August 24, 2017

LG Electronics today broke ground on its new one-million-sq.-ft. home appliance manufacturing facility near Clarksville, Tenn. The project, in the heart of Montgomery County, is expected to bring at least 600 full-time jobs to the area and will accelerate the delivery of LG’s innovative, premium home appliances to better meet U.S. consumer demand. 

LG’s new Tennessee facility is expected to be the world’s most advanced production plant for washing machines. Since announcing the site location in February, LG has accelerated the completion timeline to early 2019 and already has begun hiring for the project to meet growing demand for its laundry products – which just earned customer satisfaction awards in every laundry segment from J.D. Power* and are already recognized as number one in reliability according to a leading U.S. consumer magazine.

Starting as early as the first quarter of 2019, the factory will begin producing front- and top-load washing machines. The facility will be able to produce a fully assembled washer every 10 seconds. The highly automated plant will allow LG to change between models in less than four minutes. Longer term, the 310-acre site offers the potential to expand for production of other home appliances.

“We are proud to make further investments in America, to create even more U.S. jobs and to bring state-of-the-art home appliance production technology to the great state of Tennessee,” said Dan Song, president of the LG Home Appliance and Air Solutions Company. “We couldn’t have selected a better location for our state-of-the-art facility. Today’s groundbreaking in Clarksville brings us another step closer to producing premium LG washing machines in the U.S.”

Wilbur Ross, Secretary, U.S. Department of Commerce, led today’s groundbreaking ceremony with elected officials and dignitaries.

“The fact that one of the world’s most innovative and successful home appliance companies is establishing its largest U.S. home appliance operation here in Tennessee is a testament to the strength of our country’s business climate, the promise of our long-term prosperity and our exceptional U.S. workforce,” he said. “This is exactly the kind of job creation and investment that the administration is seeking for American workers, and I look forward to having LG’s high-quality home appliances made right here in the U.S. starting in early 2019.”

Joining Secretary Ross onstage was South Korean Ambassador to the U.S., His Excellency Ho-Young Ahn. Officials participating in today’s groundbreaking ceremony included U.S. Sen. Bob Corker, U.S. Rep. Marsha Blackburn, Tennessee Economic and Community Development Commissioner Bob Rolfe, Montgomery County Mayor Jim Durrett and Clarksville Mayor Kim McMillan. Under agreements with the state of Tennessee and Montgomery County, LG will receive support for construction, infrastructure improvements, job training and veteran recruitment. The project also includes incentives from the Tennessee Valley Authority.

The groundbreaking for the new home appliance factory in Tennessee comes on the heels of other major LG U.S. jobs initiatives. This week, LG announced plans for an advanced electric vehicle components factory in Hazel Park, Mich., and an expanded R&D center in Troy, Mich., creating nearly 300 new jobs there. LG also has started construction of the LG North American Headquarters in Englewood Cliffs, N.J., a $300-million project that is expected to increase LG’s local employment there from 500 today to more than 1,000 by 2019.

LG Electronics is known for its innovation, customer satisfaction and reliability when it comes to its home appliance products – including washing machines. According to J.D. Power, “LG received more 2017 customer satisfaction awards for kitchen and laundry appliances than any other manufacturer.”* The recognition by J.D. Power dovetails with LG’s rank as Number One home appliance brand in a U.S. consumer satisfaction survey among home appliance brands, according to the American Customer Satisfaction Index®.**

*LG received the highest numerical score in the respected segments of the J.D. Power 2017 Laundry and Kitchen Appliance Satisfaction Study, based on 6,241 (kitchen) and 14,745 (laundry) total responses, measuring customer opinions about their new appliance purchased in the previous 12 months, surveyed February-March 2017. Your experiences may vary. Visit jdpower.com.

** LG holds the number one spot in a U.S. consumer satisfaction survey among home appliance brands, according to the 2016 American Customer Satisfaction Index® (ACSI).