GE today announced plans to invest more than $100 million in a multi-year project to modernize its research and development headquarters in Niskayuna, Schenectady County.
The newly renamed GE Global Research Center will be a state-of-the-art research lab and hub for new technology innovations at GE, GE said in a release.
"The most admired companies of the future will be known for their technical excellence," said Jeff Immelt, chairman and CEO of GE. "They will have the best products and services, powered by the best technology. In the GE of the 21st century, we will drive technical excellence in all our businesses and clearly distinguish ourselves in the marketplace.
"The Global Research Center is at the heart of this philosophy and will spearhead GE innovation and growth."
Business Council President Daniel B. Walsh hailed the news.
"This is a spectacular new investment in the Capital District-and, even more important, a welcome vote of confidence in the economic future of upstate New York," Walsh said. "New Yorkers are deeply gratified to know that a future generation of new technologies and products will proudly reflect investment in New York, and proudly wear an 'Invented in New York' label."
The GE Global Research Center is one of the world's most diversified industrial labs, conducting research for all GE businesses, from Power Systems, to Plastics, to Medical Systems. The Center has been the cornerstone of GE technology for more than 100 years by developing breakthrough innovations in areas such as medical imaging, energy generation technology, jet engines and lighting.
The GE Global Research Center has been located in New York State's Capital District since 1900, and has expanded to include facilities in Bangalore, India and Shanghai, China.
"As was the case when the lab was founded, this is an investment in the future of GE," said Scott Donnelly, senior vice president of GE's Global Research Center. "GE is built on great people with great ideas, and we want to have a facility that will give our people the tools, the resources and the environment they need to take GE technology to even greater heights."
The multi-year renovation project will include:
- A new wing of laboratories to facilitate research in cutting-edge areas such as biotechnology and nanotechnology, as well as advanced research in optical media applications, lighting and plasma systems, and high-performance polymers.
- State-of-the-art meeting and conferencing facilities.
The center employs 1,700 people in Niskayuna from 45 different countries. Its 1,200 technologists includes 600 with doctoral degrees.
The Business Council has made increasing state investments in high-tech R&D a top legislative priority for 2002, arguing that, to secure a prosperous future, the state must make deep and sustained investments in collaborative research efforts among industrial R&D labs, university labs, and government labs.