Haier pledges to maintain iconic NZ appliance maker

Chinese electric appliance giant Haier on Thursday followed through on a pledge to maintain an iconic New Zealand subsidiary by announcing a raft of new jobs as it expands the research and development arm of Fisher & Paykel Appliances (F&P).

F&P, which was taken over and delisted by Haier in November last year, said specific areas of focus would include technology innovation, new product development and the component and technology business.

"While we remain a standalone company with a strong, localized management team, our new owners are providing the opportunity for us to deliver our business development plan far faster than we were previously planning," F&P chief executive Stuart Broadhurst said in a statement.

"Growth is planned across New Zealand in the next 24 months as we recruit for 100 research and development positions to Fisher & Paykel's Auckland and Dunedin operations, as well as further job creation in other areas of the company."

In the next few months F&P would release the largest number of new products at any one time in the company's 79-year history, he said.

F&P would also maintain its focus on developing its brands in New Zealand, Australia and North America, as well as boosting it presence with New Zealand-designed products in the China and India markets.

"I have recently returned from China where I finalised amongst other things, an agreement for our New Zealand-based production machinery business to undertake a number of significant projects to automate production facilities over the next five years."

After the takeover last year chairman of Haier New Zealand Investment Holding Co. Ltd. and president of Haier White Goods Group, Liang Haishan, said Haier would maintain Fisher & Paykel Appliances as "a unique Kiwi company."

New Zealand's main opposition Labour Party had voiced concerns that high-paying and highly-skilled research and technology jobs would be lost abroad with the takeover.

Fisher & Paykel Appliances Holdings, the parent company of Fisher & Paykel Appliances and Fisher and Paykel Finance, employs more than 3,300 staff worldwide.

Established in New Zealand in 1934 and first listed in 1979, the company has manufacturing plants in New Zealand, Italy, Thailand and Mexico.

Based in Qingdao, Shandong Province, Haier acquired 20 percent of Fisher and Paykel Appliances in 2009, establishing cooperation agreements in research and development, sourcing, manufacturing and marketing.