LOUISVILLE – Congressman John Yarmuth (KY-3) joined GE workers and officials, as well as Mayor Greg Fischer, Governor Steve Beshear and Lieutenant Governor Jerry Abramson, to announce the launch of a new manufacturing facility at Appliance Park on Friday. The new facility, which will manufacture the GeoSpring2 Hybrid Water Heater, is the first to open at GE’s Louisville operation since 1957.

“This is a great day for our city and another sure sign that Louisville is leading the revitalization of manufacturing in America,” Yarmuth said. “New jobs, a new facility, and the first new product line at Appliance Park in more than 50 years – that’s a tremendous return on our federal investment. It is also a national model for how public-private partnerships – government and businesses working together – can keep America the global innovation leader.”

Yarmuth and other officials met with GE workers and toured the new manufacturing facility on Friday.

The facility is the latest in a series of new investments and jobs at Appliance Park. In 2009, GE received more than $24.8 million in tax credits from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, which Yarmuth supported. In 2010, Yarmuth introduced the Revitalizing American Manufacturing Act to extend and expand tax credits available to manufacturers of energy-efficient products.

The federal investment helped spur GE to invest $800 million in Appliance Park, bringing three product lines that were being manufactured outside the U.S. to Louisville – including the new hybrid water heater. The company has committed to hiring 1,300 new workers at Appliance Park.