GE Drivetrain finalizes joint venture for wind turbine industry

GE Drivetrain Technologies, a unit of GE Transportation, and Chongqing XinXing Fengneng Investment Company Ltd. announced August 20 the formation of a joint venture company to produce large-diameter gears for the wind turbine industry.

Chongqing XinXing Gear Company Ltd. builds on 16 years of gear manufacturing experience in the automotive and motorcycle industries through its subsidiary company, Chongqing Xinxing Fengneng Company Ltd., while GE Drivetrain Technologies has provided drivetrain components to the wind turbine industry since 2004. Under the terms of the joint venture, Chongqing XinXing Fengneng will be the majority owner, and the gears will be produced in a new manufacturing facility in Chongqing, China.

A signing ceremony was held in Chongqing China with vice-mayor of Chongqing Huang Qishan and Tim Schweikert, president of GE Technology Infrastructure in China in attendance.

“As a supplier to some of the world’s leading automotive and motorcycle companies, Chongqing XinXing brings a world-class manufacturing mentality to the production of wind turbine gears,” said Schweikert. “GE Transportation’s large-diameter gear manufacturing expertise perfectly complements Chongqing XinXing’s proven high-volume gear production capabilities.”

Added Prescott Logan, business leader for GE Drivetrain Technologies, “This partnership is a key building block in our larger strategy to grow our wind drive train business in China and Asia Pacific by integrating our gear manufacturing supply chain and ensuring a secure supply of high quality gears to our Shenyang-based gearbox assembly plant.”

The joint venture is an important investment for Chongqing XinXing, as it enables the company to participate in the burgeoning Chinese wind energy market.

“We are pleased to enter this partnership with GE Transportation because of its renowned engineering expertise and global presence,” said Xingming Li, chairman, Chongqing XinXing Fengneng Investment Company. “This agreement is an exciting opportunity to expand our product line and customer base, and a great chance to upgrade our existing products and improve our management skills as we continue our proud tradition of manufacturing high-precision gears.”

Initially, the new business will manufacture gears for GE Drivetrain Technologies’ wind turbine gearbox production facility in Shenyang, China. GE Drivetrain Technologies and A-Power Energy Systems announced the development of the facility as part of a joint venture agreement in January 2009.

This agreement signifies GE Drivetrain Technologies’ commitment to the development of a local Chinese supply chain and supports China’s initiative to increase wind energy output from one gigawatt in 2005 to 100 gigawatts by 2020.

With this agreement, GE Drivetrain Technologies continues to expand its offering to the wind industry. Earlier this year, the business announced the launch of a wind generator and control systems division to complement its existing gearbox business.