Company focuses on partnership and localization initiatives in the country
High-profile 'GE Day Nigeria 2020' event attracts government and customers
Abuja, Nigeria; September 15, 2008: General Electric (GE) the global infrastructure, technology, media and financial services company, marked its first "GE Day" in Abuja, Nigeria today as a key initiative to showcase latest technologies from its various businesses including energy, water, transportation, healthcare, aviation, finance and media.
During the exhibition, attended by GE customers and government officials at the Abuja International Conference Centre, Ferdinando 'Nani' Beccalli, President and CEO of GE International, gave an overview of GE's diverse businesses and reiterated the company's commitment to partner with Nigeria and support the country's 2020 vision, their mission to make the country one of the top 20 economies in the world.
"Our GE Day is focused on strengthening our relationship with key partners and the government. We aim to develop a country-to-company relationship with market-driven, customer-focused innovations that contribute to total solutions. Customers can learn first-hand about the wide range of products and services in GE's portfolio and our ability to deliver solutions for the challenges they face," said Beccalli.
GE has had a long-standing relationship with Nigeria in energy, aviation, and oil & gas, among other sectors, with over 170 employees in country, and a GE Oil & Gas Service Center in Port Harcourt. The Port Harcourt facility aims to increase local service responsiveness and capabilities to strengthen on the ground technical support and reduce turn-around time for projects throughout the region.
In 2007, GE Oil & Gas further expanded its presence within the region through the acquisition of VetcoGray, a specialist in drilling, completion and production technology for onshore, offshore and subsea applications. VetcoGray's offices in Lagos and facility in Onne Port, provide sales, project and technical support, as well as equipment refurbishment and repair services for projects based in Nigeria and along the West African coast.
In addition, GE Energy has a history of supplying technology for power generation projects and of the more than 200 GE gas turbines currently in the Africa region, more than half are located in Nigeria. This past February, GE announced that it sold three LM6000-PD SPRINT® aeroderivative gas turbines to Geometric Power Ltd. (GPL), for a new reference power plant in Aba to provide reliable, affordable, and efficient power to its customers.
On Aviation, Arik Air, Nigeria's leading domestic carrier, recently selected the GEnx engine to power seven of its new Boeing 787 aircraft. The airline has also finalized its engine order for five GE90-115B-powered Boeing 777-300ER/-200LR aircraft. The total value of both engine deals is more than $500 million. Nigeria's private sector carrier, Virgin Nigeria Airways, is also growing its fleet with an order for eight EMBRAER170 aircraft powered by the CF34-8E engines, plus two EMBRAER190 aircraft, powered by the CF34-10E engines. Additionally, it operates five Boeing 737-300 aircraft powered by GE's CFM56-3 engines and has signed a five-year, $15 million OnPoint solution agreement with GE for the maintenance, repair and overhaul of these engines.
In 2007, Africa accounted for US $2.5 billion in revenue. GE has been operating in Africa for more than 100 years and today is active in more than 35 countries with around 1,500 employees on the continent. The company has corporate offices in Egypt, Kenya, Algeria, Angola, Nigeria, and South Africa, facilities for GE's Oil & Gas and Energy business in Algeria, Angola and Nigeria, as well as a manufacturing plant for GE Security in South Africa.
"Witnessing Nigeria's spectacular growth over the past few years, we can only look forward to further expanding our business activities here. GE's portfolio of innovative products and services puts the company in a unique position to provide infrastructure, industrial and healthcare solutions for Nigeria - a country with tremendous growth potential - and the company is looking forward to tapping into those opportunities," said Nabil Habayeb, President and CEO -- Middle East and Africa.
The executive added that Africa was going to be a key emerging market driver of the global economy in the next 20 years, with a tremendous need for infrastructure development including power generation, oil and gas capability, healthcare, rail and air transportation.
About GE:
GE is a diversified global infrastructure, finance and media company that is built to meet essential world needs. From energy, water, transportation and health to access to money and information, GE serves customers in more than 100 countries and employs more than 300,000 people worldwide. GE is Imagination at Work. For more information, visit the company's Web site at www.ge.com.
For further information, please contact:
Corporate Communications
[email protected]
business unit
tags