Indesit plants working flat out in Turkey

Bloomberg

"We’ve reduced working hours at almost all of plants and only Turkey is running at full capacity," Chief Executive Officer Marco Milani said in a telephone interview Wednesday. "It’s a temporary measure to offset a reduction in demand."

The maker of Aqualtis washing machines is in discussions over the closure of a plant in Wales, where it has already eliminated jobs, and plans to reduce output at a plant near Turin to focus on built-in dishwashers, Milani said. Indesit, the owner of Hotpoint Ariston and Scholtes brands, has switched output to China, Poland, Russia and Turkey and low-cost countries now account for 60 percent of production in terms of hours worked. Milani said there’s currently no end in sight to the market slump. A recovery in demand could spur consolidation in the industry, yet for now firms are more focused on preserving their financial strength than on making acquisitions, Milani said.