http://www.genewscenter.com/content/Detail.asp?ReleaseID=7157&NewsAreaID=2
FAIRFIELD, Conn.--26 June 2009-- The General Electric Company (NYSE:GE) today announced that it will open an advanced manufacturing technology and software center in Michigan. The center is expected to grow to more than 1,100 GE employees over the next few years.
The Advanced Manufacturing and Software Technology Center will include a GE research and development facility that will be part of GE’s Global Research network. It will house scientists and engineers who will develop next generation manufacturing technologies for GE’s leading renewable energy, aircraft engine, gas turbine and other high-technology products. Such work will include development of composites, machining, inspection, casting and coating technologies for GE’s Aviation and Energy businesses.
The site will also house GE experts in software development, data architecture, networking, business intelligence and program management. They will develop software to support GE’s business operations for several advanced technologies, like the smart grid. The site also will serve as a training hub for GE information technology professionals.
The center, which is expected to open later this year, will be located at the Visteon Village site in Van Buren Township, Wayne County, about 25 miles from Detroit. The research and development facility will be housed in a new $100 million, 100,000-square-foot building that GE will construct on the site. The software and IT employees will be located in existing office space.
“To lead in manufacturing and create high-value jobs in the U.S., we must invest in technology and in people,” GE Chairman and CEO Jeff Immelt said in Michigan today as he was joined by Gov. Jennifer Granholm, Sen. Carl Levin and Sen. Debbie Stabenow. “The scientists, engineers and technologists that will work and learn at this center will help GE develop innovative new software, processes and technologies to make our manufacturing businesses even more productive and competitive.
“Michigan is a great location for a technology center because of its world-class engineering, technical talent and public officials who understand that investing now will create tomorrow’s leading positions in information technology, clean energy and transportation.”
The state of Michigan is providing more than $60 million in incentives over the next 12 years to support the center.
Governor Jennifer M. Granholm said, “No state is working harder than Michigan to diversify its economy and create new jobs. GE’s decision to invest and grow in Michigan demonstrates we have the high-tech workforce and competitive business climate necessary for global giants like GE to thrive in the 21st century.”
Sen. Levin said, “Michigan is well positioned to be a leader in advanced manufacturing and development of green technologies. This facility will take advantage of our state’s strengths and keep us on the forefront of these critical emerging industries.”
Sen. Stabenow said, “Michigan has always been about imagination, innovation, and invention – the same qualities that GE is known for today. That’s why GE has chosen to locate this new advanced technology and training center here in Wayne County. This center is a reflection of Michigan’s leadership in the clean energy economy, that will not only create good-paying jobs, but will lay the foundation for innovation and economic success for years to come.
This new facility adds to GE's leading research and development capabilities, which are focused on finding solutions to some of the world's toughest problems. The research employees at the Michigan facility will join 2,800 researchers and employees at GE’s four global research facilities. GE’s R&D employees represent nearly every scientific discipline and more than 1,100 of them hold doctorate degrees.
GE expects to partner with local universities on training programs for its employees at the center.
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Rockwell Automation CEO proposes new U.S. industrial policy that focuses on innovation, investment, and education to support smart factories. Keith Nosbusch says smart factories are the best way to create jobs.
-- Manufacturing Business Technology, 6/17/2009 11:04:34 AM MDT
Rockwell Automation Chairman and CEO Keith Nosbusch called for business and government to invest in smart factories that are flexible, efficient and sustainable as the best way to create higher-paying, long-term manufacturing jobs in the United States. Rockwell release the information in a statement.
Invest in technology to be globally competitive
Public and private sectors need to invest in advanced technology that will lower costs, increase productivity, and make U.S. manufacturing competitive globally, said Nosbusch.
"This investment is the best way to create enduring, higher-wage manufacturing jobs that can compete against other economies with lower costs of doing business," he said.
U.S. competitiveness via automation, information technology
Nosbusch spoke June 15 at The National Summit, a gathering hosted by the Detroit Economic Club, to promote actions to improve America's manufacturing competitiveness in the global economy.
Nosbusch also called for a renewed U.S. industrial policy that includes federal stimulus, and research and development on industrial automation and information technology to keep U.S. manufacturing competitive globally.
Nosbusch cited research that shows most Americans believe that highly automated, modern factories are important to grow the U.S. economy. A majority of Americans said the government should provide incentives for companies to invest in advanced technology to improve U.S. manufacturing.
Benefits quantified; R&D for manufacturing is below 1970 levels, he says
"A $50 billion investment in retooling factories would create 250,000 direct manufacturing jobs in the U.S., support an additional 725,000 indirect jobs, and generate up to $120 billion in revenue resulting from increased demand for products," said Nosbusch, citing a study by the Apollo Group, a business-labor coalition focused on job creation.
Nosbusch called for the Obama administration to double research and development for manufacturing innovation to bring it back to 1970s funding levels. "If you really want to invest in long-term, high-quality job creation, you have to invest in innovation," he said.
"We also need an education system that will train workers to operate these smart factories and produce engineers who develop innovative manufacturing solutions for the future," he emphasized. "This needs to start with a better pre-school to college STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) talent-development pipeline."
Rockwell Automation Inc. says it is the world's largest company dedicated to industrial automation and information, making its customers more productive and the world more sustainable.