Electrolux closed the refrigerator plant in Changsha, Hunan province, in March 2009 and according to comments in local media from Gunilla Nordstrom, the managing director for Electrolux China, the closure of the plant was a wise choice because the production and sales of this plant was less than 500,000 sets in 2008, which did not make it financially viable.

 

The price of the transaction has not been revealed.

 

According to public records, Hualiang was founded in 2003 and its major businesses include washing machines and refrigerators under the brand of Zhongyi. With registered capital of CNY10 million, it currently has an annual production capacity of one million washing machines and 400,000 refrigerators. In 2008, the company made revenues of over CNY600 million and became the only appliances company in Hunan that was included in China's rural appliances subsidy scheme.

 

According to a representative from Hualiang, the company is actively organizing the production of the Changsha plant, which is expected to re-start in July 2009.