Alton MP “blown away” by the technology at GE Energy

Damian Hinds, MP, tours gas turbine inlet filtration systems business

ALTON, UK – 22 September 2010 -- Damian Hinds, the MP for East Hampshire, was “blown away” by the filtration systems at GE Energy in Alton when he visited the business on Friday 3 September. As part of his visit, Mr Hinds took a trip in the high velocity demonstration rig which shows how the filtration systems, designed and manufactured by the Alton business, protect gas turbines from contaminants, like dust, salt and moisture. The high-powered rig draws air through the unit at 15 metres per second to simulate a real-life gas turbine while the filtration system in front of the unit stops the person inside being drenched by the 200 litres of water being sprayed at the rig every minute.

Mr Hinds said: "I was very impressed to see GE's leading-edge research and development, and advanced manufacturing, and have a chance to meet some of the team. They are an important employer in Alton and contribute a lot in voluntary work too. It is great to know they are committed to the town, and to growing here in East Hampshire."

Mr Hinds was visiting GE as part of an introduction to businesses located in his new constituency and was welcomed to the facility by Stephen Rippon, the GE site leader. The Alton team designs and manufactures filtration systems to protect gas turbines operating in some of the world’s harshest environments, and enable them to operate more efficiently. The business employs 140 people in Alton with further sites in the US, China and Mexico. The Alton business is part of GE, which employs 18,000 people in the UK across 25 manufacturing sites around the country.

During the visit, Mr Hinds heard how the business has grown over the past few years and has built relationships with local schools and universities to encourage future talent and contribute to the local community through volunteering projects.

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About GE
GE (NYSE: GE) is a diversified infrastructure, finance and media company taking on the world’s toughest challenges. From aircraft engines and power generation to financial services, health care solutions and television programming, GE operates in more than 100 countries and employs about 300,000 people worldwide. For more information, visit the company's website at www.ge.com.
GE serves the energy sector by developing and deploying technology that helps make efficient use of natural resources. With nearly 85,000 global employees and 2009 revenues of $37 billion, GE Energy www.ge.com/energy is one of the world’s leading suppliers of power generation and energy delivery technologies. The businesses that comprise GE Energy—GE Power & Water, GE Energy Services and GE Oil & Gas - work together to provide integrated product and service solutions in all areas of the energy industry including coal, oil, natural gas and nuclear energy; renewable resources such as water, wind, solar and biogas; and other alternative fuels.

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For more information, contact:

Catherine Edenborough
GE Energy Services
+44 (0) 1420 595872
catherine.edenborough@ge.com

Frank Farnel
GE Energy
+33 3 84 59 11 16
frank.farnel@ge.com

Nicole Jung or Clementine Agron
Hopscotch Europe in One
+353 1 639 8881
njung@hopscotch.eu or cagron@hopscotch.eu

This release was published on openPR.