The S$40.8 million investment is a vote of confidence to the Republic's strong economic fundamentals and the region's bountiful business opportunities.

 
John G. Rice (second from left), Vice Chairman, GE, and President & CEO, GE Infrastructure, taking questions from the audience during the press conference.

With Southeast Asia's key economies continuing their strong growth, there is a surging demand for the building up and constant updating of infrastructure within the country, whether by the government or the various companies doing business there. And General Electric's (GE) latest investment to expand its GE Aviation Service Operations (GEASO) facility is an example of this.

Opened in 1981, the Singapore-based GEASO repairs and refurbishes high- and low-pressure turbine blades and vanes, combustors, rotating parts, and seals for aircraft engines for more than 100 customers around the world. Positioning itself to capitalise on the region's growth, this S$40.8 million (US$30 million) investment for the GEASO facility is expected to rake in an additional 80 per cent in revenue over the next five years for GE.

Ramping up its capabilities

In order to reach such revenue figures, the expansion will see the facility increase to 250,000 sq ft from 200,000 sq ft, and additional top-of-the-line equipment will be installed to build up GEASO's process capabilities to repair the latest technology engines, such as the GEnx powerplant for Boeing's 787 Dreamliner.

Over this same time-frame, the company expects to recruit another 400 to 500 people, of which 75 per cent is skilled manpower, to add to its current employment pool of 915 people. The project is expected to be completed in the second quarter of 2009.

"GE's investment clearly recognises GEASO's great reputation for delivering on customer and shareholder value and our commitment on expanding our product offerings in Singapore. We are also very pleased with the partnership we have with the Singapore Economic Development Board (EDB) who has been a huge supporter of this expansion plan, and we look forward to working even closer going forward," says William Fitzgerald, Vice President and General Manager, Global Operations, GE Engine Services.


CFM56-3 High Pressure Turbine (HPT) Nozzle.

Making history

For GE, this investment is another milestone in its illustrious history, and an indication of the region's importance to the company. In 2007, more than 50 per cent of GE’s business was outside the US - a first in its history. Driven by emerging markets and more capital being made available to invest, GE Infrastructure, of which aviation is a key component, has seen its revenue reach S$24.5 billion (US$18 billion) last year and growing by 25 per cent year on year.

And GEASO is not the only GE business in the city-state; GE Water & Process Technologies is collaborating with the National University of Singapore to develop a S$130 million (US$96.2 million) world class research and development centre. GE Aviation also set up its first international distribution centre in July 2007, and it holds more than S$40.8 million (US$30 million) worth of equipment to service its clients in the region.

"Singapore is a key market for our infrastructure business, where our competitive advantage is technology products and services," notes John G. Rice, Vice Chairman, GE, and President & CEO, GE Infrastructure. He went on to add that, each year, the company invests S$3.4 billion (US$ 2.5 billion) in research and development to ensure that it has a deep pipeline of new products. GE's Infrastructure arm has since seen its equipment orders grow by nearly 40 per cent annually for the last three years.

GE Aviation has also leveraged and grown in tandem with Singapore's own flourishing aerospace industry, which, in 2007, achieved a record S$6.89 billion (US$5.1 billion) in annual output and employed some 19,000 people. The Republic is home to the largest maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) industry in Asia-Pacific, with comprehensive nose-to-tail capabilities.

"The growth of GE's operations here is clear testament of Singapore being an ideal location for business and investment. GE’s new facility underscores the company's strong relationship of more than 35 years with Singapore, and also reinforces our status as Asia's leading aerospace hub," says Lim Siong Guan, Chairman, EDB. And the sky's the limit for both GE and Singapore in this exciting new phase of partnership between both parties.