In another sign of just how rapidly Brazil’s technology and manufacturing sector is heating up, the city of Rio de Janeiro has been chosen as the site of GE’s newest Global Research Center. The $100 million research hub will joins the ranks of Niskayuna, NY, Shanghai, Bangalore and Munich as one of the centerpieces of GE’s R&D efforts.
The announcement today in Brazil was part of a sweeping, $500 million investment that includes expanding GE’s oil & gas, wind turbine, healthcare, aviation and locomotive businesses and plants in the country.
First look: The new Brazil Global Research Center will be located on the Ilha do Bom Jesus peninsula. When complete in 2012, it will employ 200 researchers and engineers. GE today also signed eight agreements with partners, universities and corporations from across Brazil to develop research collaborations.
Learning hub: The 140,000 square foot Center will include a GE Global Learning facility, where GE employees from Latin America will join senior leaders from industry, academia and government to learn and share best practices.
The $500 million commitment follows yesterday’s announcement of a $2 billion investment in China, which will include an expanded R&D presence. On Monday, GE unveiled a new global growth plan designed to decentralize international teams and accelerate growth in key markets such as Brazil and China. A key goal is double U.S. exports as part of the strategy.
For Brazil, which already has a “company to country” relationship with GE, the closer ties with GE follows the recent opening of GE’s first healthcare factory in South America in Contagem, Brazil; the largest locomotive order in Brazil’s history; a $1 billion aviation deal with Azul airlines; and oil and gas deals, such as the $250 million offshore equipment contract recently signed with Petrobras.
High flying: As part of the new investments in Brazil, $200 million will go to expanding GE’s existing healthcare, transportation and aviation plants. GE’s jet engine service facility in Petrópolis is seen above.
* Read “Brazil’s Rail Industry: From Near Derailment to Full Throttle” on GE Reports
* Read “5 Reasons Brazil is Becoming a Major World Power” on GE Reports
Learn more in these GE Reports stories:
* “Boosting GE’s ‘company to country’ approach in Brazil”
* “Taking a look at GE in Brazil during WEF Latin America”
* “Keeping growth on the fast track: WEF Latin America”
* “Switching smart grids from ‘demo’ to ‘deploy’ at WEF”
* “Brazil’s turbines sweetly hum with sugar-based ethanol”
* “The sugar-land express: Brazil orders 50 locomotives”
* “Brazil’s new Azul airline inks $1B services deal with GE”
* “GE wins $250 million offshore drilling contract in Brazil”
* “Brazil boosts clean gas in the Amazon; wind in the East”
