Seoul, Korea, August 27, 2003 – LG Electronics (LGE) [Korea Stock Exchange: 6657.KS] has started to penetrate the global market ““ including Europe and the United States where environmental regulations are tightening ““ as the company embarks on a full-swing mass production of Side by Side refrigerators, adopting a state-of-the-art, environment- friendly compressor. The mass production marks the first of its kind in the world.
Major home appliance makers in Japan, the United States, and Europe have been developing “˜Linear Technology’ as next-generation core technology since the early 1990s. However, this is the first time that the technology is applied to Side by Side refrigerators and is fully commercialized.
Unlike existing compressors, LGE(Chairman and CEO John Koo/ www.lge.com) Linear Side by Side technology does not undergo the process of converting rotational movement into Linear movement; rather, it directly allows Linear movement.
With the adoption of a Linear compressor, the product saves electricity by over 30%. It uses natural refrigerant (R-600a) and next-generation blowing agent (Cyclo-pentane), ensuring zero levels of Ozone Depletion Potential (ODP) and Global Warming Potential (GWP).
During the unveiling ceremony of the Linear refrigerator held at LGE’s Changwon Plant on August 26, S.S. Kim, Vice Chairman, said “The global trend to reinforce environmental regulations has become another trade barrier, but it would be the chance for us who has a green technology.” “LGE will definitely attain advantage in the Europe, and North America markets with its environment- and health-friendly green technology applied to Linear compressors and natural refrigerants,” he explained.
LGE is poised to fully penetrate the US market with size of 3 million units of two-door refrigerators, and the European market with size of 400,000 units. The product is expected to help cut buyers’ electricity consumption by up to 50%, and LGE is banking on this innovative savings feature for its projection of a sharp rise in sales.
On the Korea market where sales of Side by Side refrigerators grow at an average of 20% annually, competition is expected to become even stiffer next January when the lowest consumption efficiency system is fully implemented. Manufacturers will undoubtedly try to outdo each other in coming up with products that use less and less electricity. The launch of the Linear Side by Side refrigerator at this time will therefore likely change the landscape of the Side by Side refrigerator market drastically.
Moreover, in line with the trend towards larger refrigerators, LGE has also unveiled the Korea’s largest capacity 800-liter linear refrigerator model, the first of its kind.
LGE plans to penetrate the Europe and US markets intensively with the electricity-saving feature of its Linear Side by Side models and intends to boost production of its compressors targeted at advanced makers.