Japan’s Sharp said it would co-develop small and medium-sized refrigerators with Sweden’s Electrolux, the world’s largest maker of household appliances, as part of their business alliance.
Sharp, which already supplies microwave ovens on an original equipment manufacturing (OEM) basis, said the new joint operation is expected to generate revenues of about 10 billion yen ($85.55 million) between them in the year starting April 2007.
A Sharp spokeswoman said the Osaka-based company is in talks with Electrolux on similar co-operation for other white goods. She declined to elaborate.
The refrigerators will be manufactured at a Sharp plant in Thailand, with sales due to start this autumn.
Sharp plans to ship the products initially to Asia and the Middle East, while Electrolux intends to sell them in south east Asian countries and Australia under their own brand names.
Sharp’s white-goods division accounted for 8 per cent of its total revenues in the year ended March 31.