Company Rolls Out New Line of Maytag Multi-Load Washers Geared Toward Vended, OPL Markets
Whirlpool Corp. Commercial Laundry leadership recently took Maytag Commercial Laundry customers, several Massachusetts government officials and members of the media on a behind-the-scenes tour of the company’s renovated manufacturing plant in Fall River, Mass.
The enhanced, 300,000-square-foot facility – acquired when Whirlpool purchased American Dryer Corporation in 2015 – represents the completion of a multi-year, $35 million project intended to support customer demand for commercial laundry equipment built by Whirlpool. Company officials indicated that the production capacity of the plant could nearly double in coming years. The latest advancement at this facility is an assembly line dedicated solely to the production of the Maytag Commercial Laundry brand’s new rigid- and soft-mount multi-load washers.
“The Fall River facility allows us to expand our product capabilities and to provide our customers in the vended and on-premises laundry markets with options for greater flexibility and control,” said Trey Northrup, general manager of commercial laundry and JennAir for Whirlpool. “With this capacity, we are able to be more nimble in our product offerings, delivering customized products and compelling solutions to our global customers.”
The new Maytag multi-load washer is available in 20- to 65-pound-capacity sizes and represents the brand’s newest offerings to the commercial laundry industry, specifically within the vended and OPL markets. In addition, the configure-to-order washer will enable laundry owners to customize construction options to meet the needs of their businesses.
The washers are engineered to deliver G-forces of 200 for rigid-mount machines and 400 for soft-mount units – to achieve maximum extraction and efficient throughput, according to Whirlpool. The new 30-pound, rigid-mount model will be available beginning in October, while the remaining sizes and configurations will be introduced over the next nine months.
“Maytag is a brand that goes back a long time in the commercial laundry industry, and it’s been absent from this particular space for the last few years,” explained Nick Koukourakis, senior product development manager for Whirlpool Corp. Commercial Laundry. “The return of a quality, trusted brand and another quality supplier is always a good thing for the industry.
“We are now relevant within all of the major product segments of the industry. The next step is to enhance innovation. We’re excited about our three- and five-year product plans.”
Principals for long-time laundry distributorship Hercules Corp., based in Hicksville, N.Y., were present at the recent Fall River facility tour, and the company is among the first to have placed orders for the new Maytag washers.
“For us, the Maytag brand has long since represented reliability and dependability,” said Andrew May, president and CEO of Hercules. “That tradition continues with the new Maytag multi-load washer, which showcases the brand’s leadership in engineering, design and manufacturing. We are looking forward to how this new solution will help us meet the increasing demands of the industry.”
“For us, the key point was to focus on product quality and innovation, because we felt like the industry had been stagnant in total,” Northrup noted. “We’ve invested more than $100 million since acquiring American Dryer Corporation – some of that was the acquisition cost, and a large portion was the washing machine line we just rolled out, as well as other investments for our smaller-chassis machines. Our commitment to this industry is steadfast.
“Our customers have told us what they need and want from a multi-load machine. We have listened, and we believe the new Maytag multi-load washer delivers to those requests and more. Each aspect of this advanced machine, from the solid construction to the intuitive control system, is designed to provide flexibility and efficiency and allows us to fulfill our promise of delivering with each machine.”
