GE Power Conversion
 |
| Industry | Electrical engineering |
|---|---|
| Predecessor | Converteam (2011) |
| Founded | 10 November 2005 |
| Headquarters | Paris, Île-de-France, France |
Number of locations | 14 countries |
Area served | Global |
Key people | Azeez Mohammed CEO[1] |
| Products | VFDs, Electric generators and induction motors |
Number of employees | 5,300 |
| Divisions | 4 |
| Website | www.gepowerconversion.com |
GE Power Conversion is an electrical engineering company and is a subsidiary 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.[2] This deal was completed on 2 September 2011
Company structure and operations
|
It has five divisions:
- Converteam SAS in France
- Converteam GmbH in Germany (based in Berlin)
- Converteam UK Ltd in the United Kingdom (based in Rugby)
- Converteam UK Ltd in the United Kingdom (based in Kidsgrove)***
- Converteam Inc. in the USA (based in Pittsburgh)
- As of March 2017 GE closed the Kidsgrove factory after announcing mass redundancy, all work was moved to an empty factory in Berlin to bolster their workload. (A short number have been kept as an insurance policy for Siemens wind power for an extra year and are based now in Stafford) first announced by Stephan Reimelt the then CEO of GE power conversion who shortly after left that post to become CEO of power conversion specifically for germany, and was then set to receive all of the work taken from the UK plant. Meetings were held with George Kunder who described himself as having "a large seat at the table" for reversing the decision, however no willingness was shown by the company to investigate any other means of protecting the UK workforce, it was also announced at this time that the figures presented to GE head management were based on out of date costing and margins which intentionally made the local situation appear worse than it actually was.
The new CEO Azeez was approached and requested to show up on site but however refused.
Both the European works council and unite the union have been linked to legal action against GE , due to GE breaking the terms of the consultation period and forcing closure prematurely, it is not yet understood what effect this will have on the company, or what compensation it may bring to the former workers who did not sign their rights away under the company gag clause.
For any who may be interested, the local site historian Mark Woods has, and continues to work on a fantastic document that reflects the history of the site from its creation back in the 1950's to it's death under GE.
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 .{Citation needed|date=July 2014}. Along with this the company provides Vessel Automation System, Dynamic Positioning system for Ships. The products are known for high operational efficiency and longevity. 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{Dubious}{Needs citation - value incorrect} . 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]{Dubious}{Needs citation - project discontinued}
References
- ^ "Energy Management Leadership". GE Energy Management. Archived from the original on 2 February 2014. Retrieved 29 January 2014.
{{cite web}}: Unknown parameter|deadurl=ignored (|url-status=suggested) (help) - ^ G.E. to Buy Converteam for $3.2 Billion