American company General Electric announced that it intends to set up a technology center in Brazil. It will be the fifth center of the type for the company, which has similar hubs in Germany, India, China and the United States.
The announcement was made by the company’s global chairman, Jeffrey Immelt, after a meeting with the Brazilian minister of Science and Technology, Sergio Resende. The center is going to supply all of Latin America.
According to Immelt, GE invests US$ 6 billion a year in research worldwide. He did not specify the location in which the center will be built, nor the total investment, but stated that all market possibilities will be analyzed.
Immelt claimed that the company’s intention is to hire local talent and transfer technology. He also announced the signing of a sales contract for 50 locomotives to the Brazilian fuel and lubricant manufacturer company Cosan Combustíveis e Lubrificantes, totaling US$ 130 million.
GE had already announced an investment of US$ 118 million in Brazil, US$ 50 million of which should go to a healthcare equipment factory in the city of Contagem (state of Minas Gerais),
Another US$ 35 million will be used for an aircraft turbine maintenance plant in Petrópolis (state of Rio de Janeiro), US$ 21 million to pre-salt oil drilling, and US$ 12 million to a locomotive factory in Minas Gerais. In its initial phase, the investment should generate 600 direct jobs.
