TREVOSE, PA, April 4, 2005 -- GE Infrastructure Water & Process Technologies (W&PT), a unit of General Electric, continues its customer-focused investments in people, technologies, and solutions despite recent widespread price increases across the board. Over the past several months, all of the Water & Process Technologies' product lines, which include specialty chemicals, membranes, and equipment, have increased between 5-10% in most cases due to global inflationary cost structures.
While many companies are responding to these cost pressures by reducing investments in people, services, and products, W&PT continues to provide unsurpassed customer value. Specific raw materials that have impacted costs include molybdate, benzene, acrylic acid, and morpholine.
"As a result of unprecedented costs in the global marketplace; namely, sourced materials, manufacturing and production, transportation and freight, and labor and salaries, it is no longer possible to maintain the superior levels of value, service and technical support, that has been provided in the past, at a price that does not reflect these increasing cost structures," said Mike McGettigan, pricing leader for GE's Water & Process Technologies business.
In 2004, GE introduced 80 new products within its global, scalable, modular service platforms including Mobile Water, InSightTM, Opportunity Crude solutions using PredatorTM and dozens of other leading edge water and process technologies. Further amplifying customer value, GE recently invested more than $1B in the acquisition of Ionics, a leader in desalination and emergency mobile water technology. This acquisition will increase GE's desalination capabilities, expand their mobile water services, and strengthen their ability provide solutions to customers' most pressing water needs. In addition to a focus on technology, GE continues to invest in recruiting and developing the world's best customer focused commercial teams.
GE expects that this current price increase will be offset by the additional value and savings its customers achieve through the combined strength of GE's people, technology and solutions.
"The investment we make in our people generates unparalleled returns for our customers in the form of system performance, energy and water conservation, and environmental compliance," adds McGettigan.
Water & Process Technologies (www.gewater.com), a unit of GE Infrastructure, is a leading global supplier of water, wastewater and process systems solutions. Its products and services are used to optimize total water/process system performance, safeguard customer assets from corrosion, fouling and scaling, and protect the environment through water and energy conservation.
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