GE invests in Michigan, USA -- new technology center

Hopefully General Electric Company (NYSE: GE) has made a small stride in this direction with the announcement of its planned development of a new technology center. The rendered concept photo was provided by Megan Parker, GE, Comunications Specialist, for inclusion in this post. GE has been tracking my commentary for quite some time and I was sent the press release last Friday.

Every time another US Company expands it's operations overseas or just moves out totally, it can feel like another nail in the coffin to American workers, who have been very vocal about this in recent years. So it is nice to see something being done here at home. And as I have ranted about many times, we need increases in productivity, not consumption. As a nation, if we are going to spend our resources, we are much better off investing in research and development than the latest fad toys and rapidly depreciating nonsense.

GE's Advanced Manufacturing and Software Technology Center will include a GE research and development facility that will be part of GE's Global Research network. It will house scientists and engineers who will develop next generation manufacturing technologies for GE's leading renewable energy, aircraft engine, gas turbine and other high-technology products. Such work will include development of composites, machining, inspection, casting and coating technologies for GE's Aviation and Energy businesses.The center is expected to grow to more than 1,100 GE employees over the next few years.<

The center, which is expected to open later this year, will be located at the Visteon Village site in Wayne County's Van Buren Township, about 25 miles west of Detroit. The research and development facility will be housed in a new $100 million, 100,000-square-foot building that GE will construct on the site. The software and IT employees will be located in existing office space. The state of Michigan is providing more than $60 million in incentives over the next 12 years to support the center.

Though General Electric is to be lauded for its new facility and its refocus on its industrial core, this is only one small step toward getting GE, our economy, and our nation back on track.

This new technology center will be a part of a larger global network that GE has been expanding for years.

Pictured here is the The John F. Welch Technology Centre in Bangalore India, GE's largest integrated multidisciplinary Research and Development Center, and the first to be located outside the US. It houses Close to 4200 scientists, researchers and engineers working to in the energy, transportation, aviation, health care, consumer and industrial, financial and entertainment business.

While it would be nice if all of GE's facilities were in the United States, at least we can take some satisfaction that the company remains committed to it's American roots and that more high end, good paying jobs will be created.

Sheldon Liber is the CEO of a small private investment company and the principal for design and research at an architecture & planning firm. He writes the columns Chasing Value and Serious Money. Disclosure: I own shares of GE and have open options as well.