Product Once Made at GE’s Appliance Park Comes Home

• GE Zoneline^® packaged terminal room air
  conditioners will start full production at Appliance Park in the first
  quarter of 2016
• The new product brings 75 new jobs and $40 million investment

LOUISVILLE, Ky.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–As part of a $250 million investment GE Appliances is making in the
three-year period ending in 2016 at its Appliance Park manufacturing
location in Louisville, Kentucky, the company is adding a new product
category to the current lineup of refrigerators, dishwashers, washing
machines, clothes dryers and hybrid water heaters manufactured there. GE
Zoneline^®, a through-the-wall heating and air conditioning
unit, mainly used in the hotel/motel industry, will start full
production in the first quarter of 2016.

GE Zoneline PTAC models were made at Appliance Park from 1961 until 1987
when manufacture of the product was outsourced overseas. The new
Zoneline units will be manufactured at Appliance Park in the same
building as the GeoSpring™ hybrid water heaters, becoming the second new
product platform brought to Appliance Park in nearly 50 years. The first
was GeoSpring, introduced in 2012 as part of a $1 billion investment GE
made in its U.S. appliance manufacturing facilities.

Of the $250 million being invested in Appliance Park, $40 million has
been used to build the new Zoneline production line. One hundred
operators will man the line, 75 of whom will occupy new jobs.

“The existing Zoneline products have served our customers well, but as
the hotel/motel industry becomes increasingly more competitive,
customers are looking for every advantage to ensure their guests have
the best experience possible,” said Liz VerSchure, product general
manager for consumer comfort. “We have taken the most important aspects
of heating and cooling the traveler’s room into account with our new
design, so both the guests and our customers can rest easy at night.
Plus, with new design and appearance improvements, it looks great.”

The new Zoneline is engineered to be more reliable, quiet, energy
efficient, and easier to install and maintain, all features that are
critical to hotel/motel customers. Hospitality industry data shows that
when guests are not pleased with the noise or temperature of their room,
two-thirds are not very likely to return to the hotel and one-third are
not very likely to recommend a hotel.¹

About the new GE Zoneline:

• The number one priority for hotel owners when it comes to PTACs is
  having a reliable, dependable unit. If the unit isn’t working, the
  room cannot be sold, which means a loss of revenue for hotel owners.
  GE has millions of installed Zoneline units with an excellent service
  record. The new design will build and improve on that legacy.
• GE Zoneline is the quietest PTAC compared to leading competitors, has
  the best noise insulation and lowest dBA, as verified by an
  independent, nationally accredited certified acoustics lab.²
• GE’s Zoneline units are on average eight percent more energy efficient
  than leading competitor units. For a 100-room property, this can save
  a hotel owner thousands of dollars annually on their utility bill.

GE Appliances

GE Appliances is at the forefront of building innovative,
energy-efficient appliances that improve people’s lives. GE Appliances’
products include refrigerators, freezers, cooking products, dishwashers,
washers, dryers, air conditioners, water filtration systems and water
heaters. General Electric (NYSE: GE) works on things that matter to
build a world that works better. For more information on GE Appliances,
visit www.ge.com/appliances.

1 Clarabridge Ratings and Reviews for hospitality data collected July
2013-June 2014.
2 Independent Third Party Testing at
nationally accredited certified acoustical lab, conducted March 2015 in
accordance with ASTM and AHRI standards.

Contacts

For GE Appliances
Kim Freeman, 502-452-7819
kim_freeman@ge.com