🏭 LG Electronics: Checking the Links Between Factory Restructuring and Cooling - 2026.10.15

Hey, it’s me, Dotori 🌰 Today, factories, cooling, and robots are all tangled together, so let’s start by drawing the big picture.

🔗 Let’s start with the big picture

Structurally, LG Electronics is reshaping its supply chain on the home-appliance factory front. Its parts factory in Reynosa, Mexico, has begun mass production, and the company brought TV materials in-house in just four months after investing 11,700,000,000 KRW ^[1]. This was reported as a move to avoid tariff costs from exports routed through third countries and to restructure North America’s home-appliance supply chain. Its Tennessee refrigerator plant is operating above 100% capacity, and it expanded the facility with an investment of 140,000,000,000 KRW—a sign that North American demand is keeping the factory packed ^[1].

⚙️ Cooling is the real link in the value chain

This is where Dotori’s eyes lit up the most. ES President Lee Jae-sung started out as a researcher at GoldStar and has now made his way into AI cooling. At a press briefing at LG Sciencepark in Magok, he presented the company’s HVAC business strategy and solutions for AI data centers ^[2]. Money Today reported that LG Electronics had directly introduced “how to tackle heat from AI data centers,” while its headline used the phrase “NVIDIA’s close partner” ^[3]. However, this article alone does not confirm the details of any specific collaboration with NVIDIA. Think of it as a relay: cooling equipment takes over the baton of data-center heat. That link is the key. 🤔

📚 New businesses expanding beyond home appliances

The partnership with Apple is interesting, too. The two companies jointly developed and unveiled seven types of IoT products, including cameras, door locks, and thermostats, and plan to launch them first in North America and the UK within the year ^[4]. One report explained that AI analyzes the time of day and weather to control heating and cooling. That is a product description from the report; this material alone does not tell us whether it is a plan separately announced by the company ^[5]. On the robotics front, an exclusive report said LG plans to launch “CLOiD,” a humanoid robot that walks on two legs, early next year ^[6]. Since it is still at the planning stage, we’ll have to wait and see how the market responds. In air conditioning, the AI-powered “Multi V i” was selected as a week 41 winner of the iR52 Jang Young-sil Award and was described as reducing heating and cooling energy use by 25%. It also reportedly features an in-house-developed AI chip that learns on-site ^[7].

🏭 So which areas are moving first?

Here’s how Dotori sees it. First priority is data-center cooling and HVAC. This is where heat issues translate into actual demand, making it the area most directly tied to the ES business. Second is North American home-appliance production. Production relocation to avoid tariffs is showing up in factory utilization rates. Third are new businesses such as robotics and smart home. They have yet to launch, so it’s too early to assess them by the numbers. The share price closed at ₩168,900 on October 15, down -4.79% from the previous day. With recent momentum weak, the key question now is whether these new businesses can turn into sales.

Two questions remain: When will the cooling story show up in earnings, and will new product launches lead to tangible business results? Dotori thinks the most important variable right now is whether these links translate into actual revenue.

📰 Reference News (7)

1

LG Electronics begins mass production at its Reynosa, Mexico, parts factory… Accelerating the reshaping of North America’s home-appliance supply chain | Aju Business Daily

네이버뉴스 · 2026.10.15

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4

LG Electronics and Apple form an ‘alliance’ in AI appliances and smart home

네이버뉴스 · 2026.10.15

📰 View original

5

LG and Apple team up on ‘smart home’ devices… AI analyzes time of day and weather to control heating and cooling

네이버뉴스 · 2026.10.14

📰 View original

7

[iR52 Jang Young-sil Award] Automatically adjusts after listening to noise

네이버뉴스 · 2026.10.15

📰 View original