GE finalises $700 million purchase of Industrea Ltd
Expands GE's operations in Australia into mining equipment manufacturing to export globally
Plans to grow global mining business to around $5 billion over the next few years
BRISBANE, AUSTRALIA---6 December 2012--- GE Mining today announced that it had finalised the purchase of mining equipment manufacturer, Industrea Ltd.
The $700 million transaction, which includes equipment manufacturing and servicing operations in Australia and China, allows GE Mining to expand its product and service offering to bring more efficient, high productivity, and low emission equipment to its mining customers globally.
Industrea Ltd is a provider of safety and productivity-enhancing mining equipment, with more than 700 employees across seven Australian locations, and a significant presence in China. It will form part of the global GE Mining business, headquartered in Brisbane.
GE Mining CEO, Geoff Knox, said this acquisition demonstrates confidence in the underlying demand for resources, which would remain sound over the coming decades as urbanisation and growth in energy demand in emerging economies continues.
"Locally, Australia is in the right place at the right time to benefit from the Asian Century and productivity is critical to how we realise this opportunity.
"Productivity is the number one issue facing mining at present. This acquisition further strengthens our capability to solve the toughest challenges of our mining customers, helping to increase their productivity and efficiency across areas as diverse as water treatment, energy generation, transportation and finance," said Mr Knox.
President and CEO of GE Australia & New Zealand, Steve Sargent, said this acquisition marks the largest addition to the GE industrial portfolio in Australia and forms a critical element in its strategy to grow manufacturing, services and skills in the region.
"Through our acquisition of Industrea, we are making a strategic investment in establishing our first manufacturing footprint in Australia and increasing our high-end engineering and qualified trade base in this region by 50 percent," said Mr Sargent.
The Industrea Ltd acquisition follows GE's recent purchase of underground mining equipment manufacturer, Fairchild International, in the US.
GE Transportation President and CEO, Lorenzo Simonelli said he expects GE Mining to grow its global business to $5 billion over the next few years.
"The combination of both entities -- Industrea and Fairchild -- expands GE's product offering to address the underground mining value chain.
"These investments will help accelerate our expansion into fast growing markets such as China and Australia where we expect continued double digit growth," said Mr Simonelli.
GE Mining's portfolio of products and services allow miners to:
* Generate, distribute and convert power more efficiently and at a lower cost;
* Manage water quality, usage and wastewater runoff more effectively; and
* Improve productivity through more efficient transportation of materials and deployment of advanced software monitoring systems.
ENDS
About GE
GE (NYSE: GE) works on things that matter. The best people and the best technologies taking on the toughest challenges. Finding solutions in energy, health and home, transportation and finance. Building, powering, moving and curing the world. Not just imagining. Doing. GE works. For more information, visit the company's website at www.ge.com.
About GE Mining
For more than half a century GE (NYSE: GE) has been solving the world's toughest mining challenges. GE's newest business, GE Mining, a unit of GE Transportation is dedicated to transforming the mining industry by doing what GE does best -- developing leading technologies to build, power and move the world. As global demands for energy and raw materials continue to grow, mining companies face ever-increasing challenges to bring these resources to market. To help mines achieve success, GE Mining delivers innovative solutions for the most critical requirements of power, water and productivity.
GE Mining delivers solutions such as power generation and distribution systems for reliable and readily available electricity as well as water treatment systems for filtration, desalination and reuse. GE Mining also provides productivity solutions including components and systems for crushing, grinding, conveying and hoisting; service expertise in turnkey systems development; optimization software for monitoring and controlling remote operations; and electric-drive systems for mining vehicles and underground mining equipment.
For further information, contact:
Elizabeth Rex
GE Mining
+61 (0) 450 930 130
[email protected]
Patrick Keneally
n2n Communications
+61 2 9213 2305
[email protected]
Elizabeth Rex
Communications Director
[email protected]
+61-2-9324-7173
+61-450-930-130