By James Wells in Dudley Park, Adelaide

Electrolux Home Products has today launched its first ever Australian made 900-millimetre cooker under the Westinghouse brand, manufactured at its Dudley Park cooking factory in Adelaide.

The WFE946SA freestanding oven was created following an investment of over $4 million in a new manufacturing platform known internally as Project Vulcan. Of this investment, over $1.9 million has been spent in 2012. There are multiple configurations in the range, including built-in and freestanding, duel fuel, gas and ceramic.

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Electrolux Home Products managing director, John Brown, told Current.com.au during a visit at the Dudley Park factory that this is a significant announcement and reinforces the company’s commitment to Australian manufacturing.

“This is an example of turning back the tide,” said Brown. “Australian manufacturing over the last 10 years has seen the lower value end or the least competitive end of their product range off-shored. It’s a privilege to bring new products to market off an Australian manufacturing base.

“This is the best thing we have done since the Bios platform we built at Dudley Park under Westinghouse in 2007, when we changed the entire factory layout and redesigned the oven making process from scratch and placed it on an automatic platform.”

Brown has confirmed that an Electrolux-branded version of the Australian made 90-centimetre cooker is scheduled “to be rolling off the production line by the fourth quarter of 2013” and will be available to retailers by the first quarter of 2014. It is expected to feature additional functionality and potentially a four-zone induction hob.

“This is a magnificent product, I am really proud of it and I am really proud of the people that put it together – they have done a super job,” Brown said.

Electrolux Home Products MD John Brown with the first Australian-made Westinghouse 90-centimetre cooker coming off the production line at the Dudley Park cooking factory in Adelaide.