GE Power Conversion
 |
| Industry | Electrical engineering |
|---|---|
| Predecessor | Alstom Power Conversion (since 1999) |
| Founded | 10 November 2005 |
| Headquarters | Massy, Essonne, Île-de-France, France |
Number of locations | 14 countries |
Area served | Global |
Key people | Pierre Bastid CEO and President |
| Products | VFDs, Electric generators and induction motors |
Number of employees | 5,300 |
| Divisions | 4 |
| Website | www.converteam.com |
Converteam is an electrical engineering company based in France, and a former division of Alstom. It is now part of General Electric.
History
 | This section's factual accuracy is disputed. (July 2011) |
In 1989 parts of the British General Electric Company plc merged with parts of Compagnie Générale d'Electricité (now Alcatel-Lucent) forming CEGELEC (part of GEC Alsthom), in the same year, a subsidiary of the German Allgemeine Elektrizitäts-Gesellschaft (AEG) had merged with the American Westinghouse Drive Systems.[dubious – discuss][citation needed][improper synthesis?] In 1995, these two groupings merged to form CEGELEC Industrial Systems Group. In 1999, it changed its name to Alstom Power Conversion, then on 10 November 2005, it became a separate company from Alstom.
On 29 March 2011 it was announced that a 90% stake in Converteam was to be bought by GE Energy for $3.2 billion.[1] This deal was completed on 2 September 2011
Company structure and operations
It has four divisions:
- Converteam SAS in France
- Converteam GmbH in Germany (based in Berlin)
- Converteam UK Ltd in the United Kingdom (based in Rugby)
- Converteam Inc. in the USA (based in Pittsburgh)
The company also operates the 'Engineering Development Center' in India, and has subsidiaries in BRIC countries: Converteam Brazil and Converteam China
Products
The product range is comprehensive. Drives for Low Voltage as well as Medium Voltage applications are available with complete industry specific customised solution. It makes electrical motors (induction and synchronous) and generators. These are often found in fossil fuel power stations. Along with this the company provides Vessel Automation System, Dynamic Positioning system for Ships. The products are known for high operational efficiency and logivity. The company not only provides the products but the consultancy services and installation.
- Electric ship propulsion
It produced the induction motors for HMS Daring (commissioned July 2009) controlled by variable-frequency drives, and its 20MW generators . This technology has also been installed on LNG carriers, as well as the French Mistral-class amphibious assault ships. This technology will be used for the Royal Navy's Queen Elizabeth-class aircraft carriers and the other Type 45 destroyers.[citation needed] The company is also developing an Electromagnetic Aircraft Launch System for the Royal Navy's new aircraft carriers.[citation needed]