GE Continues Majaps Juggernaut

Atlanta — GE Appliances followed up last year's expansive 70-model Builders' Show rollout with new additions to its Profile and Monogram lines.

Moreover, the company will commit an additional $800 million — on top of a prior $1 billion investment — to the development of 270 new products over the next three years, said spokesman Terry Dunn.

Among the fruits of GE's labors is a new Profile Spectra electric range that boasts a fifth element warming zone for melting chocolate or warming sauces; heavy-duty self-clean racks; and true European convection thanks to a third oven element and circulating air to ensure uniform browning. With rounded handle and counterbalanced door, the unit will begin shipping in April with suggested retail pricing beginning at $999.

GE has also updated its award-winning Profile Arctica refrigeration platform with additional ExpressThaw settings, a redesigned fresh food door that offers more storage space, and a divided freezer basket that can accommodate large items like frozen pizzas. There's also a new TurboCool setting that "revs up" the refrigerator after the door has been open for an extended period of time or a hot item is placed inside, cooling the unit back to its preset temperature quickly.

Introduced here last year at the 2001 Builders' Show, the Arctica line has since received Popular Mechanics' Innovation Award and Grand Award (the first refrigerator to do so), plus a Good Buy Award from Good Housekeeping.

Meanwhile, GE's super-premium Monogram brand debuted an exclusive dual-flame stacked burner for its new 36-inch, 60,000-btu stainless steel gas cooktop. All five burners use two separate flames to provide a full spectrum of heat, with the high-output upper flame delivering the high heat necessary for searing and stir-frying, and the lower flame providing a steady 140 degrees that's suitable for simmering.

The cooktop also features a curved front edge, continuous, interlocking porcelain enamel grates, sealed burners and ergonomically designed control knobs. The unit, available now, will range from $1,299 to $1,499.