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Area Development - Site Selection, Facility Planning and Workforce Development

GE Lighting Plans $30 Million Expansion At Ohio and Illinois Manufacturing Centers

08/22/2013
GE will invest $30 million and add more than 150 jobs to expand capacity of its GE Lighting’s domestic manufacturing centers in Ohio and Illinois to meet growing consumer demand for Energy-Efficient Soft White light bulbs.

Hiring for the new manufacturing positions will occur at three GE plants in Bucyrus and Circleville, Ohio, and Mattoon, Illinois. These new positions add to the more than 700 employees currently at work across the three plants.

The announcement coincides with a new agreement between Walmart and GE, as part of Walmart’s $50 billion domestic manufacturing commitment to bring more American-made products to consumers. This agreement will put U.S.-made GE Energy-Efficient Soft White light bulbs on the shelves of 3,400 Walmart Stores by summer 2014.

GE Chairman and CEO Jeff Immelt said, “As a company whose history dates back more than 130 years, we understand that to grow, we have to invest—in R&D and in workers. Today’s announcement is evidence of our continued commitment to creating advanced manufacturing jobs in the U.S. and yet another sign of an American manufacturing renewal.”

“Today marks another significant milestone in Walmart’s valued relationship with GE and our effort to grow U.S. manufacturing,” says Bill Simon, Walmart U.S. President and CEO. “Earlier this year, we committed to buying an additional $50 billion in U.S.-made products over the next decade. Our collaboration with GE brings real progress that benefits our customers and associates alike.”

Since 2009, GE Lighting has invested more than a billion dollars to reshape the business, focusing on energy-efficient products and increasing R&D spending by 20 percent, GE officials said. GE has moved quickly to respond to increasing consumer demand for incandescent bulb alternatives, expanding existing manufacturing capabilities, while also working with Walmart to put domestically made bulbs into the hands of their consumers. Production of the domestically made bulbs will start the first half of 2014.

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