The globalization of refrigerators

[chickenfeet]

In the process of buying a new refrigerator recently I came across a curious example of globalization. The Bosch fridge I was after is apparently manufactured by Kitchenmaid; an American appliance manufacturer. The story is that Bosch needed a counter depth fridge, which they weren't tooled up for, and , likewise, Kitchenmaid needed a dishwasher. So they did a swap. This is common enough in commodity industries but less so in manufacturing. But, it's not as simple as that of course. Although the basic dimensions and engineered bits are the same there are lots of differences. The Bosch is built of German surgical stainless (305 for SS experts) while the Kitchenmaid is US sourced standard appliance grade stainless. The Bosch has LED lights. The interior fittings of the Bosch are much more robust. USW. And, natch, the Bosch is much more expensive! I have no idea what the differences with the dishwasher are but we have a Bosch dishwasher and it's the first entirely satisfactory one we have ever had.