GE Appliances to add water filter manufacturing operation to KY headquarters
Some of a $3 billion investment GE Appliances is making to expand its domestic manufacturing footprint includes adding a first-ever, in-house water filter operation at its Louisville headquarters in Kentucky.
The new line — which puts the designing, testing and manufacturing of water filters under one roof — is meant to crack down on the number of counterfeit filters in the market and strengthen the company’s supply chain resiliency, GE leadership said Jan. 28.
The mostly automated manufacturing operation will create 30 new jobs with the potential to expand. The appliance maker has not indicated how much it will invest, other than to say the project is a “multi-million-dollar water filter line.”
“Seasons move fast, but when it comes to investing in America, we’re moving just as fast,” GE Appliances President and CEO Kevin Nolan said Wednesday at Appliance Park. “That’s why it’s exciting to be back here so soon to talk about what we’re doing. Today is a proof point of what these dollars can do. A lot of people just talk about money; we’re showing you what that money goes to and how it brings these great jobs here.”
GE Appliances’ plan to spend $3B
Last August, GE Appliances shared its plan to spend $3 billion over five years as part of a broad strategy to expand advanced manufacturing capabilities across 11 U.S. plants that create jobs and bring production of goods closer to consumers.
Part of the investment includes a $490 million spend and creation of 800 new, full-time jobs in Louisville for the appliance maker’s washing machine production line. An additional $150-million-worth of contracts to U.S.-based suppliers, including three businesses in Kentucky, were awarded in November.
The move to relocate production and manufacturing operations to the U.S. came last fall as President Donald Trump’s aggressive trade and tariff agenda started to hit markets. Around the same time, global firms Apple Inc. and Ford Motor Co. were also picking Kentucky for domestic manufacturing operations, creating hundreds of jobs in the process.
The water filter line is the latest project to stem from the company’s $3 billion plan and another investment reaffirming the company’s commitment to Louisville, said Jill Notini, vice president of communications and marketing for the Association of Home Appliance Manufacturers.
“This new manufacturing line at Appliance Park tightens the supply chain and brings production closer to home by designing, testing and manufacturing filters under one roof,” she said. “GE not only can increase its capacity and response to consumer demands, but it also strengthens quality control and traceability, and this makes it harder for the counterfeits to enter the market and easier for consumers to get the genuine certified products that they expect and deserve.”
GE’s economic impact on Kentucky
Louisville Mayor Craig Greenberg and the state’s lone Democratic U.S. Rep. Morgan McGarvey, who represents Jefferson County, were also at Appliance Park Wednesday and spoke following the announcement.
Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear said GE Appliances has a track record of delivering wins for Kentucky and he’s looking forward to working with the company again.
“We’ve been told that they (water filters) couldn’t be made in America anymore, but GE Appliances once again has proven them all wrong, and they’ve shown us you should never bet against America and you should never bet against Kentucky,” Beshear said. “That’s why GE Appliances has chosen us, Kentucky, to be their global headquarters, to be on the forefront of this push to reshore and to make sure American manufacturing is as strong as it’s ever been.”
GE’s economic impact report for 2024 estimated the company contributed $12.8 billion to the state’s gross domestic product. The company already supports 8,000 direct jobs in the commonwealth and an additional 30,500 through its economic activity.
In 2024, GE generated approximately $655 million in state and local taxes and spent $318 million with more than 480 Kentucky-based suppliers, according to the report. A report for economic impact in 2025 is not yet available.
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