LG to Exit Pressure Cooker Business Sep 13, 2004

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South Korean appliance maker LG Electronics Inc. is pulling out of its electric pressure cooker business after a series of consumer complaints about explosions, the company's subcontractor said.

Bubang Techron Co., a domestic company that supplies electric pressure cookers to LG Electronics under an original equipment manufacturing (OEM) contract, said it will sell the goods under its own brand from next month.

"We are in discussions with LG Electronics to negotiate how to acquire patents and manufacturing technologies related to the electric pressure cookers," a Bubang official said.

Bubang Techron, which is said to have a share of about 20 percent of the domestic electric pressure cooker market, plans to expand its monthly production capacity to 80,000 units from the present 15,000 units after the acquisition is complete.

LG Electronics confirmed the talks, saying it is discussing the future of the pressure cooker business with the subcontractor, according to company spokesman Oh Se-chun. He declined to comment further.

Since early this year, LG Electronics has been seen a slew of reported cases of its electric pressure cookers exploding because of technical glitches. In May, the South Korean manufacturer launched a large-scale campaign to recall those goods. (Yonhap)

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