By James Wells
Benton Harbour, USA: Whirlpool has announced it will sell the Hoover floorcare business which was inherited in the purchase of Maytag earlier this year.
Whirlpool chairman and CEO, Jeff Fettig, has confirmed that Hoover floorcare will be sold along with other businesses acquired from Maytag including – Dixie Narco vending machines, Amana commercial microwaves and the Jade commercial appliance business.
According to Fettig, the decision to sell of the businesses will allow Whirlpool to focus on its core appliance business.
"We have received strong interest from a number of potential buyers and anticipate completing these transactions by the end of this year," Fettig said in a statement.
Whirlpool is expected to generate annual cost savings over $US400 million following the Maytag integration and cost efficiencies are expected from all areas of the company’s supply chain including manufacturing, infrastructure and support areas, global procurement and logistics.
"Our increased savings estimates further demonstrate the value creating opportunity of this acquisition. The actions we have recently announced, including the consolidation of laundry production into our Clyde and Marion, Ohio, facilities, will represent a significant portion of our expected annualised savings," said Fettig.
"We have moved quickly to integrate the Maytag business since closing the transaction seven weeks ago and we are pleased with our progress to date," he said.
Hoover floorcare ???? John Kelly was unavailable for comment.