LG Electronics(066570) will start up a new home appliance production base in Brazil, the largest consumer market in Latin America.
On the 16th, according to LG Electronics, the Brazil Paraná plant began full operations on the 13th (local time).
This plant is Brazil's second production facility after the Manaus plant in Amazonas state, which opened in 1996, and has the capacity to manufacture 600,000 refrigerators a year.
The plant has built a smart factory system centered on artificial intelligence (AI) and industrial robots. It can detect abnormalities in manufacturing lines in advance through quality inspections using vision AI and the Digital Twin method. By adopting automated processes such as multi-joint robots, it reduced production expense and improved workplace safety.
LG Electronics plans to use savings in logistics costs from local production and improved process efficiency as a springboard to expand its share in the Brazilian home appliance market. It said it strengthened cost competitiveness by moving away from importing output produced in Southeast Asia.
It will also unveil specialized products tailored to local lifestyles. Refrigerators produced at the Paraná plant adopt a "dual-voltage" option to reflect Brazil's differing power characteristics by region, such as 127V (volt) and 220V. Targeting the hot and humid climate and home party culture, they also feature sterilization and rapid cooling functions.
LG Electronics plans to target Brazil's domestic market of more than 210 million people. It intends to use the site as a strategic export hub to expand supply to major South American countries such as Argentina and Uruguay.
Market research firm Mordor Intelligence projected that Brazil's home appliance market will grow at an average annual rate of 6.1% from $33.6 billion (about 47 trillion won) this year to $45.3 billion (about 64 trillion won) in 2031.
LG Electronics is pursuing a two-track strategy: leading with premium product lines in advanced markets such as North America and Europe, while increasing supply to the volume zone (mass consumer market) in emerging countries.
Combined sales last year in India, Brazil and Saudi Arabia—the three key countries for reaching the non-Western developing world (Global South)—were about 6.2 trillion won. That is more than 20% higher than in 2023.
Baek Seung-tae, head of the HS Business Division at LG Electronics, said, "Based on the expanded production capacity from the new Paraná plant, we will offer stable product supply and locally tailored appliances to raise our standing in the Brazilian and Latin American markets."