Triveni enters deal with GE for manufacturing compressors

New Delhi: General Electric Company (GE) has signed an agreement with Triveni Engineering and Industries Ltd for manufacturing compressors for the oil and gas industry in India.

According to the pact, Triveni will import bare compressors from GE’s facility in Wisconsin in the US, and will design and assemble high-speed reciprocating compressors which are used in gas lift, gas transmission and storage, the Chairman and Managing Director, Mr Dhruv M. Sawhney, told a news conference here. The agreement would be for an initial term of five years.

The company would engineer, design, manufacture and assemble the package at its Bangalore plant. Besides, it would also be the customer point of contact in India for both selling of the packaged product and after-sales service.

Mr Sawhney said the company expects high-speed reciprocating compressor market in 2009 to be around Rs 500 crore, of which the collaboration is eyeing 25-30 per cent share. The partnership would help GE in having a manufacturing base close to customers in India, a statement said.

Almost all Indian and international oil and gas firms are planning extensive investment over the next few years, said Mr Riccardo Procacci, Country Manager for GE Oil and Gas in India.

“Besides improving our cost competitiveness, partnering with a local player like Triveni will also improve our pre-sale and post-sale customer support and responsiveness... a win-win for both GE and our customers,” Mr Procacci said. He, however, said there would be no technology transfer.

Mr Sawhney also indicated at the possibility of Triveni, which is also into sugar manufacturing, going in for a demerger of its engineering business. “It is under consideration by the board,” he said, while declining to provide a timeframe for the possible move.




General Electric Company’s Indian arm is eyeing an over 50 per cent jump in its turnover to $3 billion by the year-end. Going forward, the company expects to clock $8 billion in revenues by 2010, driven by growth in sectors such as infrastructure, healthcare and financial services, the GE-India CEO, Mr Tejpreet S. Chopra, said here.

GE, the second-largest company by market value globally, had earlier set a target of notching up a turnover of $5 billion in India by 2010, which was subsequently scaled up to $8 billion.

“We hope to cross a business of $3 billion this year… Our key drivers are infrastructure, which includes energy, oil and gas, railways, aviation and water; healthcare and financial services,” Mr Chopra told newspersons here.

He said the company, which posted revenues of $1.9 billion last year in India, is constantly evaluating opportunities to enter new business segments. “India is going to be extremely important market for us,” he said.

Mr Chopra, however, was non-committal on the company getting into the nuclear power segment in India. “I cannot commit anything as the (Indo-US civilian nuclear) deal is not yet finalised,” he said, adding as and when opportunities arise, the company would be “interested”.

GE manufactures a host of products, ranging from light bulbs and diagnostic imaging systems to aircraft engines and nuclear power plants, besides having a strong player in the financial services market.