BSH opens washing machine factory in Russia

The factory will produce so called Slimline washing machines, which are thinner than most European machines. The annual capacity amounts to approximately 350,000 appliances. BSH invested some 33 million Euros in the project. About 250 employees work in the new factory. Over the past 18 years BSH has continuously expanded its presence in the Russian market. It has been operating a refrigerator factory since 2007 and launched a logistics center this year. “All our facilities here in St. Petersburg produce according to strict German quality and environmental standards,” said Dr. Kurt-Ludwig Gutberlet, BSH CEO at the inauguration cere-mony. “As of this year, the site is also certified according to international ISO standards for quality and environmental protection. And that’s a good fit with the goals of the Russian government: By 2020, it wants to create economic growth without increasing energy and resource consumption.” The first produced appliances will be available in Russia in September this year. Europe’s leading home appliances produces in an international development and production network to cater to demands in each local market. Slimline washing machines are produced for the Russian market to cater to the exclusive demand for washing machines which are considerably thinner than European ones and fit into the relatively small standard Russian apartments. The foundations for the production of washing machines were laid in 2010 with the opening of a washing machine assembly line. Elements of washing machines had been produced in Germany and shipped to St. Petersburg for assembly. The annual capacity of that line was around 130 thousand units. Now washing machines are produced completely in St. Petersburg. Over the course of two years, employees were trained and now take over tasks in the production of entire washing machines. Together with the opening of this factory, the first part of the logistics centre was launched next door on an area of 10.000 square meters. The refrigerator factory has a capacity of around 500.000 units per year. A total of 900 employees work for BSH St. Petersburg in the laundry and refrigerator factories as well as in the logistics center. The investment project has been completed with the agreement of the Government of St. Petersburg. Over the course of seven years, the total investment in construction of the production facilities, equipment and engineering infrastructure has amounted to around 130 million Euros, and over 850 new jobs were created during the construction time.