In a major win for the hard-hit Michigan industrial sector, GE announced on June 26 that it’s insourcing a key R&D facility to a site just outside of Detroit. Over the next few years, the new Advanced Manufacturing and Software Technology Center will grow to more than 1,100 scientists and engineers focusing on information technology, clean energy and aviation R&D.
The scientists and engineers at the Michigan site will develop next generation manufacturing technologies in areas such as renewable energy, jet engines, gas turbines and other high-technology products. The work will include development of composites, such as those used in jet engines and wind turbines; finding faster and more efficient ways of machining components; and developing 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’ll 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.
Michigan joins the global team: The new center will include a GE research and development facility that will be part of GE’s Global Research network, which includes 2,800 researchers in Niskayuna, New York; Bangalore, India; Shanghai, China; and Munich, Germany, which is pictured above.
The center is expected to open later this year at Visteon Village in Van Buren Township, Wayne County — about 25 miles from Detroit. Visteon is one of the world’s largest auto parts suppliers and a former subsidiary of Ford Motor Company.
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. The state of Michigan is providing more than $60 million in incentives over the next 12 years to support the center.
Jeff Immelt will place the Michigan news in a larger economic context in a speech that he’s delivering June 26 at approximately 1:15 p.m ET for The Detroit Economic Club at The Townsend Hotel in Birmingham, Mich. A live Webcast will be available on GE Reports.
A press conference about the new R&D facility with Michigan Governor Jennifer Granholm and GE chairman and CEO Jeff Immelt was held at 10:30 a.m. at The Townsend Hotel in Birmingham, Mich. To watch a replay of the webcast, click the player below.
* Read today’s announcement
* Watch Jeff Immelt’s PBS interview with Charlie Rose
* Learn about GE's plans to build a battery factory in New York
* Learn about GE's plans to produce a new hybrid water heater in Kentucky
* Learn more about GE’s other Research Centers
* Read about GE’s research into waste heat recovery
* Read about GE’s holographic disc research
* See a ballistic test of GE’s ceramic matrix composite materials
* Hear it straight from the scientists on our Global Research Blog
* Read about our new digital mammography plant in New York
