New Operation Enhances Local Customer Service as Jenbacher Engine Orders Increase in Asia

Citing a significant growth in onsite power projects in Asia, GE Energy's Jenbacher gas engine business today announced the opening of a new regional engine packaging operation at GE's manufacturing center in Hangzhou, the capital city of Zhejiang Province in southeast China. The new packaging operation will help support GE Energy's customers in China and Asia that are working to address their urgent energy and environmental challenges.

The fuel-flexibility of GE Energy's Jenbacher engines is making them popular in the region because they operate on either natural gas or a variety of specialty fuels, including coal mine gas, landfill gas, biogas, wood gas, sewage gas and industrial waste gas.

The Jenbacher Hangzhou Packaging Operation will allow GE Energy to deliver a wider selection of customized, onsite power engineering solutions and faster local customer service.

The new packaging operation is responsible for final assembly of the Jenbacher engine-generator sets and CHP units including the steel substructure, assembly of filters, ductwork and cabling. The site also features a paint shop as well as a modern test facility to allow the packaged units to be tested before they are shipped to the customer, helping to assure optimal performance. The organization includes a team dedicated to customized engineering design solutions based on regional needs.

The facility, which currently employs about 50 people, will package about 30 engines in 2008 and plans to complete another 100 units in 2009. The operation is initially packaging GE's 1-MW, "Type 3" Jenbacher engines but in early 2009 will expand its scope to also service the larger "Type 6" Jenbacher engines.

The core engines will continue to be produced by GE's main gas engine manufacturing center in Jenbach, Austria.

The Hangzhou site is GE's second regional engine assembly operation to open since GE acquired the Jenbacher gas engine business in May 2003. GE also operates a facility in Hungary, which packages containerized Jenbacher systems.

"Having reached a critical volume of gas engine orders in Asia, we recognized a priority to locate a new packaging facility in China to help assure prompt equipment delivery and tailored customer service for projects throughout Asia," said Prady Iyyanki, CEO of GE Energy's Jenbacher gas engine business. "Future business prospects look extremely promising for this region."

Hangzhou was the logical location for the new Asia gas engine packaging operation because the manufacturing center already has the employees, dedicated space and machinery needed to ensure the high quality of GE's Jenbacher product line, Iyyanki explained.

The new operation will help GE keep pace with the growing demand for GE's fuel-flexible Jenbacher engines, including for coal mine methane, various waste biogas and natural gas applications in China and throughout Asia.

"The Jenbacher gas engine business is a key element of GE's power generation portfolio," said I-Pung Hu, General Manager of Power Generation China for GE Energy. "The Hangzhou packaging operation strengthens our local footprint in China by having a positive impact on our local customers and contributing to China's sustainable economic development efforts."

As gas-fueled power plant projects become more popular in Asia, customers will be able to rely on GE to deliver timely local engineering solutions and onsite services support, I-Pung Hu explained. In addition to serving customers in China, GE's new Jenbacher packaging operation will be in a position to supply customized solutions to Asian growth countries including South Korea, Pakistan, Bangladesh, India, Indonesia, Malaysia and Thailand.