DECATUR, Ala. -- GE Appliances, a Haier company, opened its doors yesterday to government officials and community leaders to see a $28 million investment in state-of-the-art equipment upgrades and the opening of a new primary care clinic for GE Appliances employees and their families at its refrigeration plant in Decatur, Alabama.
The investment is part of GE Appliances' previously announced $3 billion investment to expand U.S. manufacturing over the next five years.
A significant portion of the $28 million investment in the Decatur plant funded new, highly automated thermoforming machines that produce interior liners for fresh food and freezer sections of top-freezer refrigerators. The technology improves efficiency and expands production capacity across multiple models, supporting the plant’s three-shift operation. Additional upgrades include new lighting and 21 new commercial air-conditioning units added to improve the employee work experience.
GE Appliances has been part of the Decatur community since 1977. The Decatur plant is the highest-volume refrigeration plant in the country, according to the company.
Beyond plant updates, the $28 million investment will fund a new, state-of-the-art primary care clinic serving employees and their covered family members (ages 2 and older).
The new facility is the company's fourth onsite advanced primary care clinic at its manufacturing sites. The clinics are managed by healthcare provider CareATC and free to employees on the company health plan.
The company also has on-site clinics at its plants in Louisville, Kentucky; Selmer, Tennessee; and LaFayette, Georgia.
Over the past two years, primary care visits at the clinics are up 21.5% and they have led to a 12.3% reduction in avoidable ER visits among employees using the clinics.
In 2023, GE Appliances debuted its “On the Clock Care” program, allowing employees to go to annual physicals and a follow-up appointment during work hours on company time. In 2024, this program expanded to include mental health services and care of chronic conditions such as diabetes, hypertension, high cholesterol, and asthma.
Services mirror those of a community primary care office, with additional offerings such as acute and preventive care, chronic condition management, nutritional counseling, lab work, prescription services for common medications, and mental health support.
