General Electric Co. said Wednesday that its appliance division will begin producing a new heating-and-air-conditioning unit at its Louisville, Ky., plant, in a move expected to create 75 new jobs.

The unit, called GE Zoneline, is a through-the-wall heating and air conditioning product primarily used in the hotel industry. GE will start making that product in the first quarter, and the move is part of a $250 million investment that GE Appliances is making at that manufacturing location in the three years ending in 2016.

GE's move to bring production of the heating and cooling units back to the U.S. comes as the company rebalances its work portfolio, selling off GE Capital assets to focus more on core industrial activities.

The Appliance Park in Louisville currently makes refrigerators, dishwashers, washing machines, clothes dryers and hybrid water heaters. GE Zoneline models were previously made there from 1961 until 1987, when production was moved overseas.

GE said Wednesday that it invested $40 million to build the new production line, which will be manned by 100 operators, 75 of those in new jobs.

The decision comes as GE also has been announcing plans to move certain manufacturing jobs overseas after the U.S. Congress failed in July to reauthorize the Export-Import Bank, the export-financing entity in the U.S.

GE says that financing from an export-credit agency such as Ex-Im is required for some $11 billion of projects for which it is preparing bids, including power turbines, generation equipment and aircraft engines.

Shares of GE rose 0.6% to $27.45 in premarket trading.

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(END) Dow Jones Newswires

October 07, 2015 10:05 ET (14:05 GMT)

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