Investor Updates
GE Mining invests in Australian mining equipment manufacturer
17 January 2013
GE Mining, part of the multinational GE conglomerate based in Fairfield, Connecticut, has finalised the purchase of the Australian mining equipment manufacturer, Industrea Ltd.
Industrea has a significant presence in China and the $700 million transaction includes Industrea’s manufacturing and servicing operations, both in Australia and in China.
The company will form part of GE Mining’s global business and will be headquartered in Brisbane.
Steve Sargent, the CEO of GE Australia & New Zealand, said that this acquisition marks the largest addition to the GE’s industrial portfolio in Australia and forms a critical element in its strategy to grow manufacturing, services and skills in the region.
‘Through our acquisition of Industrea, we are making a strategic investment in establishing our first manufacturing footprint in Australia and increasing our high-end engineering and qualified trade base in this region by 50 percent,’ Mr Sargent said.
Geoff Knox, GE Mining’s CEO, said that the acquisition demonstrates confidence in the underlying demand for resources.
‘Locally, Australia is in the right place at the right time to benefit from the Asian Century,’ he said.
He added that productivity is critical in how this opportunity is realised.
‘Productivity is the number one issue facing mining at present,’ Mr Knox said. ‘This acquisition further strengthens our capability to solve the toughest challenges of our mining customers, helping to increase their productivity and efficiency across areas as diverse as water treatment, energy generation, transportation and finance.’
* A global infrastructure, finance and media conglomerate, General Electric (GE), is one of the largest companies in the United States. In 2012, GE employed over 300,000 people and listed total assets of US$717.2 billion.
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