GE Power Conversion


GE Power Conversion is an electrical engineering company and is a subsidiary of General Electric.

History

In 1989, parts of the British General Electric Company merged with parts of Compagnie Générale d'Electricité forming Cegelec, in the same year, a subsidiary of the German Allgemeine Elektrizitäts-Gesellschaft had merged with the American Westinghouse Drive Systems. In 1995, these two groupings merged to form CEGELEC Industrial Systems Group. In 1999, it changed its name to Alstom Power & Conversion, then on 10 November 2005, it became a separate company from Alstom.
On 29 March 2011, it was announced that a 90% stake in Converteam was to be bought by GE Energy for $3.2 billion. This deal was completed on 2 September 2011.

Company structure and operations

It has five divisions:
The company also operates the Engineering Development Center in India, and has subsidiaries in BRIC countries: Converteam Brazil and Converteam China.

Products

The product range is comprehensive. Drives for low voltage as well as medium voltage applications are available with complete industry specific customised solution. It makes electrical motors and generators. These are often found in fossil fuel power stations. The company also provides the Vessel Automation System and Dynamic Positioning System for ships. The products are known for high operational efficiency and longevity. The company provides these products as well as consultancy services and installation.
;Electric ship propulsion
The company produced the induction motors for HMS Daring controlled by variable-frequency drives, and its 20MW generators. This technology has also been installed on LNG carriers, as well as the French Mistral-class amphibious assault ships. This technology will be used for the Royal Navy's Queen Elizabeth-class aircraft carriers and the other Type 45 destroyers. The company is also developing an Electromagnetic Aircraft Launch System for the Royal Navy's new aircraft carriers.