LG to Produce 'Dryers' at Tennessee Plant in the US, Signaling North American Market Expansion

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Pyeonghwa] LG Electronics is increasing its dominance in the North American market by producing dryers following its washing machine product line at its key global home appliance production base in Tennessee, USA. The company plans to secure cost competitiveness through cost reduction from local production while reliably supplying products with an advanced production system that enhances automation rates.

On the 15th, LG Electronics announced that it will fully operate a dryer production line equipped with a 'complete integrated production system' that manufactures everything from parts to finished products on a single line at its Tennessee plant in the United States.

On the 9th (local US time), Ryu Jae-cheol, President of LG Electronics H&A Business Division, said at a press conference, “We established a dryer production line to actively respond to premium demand by increasing local production in the world's largest home appliance market, the United States. We will expand our market dominance in washing machines and dryers in North America by reliably supplying products on time through an advanced production system.”

LG Electronics Tennessee Factory Overview /
[Photo by LG Electronics]

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LG Electronics completed the Tennessee plant at the end of 2018 and initially operated two washing machine production lines. In September last year, it conducted a trial operation of the dryer line and recently began full-scale production. The three lines at the Tennessee plant will produce ▲ drum washing machines ▲ top-loading washing machines ▲ dryers. The annual production capacity is 1.2 million washing machines and 600,000 dryers.

LG Electronics expects to respond promptly to demand changes by reducing logistics costs, tariffs, and delivery times through local production. Since the increase in logistics costs due to the spread of COVID-19 has acted as a factor in cost increases, the company plans to enhance cost competitiveness. It will also flexibly respond to rapidly changing business environments.

The automation rate of the Tennessee plant is 63%. The goal is to increase it to nearly 70% by the end of the year. This is the highest level for a home appliance manufacturing plant. President Ryu explained, “Following the addition of the dryer line, the Tennessee plant will establish a WashTower line in the first half of this year, becoming a production base for washing appliances and a cornerstone for the growth of the North American home appliance business.”

The total floor area of the Tennessee plant is 94,000 square meters (㎡), and the site area is 125,000 ㎡. With an investment of 30 million USD (approximately 37.26 billion KRW) for the new dryer line, the cumulative investment amounts to 390 million USD (approximately 484.38 billion KRW).

Robot arm operating at LG Electronics' Tennessee factory / Photo by LG Electronics

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LG Electronics has built the Tennessee plant into a world-class intelligent autonomous factory by integrating advanced manufacturing technologies. It introduced digital technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI), big data, and the Internet of Things (IoT), and automated processes using robots. It achieved manufacturing innovation by consolidating over 60 years of manufacturing expertise.

The Tennessee plant features a complete integrated production system that performs everything from parts manufacturing to washing machine assembly and packaging on a single line. Since issues like parts supply delays rarely occur, the time to deliver products to customers can be shortened. Additionally, strict quality conditions are uniformly applied across the entire line, improving quality from parts to finished products.

The Tennessee plant is characterized by internalizing parts manufacturing processes such as metal press processing, plastic injection molding, and painting. LG Electronics’ self-developed ‘Intelligent Injection System,’ applied to the injection process, attaches temperature and pressure sensors to molds to collect and analyze data in real time, maintaining optimal injection conditions. This improved parts productivity by about 20% and reduced defect rates by approximately 60%.

In the integrated production line, robots perform dangerous and complex tasks such as assembling heavy parts like washing and drying drums and inverter DD motors, welding that generates flames, and labor-intensive screw fastening. The process of checking for abnormalities at each production stage is also automated with AI. Productivity is enhanced through the establishment of an equipment sensing system, and logistics automation is achieved with an overhead conveyor that moves parts between the first and second floors.

AGV introduced at LG Electronics Tennessee factory / Photo by LG Electronics

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LG Electronics introduced 166 Automated Guided Vehicles (AGVs) manufactured by its production technology institute to the Tennessee plant. Tasks of transporting parts, which humans performed over 6,000 times a day, are now handled by AGVs. The AGVs automatically transport loads of up to 600 kg along optimal routes. Transport routes are determined through real-time simulation of logistics flow, finding the shortest travel distance based on over 30,000 factory location data points.

Meanwhile, LG Electronics’ home appliances have received excellent evaluations from the US market research firm ACSI as well as prominent consumer media. LG Electronics ranked first in ACSI’s ‘Consumer Satisfaction of the Year’ evaluation conducted last year targeting home appliance sellers. It was consecutively selected as ‘Best Refrigerator, Washing Machine, and Dryer of the Year’ by US consumer media that evaluate products based on actual user surveys and tests.

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