Equipment Management

In today's competitive global marketplace, companies must manage their equipment more cost-effectively than ever. That's where GE Capital's Equipment Management businesses apply their substantial resources and know-how–both in the air and on the ground.

Obviously, Aviation Services was affected by the events of September 11, but having been in the aircraft leasing business since 1960 has taught us important lessons. With an expert management team, the best global marketing and sales force in the business and one of the youngest fleets in the sky, GECAS continued to provide comprehensive and creative fleet and financing solutions for airlines. Our experience and close relationships with important customers such as British Airways, Continental, Air Canada, Air France, China Eastern and American Airlines were at the heart of another successful year. GECAS agreed to provide operating leases to American Airlines for Boeing wide-body 767-300ER and standard-body 737-800 jetliners. When EVA Air of Taiwan wanted to convert some of its wide-body fleet to larger Airbus A330s, we financed the deal. We were also there to provide financing for 16 Airbus A320s and 10 Bombardier regional jets for Air Canada. And looking to the future, we're supplying Air Canada with six new A320s from our 2003-2004 delivery stream.

Back on the ground, European Equipment Management, Rail Services, TIP/Modular Space, Fleet Services and Penske Truck Leasing all achieved successes both inside and outside their walls. For example, Fleet expanded its reach with the $490 million acquisition of Associates Fleet Services in Canada. In addition, we leveraged our Six Sigma focus on customer productivity to identify $350 million in fleet management cost savings for customers across North America. A large part of that success was our award-winning customer Website, where more than 70% of our customers log on to manage their fleets using a digitized suite of cost management and reporting tools.

Mid-Market Financing

Nowhere was GE Capital's customer focus more apparent than in our Mid-Market Financing segment, where we provide businesses with financial products and expertise to grow – and nowhere was core growth more impressive.

Our $5.3 billion acquisition of Heller Financial dramatically enhanced our ability to serve customers. Heller is a perfect fit with several of our businesses, expanding the scope, scale and geographic reach of Commercial Finance, Vendor Financial Services and Commercial Equipment Financing. One of the strongest Heller / GE Capital synergies, though, was achieved when we combined Heller's healthcare business with our own. The resulting new GE Capital company, Healthcare Financial Services, meets the financial needs of the dynamic healthcare industry. And as the Heller integration progresses, we will continue to expand growth opportunities for former Heller businesses.

2001 marked a banner year for Commercial Equipment Financing, which landed three milestone deals: Franchise Finance Corporation of America, Mellon U.S. Leasing and SAFECO Credit. While these transactions offer customers greater breadth and depth of products and services, they're also accelerating CEF's growth and expanding market coverage worldwide. CEF now has more than 105,000 customers and some 1,500 sales representatives in 24 countries.

In 2001's capital-constrained world, Commercial Finance came through for its customers, providing $10.7 billion in newly invested capital. Commercial Finance also demonstrated creativity with an innovative new service approach called the "Access GE" program. Using proven GE tools such as Six Sigma, Access GE empowers customers to improve practically any business process, from shortening fast-food drive-through times to improving return on investment in consolidating the aerospace supply chain. While helping customers improve their bottom lines, Access GE also enhanced customer loyalty and cross-sell opportunities, fueling continued growth.

In 2001, Vendor Financial Services, a trusted financing partner for a host of leading manufacturers, dealers and distributors, grew its business in a variety of ways and leveraged technology to consistently exceed customer expectations. Most notably, we implemented an automated tool that provides near-instant credit decisions, a major driver in customer satisfaction. Already, 80% of applications are being processed with this innovative tool. Further, with the introduction of an online "Buyout and Upgrade" tool, customers can access individual deal information online.

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