WARSAW, April 2 (Reuters) – U.S. appliance maker Whirlpool (nyse: WHR – news – people) will invest 100 million euros ($123 million) over two years in expanding its white-goods plant in the south-west city of Poland, the company said on Friday.
Whirlpool and Polish investment agency PAIiIZ said in a joint statement that the deal would add 1,000 jobs to the 2,200 already in existence at Whirlpool’s Wroclaw-based Polar factory.
“In Wroclaw we want to create a strategic distribution centre of our products for all European markets,” Whirlpool Europe deputy head Evasio Novarese said in a statement.
Earlier reports had put the size of the investment at 120 million or 150 million euros.
Poland’s southern neighbour Slovakia was also in the running for the investment, which will boost refrigerator production to one million units from 650,000 last year, while dishwasher output will nearly quadruple this year to 350,000.
Poland’s reputation as a manufacturing base suffered a blow last month when South Korean carmaker Hyundai decided to build a 700 million euro plant in Slovakia, becoming the third carmaker in as many years to pass Poland by.
Investors have cited bureaucracy, as well as high taxes, labour costs and crumbling road infrastructure as Poland’s disadvantages.
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