GE Hydro invests US$ 140 million in the country to double world operation
Valor Econômico - 02/14/2008
Turning Brazil into a company headquarter is almost a rarity in the world of the multinational companies. The rule of the game normally leads the subsidiaries of the country to intend to gain the command of the branch offices of the region, at the most. But the American General Electric (GE) decided to walk the path of exception. Seduced by the potential of the hydroelectric generation market in the country, the company decided to take the command of the global operations of GE Hydro from Canada and transfer it to Campinas (SP). From the city of the countryside of São Paulo, which now hosts the administration, financial and engineering departments among others, GE intends to increase the global sales of its Hydro division that last year amounted to US$ 300 million. From this total, Brazil is responsible for a significant part, half of it. Nonetheless it is worth remembering that currently there is no base for comparison. The reason is that up to 2006 the hydro business had no company status, since it was part of GE Energy, and its numbers were consolidated. Brazilian Jose Malta, GE Hydro's CEO, affirms its mission is to increase this income, even though he does not disclose the size of the increase expected each year. From the volume of funds and amount of tasks Malta will command from this year on, the goal of the officer goes beyond the income. GE Hydro world president affirmed to Valor he will spend US$ 140 million in the next two years. And those funds will be used in the modernization of the unit of Araraquara (SP), in the construction of a laboratory of hydroelectric turbines, among other activities. "The investment will also be used to close down the Canadian unit and double the capacity of Araraquara", added the officer. But no cent would have left the safe of GE weren't there good perspectives in the country for the hydroelectric generation. According to the data from the American multinational, Brazil has potential to add 4 gigawatts (GW) per year from water sources to the national energy matrix, which puts it in second place in potential of generation from hydroelectricity in the world. On the top of the list on this issue is China, which demands nearly 8 GW every year. This way, Campinas will be responsible for commanding the Brazilian, Finnish and Norwegian units. It will provide the guidelines of all operational units but Canada's and China's. That because the first one will be closed down and second will be much more aimed towards the production of equipment for the generation of aeolian and thermal energy. Besides these operations, the Hydro world division will also have one foot in Sweden, a country that has no factory, and one in Canada, which has a large base of hydroelectricity source.