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GE OPENS GARCHING TECHNOLOGY CENTRE IN GERMANY FOR GLOBAL RESEARCH
07 July 2004 - GE Advanced Materials
| General Electric has officially opened its new European Global Research Centre in Garching, near Munich, Germany, at an event hosted by Chairman and CEO Jeff Immelt. This state-of-the-art 10,000 square-meter facility is the latest addition to GE’s US $4 billion worldwide technology development effort. |
Since 2001, GE has made a US $100 million investment in its New York R&D headquarters, opened a US $64 million research facility in Shanghai, China, and made an initial US $52 million investment in this European centre, as the company expands its capacity for advanced technology development. By 2005, the new European Global Research Centre will be home to 150 scientists and engineers, who will develop technology to support GE’s future growth. Scientists at the centre will conduct advanced research into enabling technologies for future products and services, working closely with the GE businesses to define the future technological needs of the company’s European customers. The centre will focus on four main research areas:
• Alternative energy generation technologies, particularly hydrogen, biomass and fuel cells;
• Electrical systems for renewable energy sources such as solar, wind and water;
• Specialised sensors for automotive, biological and harsh environment applications;
• Advanced medical imaging technologies, such as ultrasound, high field magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and molecular imaging. GE’s decision to invest in this new technology centre in Europe is part of its commitment to grow revenue through technological leadership. “We win in the market by bringing life-changing innovations to our customers,” said GE Chairman and CEO Jeffrey Immelt. “We’re fuelling our future growth today by expanding our capacity for innovation and bringing technology development closer to our European customers. Technology leadership produces the best products, wins competitive battles and creates and expands markets.” The European center is GE’s fourth Global Research facility, in addition to the Global Research headquarters in Niskayuna, New York (1,800 employees), the John F. Welch Technology Centre in Bangalore, India (1,600 employees) and the China Technology Center in Shanghai (150 employees). The new centre is located on the campus of the Technical University of Munich. “With the technology we are developing, we have the opportunity literally to reshape the way the world works”, said Scott Donnelly, SVP of Global Research. “We can create a new paradigm for the way the world generates and uses energy. We can help transform healthcare from the “see and treat” approach of today to the “predict and prevent” model of the future. The European Centre is key to this effort because it increases our research capacity, gives us access to a new pool of technical talent and brings technology development closer to some of our key customers in these industries.” Nani Beccalli, president of Europe, Middle East and Africa for GE, said, “This facility will allow us to take advantage of the great intellectual capital and high education standards in Europe, particularly in the fields of science and technology, and it is a tangible sign of our long-term commitment to grow in this market.” GE Global Research is one of the world's most diversified industrial research organisations, providing innovative technology for all of GE’s businesses. Global Research has been the cornerstone of GE technology for more than 100 years, and is now focused on developing breakthrough innovations in areas such as molecular medicine, alternative energy, nanotechnology, advanced propulsion and security technologies. GE Global Research is headquartered in Niskayuna, New York and has facilities in Bangalore, India; Shanghai, China, and Munich, Germany.
http://www.research.ge.com
About: GE Advanced Materials
GE Advanced Materials is a world leader in providing materials solutions through engineering thermoplastics, silicone-based products and technology platforms, and fused quartz and ceramics. Among its businesses are:• Silicones, which includes GE Toshiba Silicones in the Pacific region and GE Bayer Silicones in Europe, offers silanes, specialty silicones, urethane additives, adhesives, sealants, resins, and elastomers for a variety of industries such as personal care, automotive, tire and rubber, construction, healthcare, electronics, household and institutional, agriculture, textiles, appliances, bedding and furnishings, foam control, and consumer (http://www.gesilicones.com/gesilicones/am1/en/home.jsp); • Plastics is a global plastics materials supplier and distributor, which serves customers in a variety of industries including aerospace, appliances, automotive, building and construction, data storage and optical media, medical, electrical and electronics devices, telecommunications, computers and peripheral devices, outdoor vehicles and devices, and packaging (http://www.geplastics.com/); • Quartz produces high purity materials for the semiconductor, fiber optic, lamp making and water purification industries. GE Quartz is a leading supplier of quartz materials to the semiconductor industry (http://www.gequartz.com/en/index.htm); Established in 1968, GE Advanced Materials’ Specialty Film & Sheet business is a leading supplier of high-performance engineering film and sheet products to the United States, Europe, Africa, India, the Middle East, Asia Pacific and operates a worldwide network of sales, research, manufacturing and technical services facilities. Today, GE Advanced Materials, Specialty Film & Sheet employs about 600 people, and manufactures engineering sheet and film products at 12 facilities in 9 countries worldwide. Recent investments:
• 2003 New Roofing Structures Line in Italy, Europe
• 2003 New Coating Lines in China & Malaysia, Pacific
• 2002 Acquisition of Plastech, China
• 2001 New Film Lines in USA and Europe
• 2001 Acquisition of Carboron, Malaysia
• 2000 Acquisition of Matraplast, Canada
• 2000 Acquisition of Nim Plastics, USA Products:
GE Advanced Materials offers a variety of film materials are to meet different type of applications such as graphic film, coated products, electrical & electronic products, and specialties. The key film materials available today include:
• Lexan* Polycarbonate film
• Ultem* film
• Lexan* SLX film
• Valox* film
• Lexan* Illuminex* film GE Advanced Materials’ sheet product line includes a wide range of structures from solid sheet, multi-wall sheet and corrugated sheet through to coated sheet and laminates and combinations of each of these. The key sheet materials available today include:
• Lexan* Polycarbonate sheet
• Lexan* Solar Control IR sheet
• Margard* coated sheet
• Lexgard* laminated sheet
• Ultem* sheet
• Lexan EXL* sheet GE Advanced Materials, Specialty Film & Sheet, serves customers in a variety of industries including aircraft, appliances, automotive, building and construction, business machines, electrical & lighting, furnishing, greenhouse, industrial roofing, medical, electrical and electronics devices, telecommunications and packaging. In January 2004, in line with GE Corporate’ new brand architecture, GE Advanced Materials has announced the change of GE Structured Products business naming to GE Advanced Materials, Specialty Film & Sheet. |
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