GE opts to build $265 million factory in Canada

GE Power & Water plans to stop manufacturing gas engines in Waukesha, Wis., and open a new facility to build engines in Canada. The new facility will also have back-up capacity to manufacture diesel engine components for GE Transportation. GE currently employs 350 at its manufacturing facility in Waukesha, building gas engines for compression, mechanical drive and power generation applications.

GE notified employees in Waukesha and more than 400 U.S. suppliers of its plans. In Wisconsin alone, suppliers generate almost $47 million in revenue from the plant.

GE plans to build a new $265 million state-of-the-art “Brilliant Factory” in Canada that will optimize efficiency and streamline production using data, analytics and software. The factory is expected to be completed in
20 months and will be a flexible production facility that can expand over time and also support manufacturing requirements for other GE businesses.

GE will build its new facility in Canada in order to access additional support from the country’s export credit agency, Export Development Canada (EDC). The agency has a strong record of export financing. GE has a solid, long-standing relationship with EDC under which the company has participated in a number of global transactions. With today’s announcement, GE fully expects to expand its relationship with EDC in support of the company’s Power & Water, Oil & Gas and Transportation businesses. In 2014, EDC facilitated exports and investments of approximately $100 billion (Canadian). The agency actively supports global expansion for manufacturers based in Canada, supporting over 7,000 customers in close to 200 countries last year.

“We believe in American manufacturing, but our customers in many cases require ECA financing for us to bid on projects. Without it, we cannot compete, and our customers may be forced to select other providers,” said John Rice, vice chairman, GE.