New Washer

[rapunzel]

Enjoy your new Westinghouse washer. As you are probably aware, Electrolux will cease to produce washers in Australia in the next year. 500 Aussie jobs are earmarked for termination as a result. Soon you will not be able to buy any Australian-made washers, dishwashers and dryers anymore. Another milestone for the economy and the environemt? NOT!

I love Australian top loaders. They are very well designed and do an excellent job, with no greater environmental impact than your average front loader. It is just such a shame that consumers and our economy will lose out again due to corporate and political expediency. I wish that our state governments would stop using our taxes to bull***t and encourage consumers to buy imported front loaders over Australian washers.

That's my soapbox rant for now.

Enjoy your Westy.

Cheers Mate

 

[coit]

On saturday I bought a new Westinghouse (Electrolux?) top loader washer.
It's great:washes clean;it's quiet.
The model is LT819S,8kg.
Only thing I wish it had the glass panel lid some of its siblings have.
I am posting this as some of you helped me with a question about a Bendix front loader.It has gone to no bearing heaven.
Having had two front loaders that clagged out I got another top loader.Here in Australia front loaders are making ground on environmental reasons-42% this year.
It's great getting a new washing machine.
Paul

 

[funguy10]

Where are the pictures?

 

[arrrooohhh]

Hello Paul.

Congratulations of your new Westinghouse they are great machines with fantastic styling.

Yes it is sad about the Simpson factory in Adelaide closing down however it is not the water shortage and increase in poplarity of front loader is not what has killed of Australia's washing machine manufacturing.

First of all in defence of the front loader, remember the Hoover Zodiac and Electra? These SIMPLE front loaders were made in Australia and always had a huge following. Many technicians have told me these machines are also very easy to repair. Imagine if Hoover still made these machines how popular they would be now? However Hoover no longer exists for reasons that you can read about in the link provided.

Secondly Top loaders are still 60% of the Australian market so why does Electrolux say it is uneconomical to manufacture washing machines in Australia? The reason in cheap imports like LG and Samsung, not to mention those cheap little chinese machines sold by companies like Centrex and Heller. Many people have bought these machines thinking they are getting a good deal on price and size and of course these machines are the worst offenders for exaggerating capacity claims.

Fisher and Paykel made huge inroads into the market based on marketing their machines as being the cutting edge of technology, and Samsung and LG have advertised themselves along these lines and the marketing has worked. Remember these companies offer both top and front loaders.

If the Australian Government was really interested in Australian manfucturing they would be guarding it against these cheap imported top loaders that have eaten heavily into the Simpson and Westinghouse market.

If Electrolux was really interested in Australian manufactering then they could have looked at manufacturing a front loading machine in Australia. They have plenty of models and the American Frigidaire FL springs to mind. It is large capacity and has simple controls and in many ways reminds me of the Hoover front loader. This machine with say an 8kg capacity, 45 min cycle time and priced under $1000 they would not be able to make enough machines!

But of course we know that big internation companies are not interesting in making anything in Australia, a large country with a very small population and market.

Yes it sucks I know but thats what the case is.

 

[toggleswitch]

Autralia's washing machine manufacturing history brings to mind the USA's.

I believe GE and Whirlpool are the only domestic-origin manufacturers left here. Maybe with a stretch of the imagination we can consider Frigidaire as domestic.

Now that domestic companies have swallowed-up competitors, (ostensibly to gain market-share) a vacuum has been created........and nature abhors a vacuum.

We have managed to do nothing but open the floodgates for foreign "invaders" in the white-goods field. And guess what they will do? Gain more market-share eroding others' share! So right back to square-one!

 

[johnb300m]

the way of the car

Sadly, I think the appliance industry is just a few steps behind the domestic auto industry.

 

[arrrooohhh]

Oopsy!

Just got back and realised I forgot the link about Hoover.

I drive past this site everyday and there will soon be new home units where the Hoover factory once proudly stood. What is so sad is that these Hoovers had the most unbelievably funky washing action you could wish to see.

http://www.cpa.org.au/garchive/954hoov.htm

 

[twinniefan]

Australian made washers

Hi Paul,
Hope you really enjoy your Westy,they are a really nice looking machine.
Arrrooohhh,you could not be more correct, the Simpson factory closing down is a total disgrace but unfortunately that is what you get when both Australian Governments and Oppositions over the last 20 or so years have slavishly followed this free market economy nonsense.
This will hit particularly hard when you consider how small Adelaide is and I find it ironic that the Federal Government and the South Australian State Government have thrown millions and millions of dollars of taxpayer's money at Mitsubishi every time they throw a tantrum and say they will close their car manufacturing plant down over there, and yet nothing for these poor people.
Free market economies might be great, if all the participating countries were operating on a level playing field, but they are not, unless Australian workers want to work for 3 dollars an hour like some Asian workforces.
I also agree about the Zodiac and Electra front loaders, if they were still made locally, they would sell a million in no time at all, actually what would you feel about having the locally made Hoovermatic bought back to life, with market saturation and the right advertising, you just never know.
Cheers folks.
Steve.
P.S.sorry I haven't been around for several days, I have been waylaid with a nasty stomach illness.