• Contract signed with the city of Opelika

• Production of cookers and ovens for North America to start at the end of 2024

• First expansion phase with 150 employees

In order to pave the way for further growth, Miele announced in March that it would be setting up an additional production facility in the USA. The exact location has now been finalised: the German family-owned company's first plant on the American continent will be built in Opelika in the State of Alabama. Production is scheduled to start by the end of 2024. In the first phase, 150 employees shall come on board.

There are several good reasons for the decision to also produce in the USA in the future. The United States, where Miele has been represented by a sales and service company for 40 years, is the largest market outside Germany. At the same time, the company still sees a lot of potential here. The new site will enable Miele to produce the ovens and range cookers specifically designed for the USA, Canada and Mexico close to the market. Later, the matching Cooker hoods will also be produced here. "This reduces the delivery time from up to ten weeks today to just a few days in a customer-friendly way and also reduces the impact on the climate," says Dr Stefan Breit, Executive Director Technology at the Miele Group.

Opelika is a fast-growing and prosperous city in south-east Alabama with a current population of around 32,000. If you include the neighbouring city of Auburn, which is home to one of the state's leading technical universities, more than 100,000 people live in the region. “This means that there is a good supply of skilled workers, including highly qualified engineers", says Dr Uwe Brunkhorst, Senior Vice President Business Unit Cooking, which is one of the most important growth drivers for the Miele Group in the USA and in general.

Thanks to the neighbouring industrial companies, particularly in the automotive sector, Miele also finds good conditions here for the development of a local supplier network. In the interest of further CO2 savings, the majority of parts that Miele does not manufacture itself will also come from the USA. The transport links are also ideal, close to Interstate 85 and just 75 minutes' drive from Atlanta Airport. “Overall, Opelika offers the best conditions for a successful start for our new plant, including the long-term perspective for further expansion stages”, Brunkhorst continues. He thanks the city of Opelika and the State of Alabama “for their outstanding support in the process so far” and looks forward to further cooperation.

Today, the Cooking business unit's production is distributed as follows: Hobs and steam ovens as well as warming drawers come from the Bünde plant (approx. 730 employees), Cooker hoods from Arnsberg (approx. 250 employees) and cookers, ovens and Dialogue ovens from Oelde (approx. 670 employees). The steam ovens, i.e., ovens and steam cookers in one appliance, are produced in Bünde or Oelde, depending on the model. “The new site will give all three plants the capacity for future increases in production volumes for the other model ranges”, says Senior Vice President BU Cooking Brunkhorst.

Including the new plant, the Miele Group's international production network will include a total of 16 locations, eight of which are in Germany and one each in Austria, China, the Czech Republic, Romania, Poland and the USA. In addition, there are the two plants of the Italian medical technology subsidiary Steelco Group.

Company profile: Miele is the world's leading manufacturer of premium domestic appliances including cooking, baking and steam-cooking appliances, refrigeration products, coffee makers, dishwashers and laundry and floor care products. Their product portfolio also includes dishwashers, washing machines and tumble dryers for commercial use as well as washer-disinfectors and sterilisers for use in medical and laboratory applications. Founded in 1899, the company has eight production plants in Germany, one each in Austria, the Czech Republic, China, Romania and Poland as well as two production plants belonging to its Italian medical technology subsidiary Steelco. Sales in the 2022 business year amounted to around € 5.43 bn. Miele is represented with its own sales subsidiaries and via importers in almost 100 countries/regions. Throughout the world, the family-run enterprise, now in its fourth generation, employs a workforce of around 23,300, of which approx. 11,900 employees work in Germany. The company has its headquarters in Gütersloh in Westphalia.