Sweden-based appliance manufacturer Electrolux, which has Iowa facilities in Webster City and Jefferson, is considering a plan to relocate ten of its factories worldwide to lower-wage countries by 2008. A spokesman says no specific plants are being targeted yet and the company’s facility evaluation will be based on flexibility, product quality and size of facilities, along with profitablity. Rick Morain, of the Green County Development Corporation in Jefferson, says the two Iowa plants measure up well against potential foreign rivals. Morain says the Jefferson plant is “ISO 9000” certified, meaning, it’s tops in terms of safety and productivity. Morain says state economic leaders are already at work to keep the corporation in Iowa. Morain says the Department of Economic Development has an office in Frankfurt, Germany, which serves Iowa interests throughout Europe. They have been in touch with Electrolux as well to offer whatever support and incentives Iowa can to retain these plants and grow them in Iowa. Morain says “The state has offered a highly sweetened incentive plan to corporate Electrolux in Sweden to keep them here.” Electrolux employs more than two-thousand Iowans. The company also has plants in Minnesota, Tennessee, and North and South Carolina.
