With wine being the new American passion (even the low/middle class can participate) there are a whole slew of new storage devices available on the market. Don’t be fooled by the majority of them – most are just beer fridges with wine racks installed. Others, like the Sub Zero products are far more than that. Sub Zero is now in blogsphere with their Wine Blog. It is an open site with lots of great information geared for the wine neophyte.

Remember when the best wine was a screw-top in a paper bag?

Layoffs are being anticipated at the Evansville, Ind. Whirlpool plant. The plant currently employs about 2000 people and manufactures refrigerators and ice makers. Since Whirlpool purchased Maytag (and assumed their debt) they have shut down three plants – so far.

According to Newswatch, ‘Whirlpool, which makes 270,000 refrigerators a year for Sears, asked Sears to raise its price. But when the company refused, Whirlpool executives told Sears to find another company to build for them.’

How many jobs have been lost so far with this merger? When will the bleeding stop?

It seems that GE has a bit of a problem on their hands with moisture and mould in their refrigerators; specifically with the ice maker and dispenser area. This lawsuit is being blogged about at Bring Good Things To Life. Their mission statement is ‘Confronting corrupt corporate behavior and contempt of consumers through effective communication and the power of grassroots organization.’ Whew – I think that says it all!

Another major manufacturer once told me that ice makers constituted almost 50% of their repair costs. Ice makers are the one place in a fridge where you combine water, ice, heaters and electricity all into one tiny little unit. No wonder there are such problems. Maybe it is time to rethink the old twist tray!

A few general/global comments on the purchase of Maytag by Whirlpool Corp.

Whirlpool purchasing Maytag is great news for Whirlpool Corp. shareholders. What better way is there to beat out your competition than to buy them out? But how will this affect consumers? Competition drives research, keeps prices under control and provides options for consumers to choose when a manufacturer does a disservice to its customers. The positives found in competition have been eliminated by this merger. Jobs are being eliminated in the US and Whirlpool is now manufacturing product in Mexico (read cheap labour.)

However, as we step further into the door of the global economy, these types of mergers will become more commonplace. It is the only way that North America can compete with the China’s and Taiwan’s of the world. Jobs will be moved to 3rd world nations where labour is cheap, product will increasingly become disposable and in the end consumers will be left holding the tab. The only way this slide could be stopped would be to stop the importation of foreign product into North America – we know that is not going to happen. So workers in oppressive nations will be exploited, the rich will get richer and shareowners in companies like Whirlpool Corp. will be happy.

Cinical? I suppose, but in terms global competition the merger is necessary and is a good acquisition for Whirlpool Corp.