Aham, the North American Association of Home Appliance Manufacturers, published a statement regarding the “Save Our Gas Stoves Act”. «Strong bipartisan support for the Save Our Gas Stoves Act tells us that Americans value the ability to choose the cooking appliance that works best for their home – the Association says –. This legislation will prevent the U.S. Department of Energy from finalizing its extreme standard, which would force manufacturers to radically redesign gas cooking appliances at the cost of popular features and convenience».

Aham adds that «Americans, 40 percent of whom live in homes that cook with gas, do not want to give up multiple large burners or spend a full day per year just waiting for water to boil, both of which would be a reality for gas cooking appliances if the DOE’s proposal were to take effect. The DOE’s proposal is a major setback for innovation and offers only negligible energy savings in return. This is a personal issue that transcends the political divide, and we are pleased to see the U.S. Senate follow with its own bill to support and send the Save Our Gas Stoves Act to President Biden’s desk».

Aham, the North American Association of Home Appliance Manufacturers, issued a statement, , after submitting extensive comments in response to the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission’s request for information on hazards associated with gas cooking products:

«Safety will always be appliance manufacturers’ top priority – Aham President and CEO Kelly Mariotti said – and AHAM continues to support unbiased health and safety science that can be used to further improve product safety. As we detailed in our comments to the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, current scientific evidence does not support claims that gas cooking creates a significant health hazard for Americans.»

The president also explained that «all forms of cooking – gas and electric – emit pollutants that primarily come from the food being prepared rather than the heat source. Existing safety standards have for decades protected American consumers from any carbon monoxide hazards associated with gas products, and other standards are being developed to improve testing and increase consumer confidence in the safety of gas cooking products.»

Aham, the North American Association of Home Appliance Manufacturers, has named Kelly Mariotti, executive director of the Juvenile Products Manufacturers Association as Aham president & CEO. On July 18, she will succeed Joseph McGuire, Aham’s leader for the past 23 years, who announced his retirement last November.

Mariotti joins Aham with extensive trade association management experience and expertise in consumer durable goods. Since 2013, she has led the Juvenile Products Manufacturers Association, where she implemented strong member initiatives, employee engagement programs and public policy advocacy efforts. Since 2015, she has held a dual role as Vice President of Client Services at Association Headquarters, Inc. which serves 40-plus trade associations and professional societies.

Aham board chair Tim Ferry, group president, Tools & Home Products, Emerson commercial & residential solutions, said «Kelly brings a high level of energy and a strategic focus that will keep Aham on a path of excellence and provide value for the membership». The Aham board of directors unanimously voted to offer Mariotti the position following a national search process led by former Aham board chair Pat Bassett, vice president, research & development home appliances, Newell Brands.

After her nomination, Mariotti comeented: «Home appliances make a huge positive impact on our daily lives, and I look forward to working with Aham members and staff on key advocacy, technology and marketing initiatives, building on Joe McGuire’s legacy of excellence».

Aham, the North American Association of Home Appliance Manufacturers, has finalized a performance test standard that will provide appliance manufacturers with a consistent way to test the effectiveness of portable room air cleaners’ ability to remove microbiological pollutants including viruses, bacteria and mold.

The new standard, Aham-AC-5-2022, measures the rate at which an air cleaner reduces aerosolized bacteriophages that mimic many common illness-causing viruses, including Covid-19. It will provides a uniform method to assess the rate at which different air cleaner models remove microbiological pollutants from rooms of a given size. Moreover, it is the first air cleaner performance standard to focus on microbiological pollutants and was developed over the course of 18 months by a committee of public health professionals, academic researchers and leading appliance manufacturers.

«When consumers began turning to air cleaners to create a healthier home environment during the pandemic, Aham assembled a team of credible experts to develop a testing protocol to provide manufacturers and consumers with certainty regarding an air cleaner’s ability to filter viruses and bacteria – said Aham president and CEO Joe McGuire -. Aham AC-5-2022 is a groundbreaking standard that builds on the trust Aham has earned over decades of testing and independent verification conducted through the Aham Verifide® program.»

Aham-AC-5 is now available on Aham’s website along with a supplemental guide on air cleaners and microbial decontamination. The standard will be submitted to the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) for acceptance as a national consensus standard. As with all Aham standards, AC-5 will be reviewed and revised regularly by a committee of experts to ensure it reflects ongoing innovation.

The Association of Home Appliance Manufacturers (Aham) has initiated a search for a successor to Joe McGuire, its president and CEO for the past twenty-three years. Previously, McGuire announced his plan to retire in 2022 once a successor had been approved by the Association Board of Directors.

Aham is the national trade association of the home appliance manufacturing industry, representing manufacturers of major, portable and floor care home appliances, and suppliers to the industry. Aham’s membership includes over 150 companies throughout the world. AHAM members employ tens of thousands of people and produce more than 95% of the household appliances that are shipped for sale within the United States and Canada.

AHAM, the North American Association of Home Appliance Manufacturers, announced that president and ceo Joseph M. McGuire will retire pending a national search for his replacement. McGuire will remain at the AHAM helm until at least May 2022. Patricia Bassett, vice president, research and development, appliances and cookware, Newell Brands, and current AHAM chair will lead the search committee tasked with finding AHAM’s next CEO. «Joe – she said – has worked to create a responsible regulatory environment in which our products continue to make life better in homes while also protecting the planet».

McGuire was named AHAM president in December 1998. He guided the association through the relocation of its headquarters from Chicago to Washington, D.C. soon after, establishing a strong industry presence in the nation’s capital. He subsequently oversaw the opening of the AHAM Canada office in Ottawa, ON in July 2012, planting the industry flag in the Canadian capital. In 2004, under McGuire, AHAM successfully merged the Vacuum Cleaner Manufacturers Association into its operations.

«Joe has created a legacy of achievement across many dimensions – commented John Taylor, Senior Vice President, Public Affairs and Communications, LG Electronics USA – , but most importantly in developing a staff known and respected for their member service and can-do attitude. As our industry has grown and as AHAM revenues expanded, the team has grown two-fold with talented professionals working in a high-performance, collaborative culture.»

A coalition of four major manufacturing associations – the Association of Home Appliance Manufacturers (AHAM), the Air-Conditioning, Heating, and Refrigeration Institute (AHRI), the North American Association of Food Equipment Manufacturers (NAFEM) and the National Electrical Manufacturers Association (NEMA) – are urging immediate action by the Biden administration to address supply chain challenges outlined in a newly released white paper.

The paper explains how supply chain disruptions, which are compounded by trade distortions and the Covid-19 pandemic, are hurting the competitiveness of U.S. manufacturers and stalling the U.S. economic recovery. Combined with increased demand for appliances and equipment, supply chain bottlenecks have negative consequences, including increased costs, lost sales, delayed deliveries of critical products to consumers in the face of supply chain backlogs, and even shutting down manufacturing plants.

The paper acknowledges that many supply chain issues will require long-term solutions, but the coalition also requested immediate relief from policymakers through tariff removal and fair allocation of semiconductors to all industries. Quick implementation of these and other policy solutions outlined in the paper may help prevent a continued worsening of the availability of manufactured products in the U.S., while increasing productivity and stemming product cost inflation.

«The ability to produce and deliver home appliances to consumers has been dramatically hindered by the Covid-19 pandemic and other supply-related issues, creating hardships for consumers and for businesses at every step in the supply chain – said president and CEO of AHAM, Joe McGuire -. The result is ongoing shortages of products, materials, components and labor, leading to delays and increased costs. In some cases the supply chain timeline has doubled or tripled. This is at a time when consumers are spending more time in their homes and more dependent than ever on home appliances to keep their families healthy and their homes clean. The home appliance industry joins with other critical parts of the manufacturing sector to urge the Biden administration and congress to act to help alleviate this unprecedented damage to the global product supply chain».

Aham, the North American Association of Home Appliance Manufacturers filed a petition with the EPA (the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency), asking the agency to ban HFC refrigerants in home comfort products. With this initiative, the Association intends to make a further step toward a more sustainable industry.

«The home appliance industry – said Kevin Messner, Aham senior vice president, policy & government relations – has taken the next step in its transition to more environmentally friendly refrigerants by petitioning the EPA to ban high global warming potential (GWP) HFC refrigerants in home comfort products, such as dehumidifiers and portable and room air conditioners».

Aham is asking EPA to begin the ban of these HFCs as soon as 2023 for portable air conditioners and most room air conditioners. «The home appliance industry – Messner added – has already transitioned out of HFC blowing agent and by next year, most refrigerators will no longer use HFC refrigerants. The industry is continuing its commitment to the environment by announcing this latest step to move to more environmentally friendly refrigerants. We look forward to working with EPA to expedite the approval of this petition»

Joseph McGuire, President and CEO of AHAM, the Association of Home Appliance Manufacturers, wrote a letter to the US President addressed the global semiconductor shortage. The letter seeks an immediate increase in global production of semiconductors to ensure home appliances continue to be available to meet the increased usage demand that has been exacerbated by the pandemic. In addition, the Association is asking for semiconductors to be fairly allocated across sectors. «During the Covid-19 pandemic – McGuire writes in the letter – our industry’s supply chains have been fraught with difficulties; however, our industry has been working nonstop through these challenges to ensure that people have the products and services they need to take care of themselves and their families. There is an urgent problem with the global supply of semiconductors critical for use in home appliances. As your administration weighs options for increasing short-term supplies of semiconductors, we strongly urge that any solution avoid reallocating semiconductors from the home appliance industry. American families are using their home appliances substantially more during the pandemic. Now more than ever, families are depending on home appliances to ensure homes are safe, sanitary, to prepare and preserve food, and to ensure access to clean and safe water. We need an immediate increase in global production of semiconductors to ensure home appliances continue to be available to meet the increased usage demands exacerbated by the pandemic».

Nolan Pike, President and CEO of Electrolux North America, has been interviewed by AHAM, the US and Canadian Association of Home Appliance Manufacturers that, in the HomeWork section of its website decided to interview top executives from AHAM member companies to share what they have learned from the unprecedented events of the past year.
«We have five missions at Electrolux – Nolan Pike said – that prepared us to react to the pandemic while still driving towards our goals. Missions aren’t specific individual or team responsibilities; rather, they are everyone’s responsibility. By being clear about where we will and will not focus, it arms our employees and leaders to make good decisions. Meeting with and spending more time helping everyone understand their contribution to our success was such an important lesson from 2020 and it’s an area I will devote even more time to in 2021.»
Regarding the most significant consumer trends accelerated by COVID, Pike thinks that the first undoubtly derives from consumers spending more time eating at home.
«Early in the year – the North America President and CEO of Electrolux explains to AHAM – we saw a quick increase in demand for refrigeration as consumers stocked up on food. At mid-year, we started to see demand spike in cooking products. The demand far outpaced traditional duress replacement trends as consumers began upgrading their appliances. This was reinforced with consumers’ increased willingness to try new cooking methods. Products with air fry, air sous vide, and induction grew at much higher rates than those with less advanced technology.»
For facing such a difficult challanges as those of the last year, a very preious factor is mentorship. «Fostering and encouraging mentorships – Pike declares in the AHAM interview – are very important and it can take many shapes, including formal programs, informally reaching out to those you respect, or simply being open to employees who ask for help. During my career, I have had far more informal mentees than formal ones. In 2020, I converted quarterly mentee lunches into virtual one-on-ones, which worked great.
Even at this point in my career, there’s great value in a mentor. My own mentor lets me guide our relationship. He listens, asks probing questions, and tries to understand both my business and personal goals. He often brings forward valid development opportunities for me and he’s shown me a different approach to mentorship. It doesn’t have to just be the traditional approach of a mentor sharing their tried and true lessons. Now, I’m trying his approach with my own mentees.»