GE announces investments totaling US$ 550 million in the country

The World President of General Electric, Jeffrey Immelt, and the President of GE in Brazil, João Geraldo Ferreira, yesterday presented to Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff their project for the establishment of a research center on Fundão Island, in Rio de Janeiro.  The investment, which was all made with the company’s own funds, is part of a total investment package of US$ 550 million made by the group in Brazil in several different areas over the coming few years. This will permit the creation of one thousand direct jobs, of which 200 will be high-level Brazilian researchers to work in the IT area and also in the development of research in areas such as energy, petroleum and health.

The executives have also told Ms Rousseff that they have purchased three companies that are active in the pre-salt region: John Wood Group, Dresser and Well Stream, in a market action totaling US$ 7.5 billion. According to the President of GE in Brazil, the country has won the contest with other countries for the construction of the multinational’s fifth research center in the world. In his opinion, the expectations are that in 2011 GE will have a turnover about 30% higher than in 2010, when the company closed the year a total turnover of US$ 2.3 billion in the country.

As Valor Magazine already announced, the General Electric executives were the first representatives of the production industry to be welcomed by President Dilma Rousseff. According to the Minister for Science and Technology, Aloízio Mercadante, yesterday’s announcement is very important for a country which intends to take a technological leap. This is an important partnership within the field of innovation, with a company which has been in Brazil since 1919, the Minister pointed out. All the technology will be produced and patented here in Brazil.

João Geraldo Ferreira reinforced the intention of General Electric to help to overcome some bottlenecks in the country, especially in the infrastructure industry and also in the exploitation of petroleum from the pre-salt layer. This investment of US$ 7.5 billion was made over the last six months [acquisition of the three companies active in the pre-salt area] because these are companies that are largely complementary to our portfolio, Mr. Ferreira declared.

The President of GE in Brazil also said that the company’s main aim is now to make use of the local labor. The key point in our work is that of conciliating the experience of the universities with the demands made by our clients, such as Embraer, Vale and Petrobras, for example, he added. According to Mr. Ferreira, the American company has no interest in being happy with technologies to be used 15 years hence. We want to put these new advances in practice as soon as we can.

The Minister for Development, Industry and Commerce, Fernando Pimentel – who also oversaw the hearing between the businesspeople and President Dilma – declared that the aim of the Government in partnerships like this is to try to overturn the deficit in the Brazilian trade balance, mainly with regard to capital goods and manufactured products. In Belo Horizonte, for example, General Electric has an important industrial unit for the production of locomotives, an item which can help us to recover our trade balance, said the Minister.