us
1. GE is developing engines for the Joint Strike Fighter
2.KPMG puts the global market for sustainable energy performance at £27bn annually
1 POWER TO THE PEOPLE
• GE’s 1.2m sq ft servicing facility in Nantgarw, Wales, houses one of the most advanced aircraft engine testing facilities in the world
to involve managed-service contracts in order to get around the need for large, up-front capital investment. “I do see our city infrastructure and smarter cities being led by the service industry,” says Sparrow. “The UK has the right service- related mindset. Nowhere else in Europe is thinking like this. “The opportunity is great. KPMG has put the climate change and sustainable energy performance market at £27bn per annum. It’s also a market that’s growing exponentially in a static economy.” GE certainly sees global potential in this area. “We found there was a distinct alignment between the requirements of urban Western Europe,” states Gale, who is now managing projects and exploring opportunities in locations as far fl ung as Turkey, South Africa and Sweden. “You see the same problems in Paris, Lyon, Dublin, Berlin and Stockholm.”
Gale considers the UK to be the ideal location from which to develop these new products and services. “As a nation, we are still very good at innovation and R&D,” he says. “We have fantastic universities and a big SME population out there coming up with fantastic ideas. GE has a footprint here that we don’t have elsewhere that enables us to develop on that.”
Gale might have added that GE is an important company for the UK too. More than 70 per cent of the company’s output is exported to the global marketplace, so its potential to contribute to a British export-led recovery is high. As athletes go for gold, the UK will glow a little greener, thanks to GE. ■
t
FIND OUT MORE TO BENEFIT from the outstanding
opportunities in the UK, contact the UKTI Investment Hub on 020 7333 5442, visit
www.ukti.gov.uk/invest or email
enquiries@ukti-invest.com
40 | springboard |
www.ukti.gov.uk
• In 2009, GE opened Europe’s fi rst smart grid centre at its Bracknell HQ
• Jenbacher engines – installed in some of the UK’s most iconic buildings and locations, including the Shard and the Olympic site – can produce enough combined energy to power every residential home in Manchester, Leeds and Liverpool (800Mw)
• GE Capital currently fi nances more than 90,000 SMEs, lending them around £10bn a year
• In Burton upon Trent, GE scientists are continuing to refi ne the innovative, UK-developed GEMx battery, one of the world’s toughest. Its unique sodium-metal halide technology can provide uninterruptible power for more than 15 years
uninterruptible power for more tthan
han 15 years 2
UKTISUPPORT
With more than 18,000 employees, operations in 60 sites, and £14bn invested in growth through acquisition in the last decade, GE has a signifi cant presence in the UK, its second biggest market outside the US. It is active in energy, aviation,
fi nancial services, transportation and healthcare, with UK-based global HQ for its healthcare and global banking operations. Three-quarters of its employees work in industrial businesses at 30 UK manufacturing sites, of which about a dozen are global centres of excellence. Prestige projects include GE Aviation, which develops engines for the Joint Strike Fighter, and GE Energy, active in offshore wind, smart grid development and battery technology. Its extensive work in such a wide array of high-tech sectors makes it a valuable company to attract and keep in the UK, says Steve O’Leary, GE’s relationship manager at UK Trade & Investment. “We want to be a country with a reputation for innovation,” he says. “We want companies that do R&D to come here so we can grow our trade in high-tech goods. The sorts of technology that GE can bring to the UK and develop and export from there fi t very well with these aims.” Lord Green’s role as contact minister with GE underlines the importance the company has as an inward investor in the UK. Michael Boyd, managing director for strategic relations, will support Lord Green in this role and lead engagement with GE. GE recently held a second business-led inward investor round table, bringing together CEO-level representatives from companies with relevant Ministers. Vince Cable joined Lord Green at the event, which focused on company reactions to the Autumn Statement and Growth Review. For details, contact
constance.early@ukti.gsi.gov.uk
IMAGE: GETTY IMAGES
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