Midea strengthened its U.S. footprint recently by breaking ground on a $10 million research and development (R&D) center in Louisville, Kentucky.  This Midea America Research Center (MARC) is expected to provide technical expertise in developing home appliance products for the U.S. market.

Established in early 2015, MARC has quickly outgrown its initial offices and is now scheduled to move into its custom-designed office and lab space by January 2017.  The brand-new 30,000-square-foot building will incorporate state-of-the-art lab facilities, testing equipment, and engineering areas as well as office space for more than 60 people. Midea America’s sales and marketing offices will remain headquartered in New Jersey.

“We are truly excited to break ground on this state-of-the-art R&D center right here in Louisville, the epicenter of the appliance corridor in the U.S.,” said Mark Wilson, director of technology for MARC. “As a Kentucky native, I’m proud to bring exceptional talent to the state and to keep the tradition of excellence in home appliances well and truly alive.”

The appliance corridor incorporates numerous appliance manufacturing and R&D centers for leading appliance brands. It includes facilities in Ohio, Indiana, Kentucky, and Tennessee.

“Today marks the latest push by Midea to grow our presence here in Kentucky and in the U.S. market,” said Jim Tomaszewski, president of Midea America. “We know our success in this market is wholly dependent on developing compelling products for the U.S. consumer. That’s why Midea invests 3 percent of global revenue in R&D every year, and why we are investing in our R&D footprint here in the U.S.”

Midea has additionally made recent acquisitions to bolster its R&D efforts around the world, including the purchase of the home appliances business of Toshiba in Japan.

Publication date: 10/3/2016

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