durable, commercial-grade components are found in many Maytag brand appliances – including Maytag(R) Performance Series front-load and Maytag(R) Centennial(R) top-load washers and dryers. Maytag brand is part of the Whirlpool Corporation, the world’s leading manufacturer and marketer of major home appliances, with annual sales of approximately $17 billion in 2009, 67,000 employees, and 67 manufacturing and technology research centers around the world. For more information on any Maytag brand appliance, visit http://www.maytag.com.

(i) Motor stator and rotor, basket side walls only. See warranty for details.

(ii) Equivalent volume per I.E.C. international standard 4th edition.

SOURCE Maytag

Copyright (C) 2010 PR Newswire. All rights reserved

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Leave the Laundry to Us: New Maytag(R) Performance 2000 Powers Through Stains

New Maytag(R) Performance Series 2000 Washer Offers Best in its Class Cleaning with new Power Wash Cycle

CHICAGO, April 15, 2010 /PRNewswire via COMTEX/ — Consumers in the market looking for new laundry appliances want it all: to save time, space, water and energy and get superior cleaning power that keeps clothes looking their best. Maytag brand’s new Performance Series 2000 offers all of this and more in a durable, long lasting washer and dryer pair designed to make laundry less of a chore and more of an effortless necessity.

Achieving best cleaning in its class(i), the Performance Series 2000 washer offers cleaning action to wipe out common fabric stains while also being gentler on fabrics. The washer’s Power Wash provides extra cleaning action and a thorough rinse for optimal stain removal. To keep clothes fresh after cycles end, the Fresh Spin(TM) option intermittently tumbles clothes for up to six hours until garments are ready to be loaded into the dryer. The My Cycle option allows consumers to create and store their favorite cycle with the push of a button.

“The new Performance Series 2000 underscores the Maytag brand’s commitment to quality that we carry throughout all of our appliances,” said Aleksey Mastilenko, category manager, front load laundry, Maytag brand. “The 10-year limited components warranty on Maytag brand’s Performance Series 2000 shows consumers they can count on their washer’s dependability for years to come.”

To highlight Maytag brand’s commitment to customers, The Performance Series 2000 washer offers a 10-year limited warranty on the motor and wash basket and is ENERGY STAR(R)-qualified, using up to 74 percent less water and 75 percent less energy than a pre-2004 conventional washer. Additionally, Performance Series 2000 washers come equipped with a 4.0 cu. ft. I.E.C. equivalent(ii), accommodating up to 20 towels per load. This means fewer total loads per week for most families, saving both time and energy for years to come.

The Performance Series 2000 pair offers compact size, an option to stack the pair and Advanced Vibration Control(TM), which is engineered to minimize movement during the spin cycle and cushion washer noise that may accompany a typical wash cycle. This washer and dryer is perfect for smaller apartments, homeowners who want to move their laundry out of the basement or for those who would like a second laundry room on the second floor closer to bedrooms.

The Performance Series 2000 washer (MHWE200X/MHWE250X) will be available in white and liquid silver nationwide in May 2010 with a starting MSRP of $749. The matching dryer (ME/GDE200X) will have an MSRP of $749, Please visit http://www.maytag.com for more information.

About Maytag Brand

For more than a century, Maytag brand appliances have been synonymous with dependability and durability. Through the commitment of Whirlpool Corporation, Maytag brand’s enduring tradition of quality production and performance continues to thrive. Exceptionally durable, commercial-grade components are found in many Maytag brand appliances — including Maytag(R) Performance Series front-load and Maytag(R) Centennial(R) top-load washers and dryers. Maytag brand is part of the Whirlpool Corporation, the world’s leading manufacturer and marketer of major home appliances, with annual sales of approximately $17 billion in 2009, 67,000 employees, and 67 manufacturing and technology research centers around the world. For more information on any Maytag brand appliance, visit http://www.maytag.com.

(i) Among leading brands, 4.0 cu. ft. I.E.C. capacity or less without heater.

(ii) Equivalent volume per I.E.C international standard 4th edition.

SOURCE Maytag

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