November 2002 - Nr. 11
GE Picks Germany for First European Research Center
TWIG - Citing Germany’s reputation as a "world-class source of intellectual capital," U.S. technology and services giant General Electric Co. (GE) announced Wednesday (October 23) that it will build a major research and development facility in the town of Garching near Munich. The center will specialize in research in the fields of energy technology, renewable energy, recycling, biotechnology and materials. Construction of the US$52 million center is to begin in early 2003, with the center operational by 2004. The plan calls for approximately 25 researchers to be hired within the next year, a number set to increase to 150 by 2005.
At a press conference following talks in Berlin with Chancellor Gerhard Schröder, GE chairman and chief executive Jeffrey Immelt said proximity to the Technical University of Munich was a key reason for selecting the Garching site, as was GE’s long-running relationship with Germany. "Germany is … home to over 8,000 GE employees and hundreds of our most valued customers," he said, "It is a logical choice to be the site of our first technology center in Europe." Chancellor Schröder said GE’s decision confirmed that government corporate tax reform policies and federal investment in research and development have "created conditions which make it worthwhile for major global corporations to be engaged in Germany as well." Munich and its environs form Germany’s high-tech capital, home to telecommunications and machine-building conglomerate Siemens AG and chipmaker Infineon, in addition to hundreds of smaller software, Internet and computer equipment firms.
