A new General Electric water heater consumes 60% less electricity and– drum roll, please!— is made in the USA! Now that’s energy conservation with a homemade flavor.
After a presidential campaign when the word jobs was repeated over and over again like a mantra, GE is bringing jobs back from China to Illinois, says an article in the December issue of the Atlantic.
GE appliances (dishwashers, refrigerators, water heaters) have built-in energy conservation features– starting with the fact that the finished product is not being shipped halfway around the world.
Charles Fishman, author of the feature story in the Atlantic, says there are several reasons why ‘made in USA’ now makes more sense. Higher oil prices: shipping product from China to be sold in America is more expensive than it was 10 years ago.
Cheap natural gas means lower energy costs at home.
Wages in China have gone up five-fold since the year 2000, and they are expected to keep rising. American unions are more flexible. (Union wages have actually gone down.)
Technology has replaced much of the labor in manufacturing, so labor is a smaller component of the total cost of making something.
And the American-made products are better. For example, the GeoSpring water heater uses a pump that pulls heat from the air to help warm the water. You can control it with your iPhone. It’s smaller, sleeker, and smarter than your father’s water heater.
For two years, the GeoSpring was made in China. When GE decided to bring it home, American engineers redesigned it in order to streamline manufacturing. In the process, they cut the cost of materials by 25% and cut the amount of labor required to assemble it. GE is now selling the redesigned GeoSpring for $300 less and still making a profit.
GE is not the only one: Whirlpool is having its mixers made in Ohio. Otis Elevator is bringing production back to South Carolina from Mexico. Apple Computer has announced that it will start making laptops in the US again. Consultants are publishing reports that explain how investors can make money on US factories.
When workers get involved with manufacturing, Fishman says good things happen. He tells the story of a dishwasher that was revamped when assembly-line workers were asked for their ideas. Their jobs were guaranteed even if the work they’d been doing was phased out. The workers suggested a more efficient manufacturing process. Those whose jobs were eliminated were then invited to redesign the dishwasher door and controls. The result, says Fishman, is a more elegant product that costs less to make.
When the people who design the product are in close touch with the people who make the product, Fishman says, everybody wins, including fans of U.S. energy conservation.
For America, it’s win-win-win. Or as a candidate might say: jobs, jobs, jobs. ')}