QC: GE Aviation Opens $61M Robotics, Automation, Instrumentation RD Centre

GE Aviation opens a new Global Robotics, Automation and Instrumentation R&D Centre in Bromont, Quebec.

Jeff Immelt, chairman and chief executive officer of GE, welcomed Élaine Zakaïb, minister for industrial policy and the Banque de développement économique du Québec to the official opening of the centre. GE Aviation Bromont manufactures aircraft engine components, including the CFM56 engines for the Boeing 737 and Airbus 320 aircraft, and GEnx engines for the Boeing 787 and Boeing 747-8. The Bromont facility is one of the most productive global sites operated by GE Aviation.  The new centre will develop advanced robotic processes, software applications and intellectual property that will be exported to GE Aviation facilities around the world.

The $61.4 million investment will create up to 60 skilled jobs and includes $8 million from Investissement Quebec (IQ) and the Ministère des Finances et de l'Économie du Québec (MFEQ). The investment will strengthen GE Aviation Bromont's position as a global centre of excellence.

Jeff Immelt said, "Advanced manufacturing - integrating hardware with software, is changing both the products we make and how we make and service them; it's the next industrial revolution.  Today's opening is about increasing our speed of innovation, and refocusing the way products are designed, manufactured and serviced for our customers in Canada and for global markets."

"The GE Aviation Global Robotics, Automation and Instrumentation R&D Centre in Bromont is a vivid reminder of our enormous potential and Québec's know-how in the aeronautics sector," Élaine Zakaïb noted. "It is essential for our government to support such promising projects, which are consolidating Québec's reputation for excellence and enhancing its profile abroad."

GE Aviation and its joint venture company, CFM International, have more than 1,000 engines in service and on order with Canadian airlines. In addition to manufacturing engine components in Bromont, Quebec, GE Aviation manufactures complex engine hardware in Orillia, Ontario, and has an engine testing and research and development centre in Winnipeg, Manitoba. GE Aviation is an active member of Aero Montréal, Quebec's aerospace cluster and of the Aerospace Industries Association of Canada (AIAC), the Voice of the Canadian aerospace industry.

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.

In Canada, GE has operations across the country, including major manufacturing facilities, over 150 sales and service locations, and more than 7,000 employees.

About Investissement Québec: Investissement Québec's mission is to foster the growth of investment in Québec, thereby contributing to economic development and job creation in every region. The Corporation offers businesses a full range of financial solutions, including loans, loan guarantees and equity investments, to support them at all stages of their development. It is also responsible for administering tax measures and prospecting for foreign investment.