Region among most promising for GE Fanuc despite slowdown

The global financial crisis has more than halved the rate of growth in the Middle East of GE Fanuc Intelligent Platforms, an automation and control joint venture between General Electric and Fanuc Limited of Japan.

Furthermore, about 20 per cent of projects that were linked to the real estate sector in Dubai have been delayed, said its top officials.

However, the company considers the region as one of the most promising in its global operations and is investing heavily to prepare for the projects that are bound to emerge in future, said the officials. About 10 to 15 per cent of the company's global operations are located in the Middle East, a figure that is bound to grow, they added.

"We are strong in the area and we are investing in the region. With a population growth among the highest in the world and need for infrastructure projects that meet its needs, we do see a strong potential here," Maryrose Sylvester, CEO of GE Fanuc, told Emirates Business. "It's been a tough six months around the world. In the Middle East we are still growing at 10 per cent. We enjoyed more than twice this rate of growth earlier."

General Electric announced an earning per share (EPS) of $0.26 (Dh0.95), down 40 per cent in the first quarter of 2009. It reported earning of $2.8 million, down 35 per cent in the same quarter. However, the company's technology and energy infrastructure business grew 11 per cent. "We are continuing to invest into technology," Sylvester said.

GE Fanuc is headquartered in Charlottesville, Virginia, and deals in embedded systems, automation (hardware and software), and CNC (Computer Numerical Control). It is currently working on several projects in the region that extend from oil and gas to infrastructure. At the Qatar Science and Technology Park in Doha, it is working on a healthcare research project on breast cancer.

In the Middle East the company identifies the UAE, Saudi Arabia and Qatar as countries with the highest business potential. The company has strong interests in Iraq and is involved in a range of projects from oil and gas to water supply. Its parent company, General Electric, recently signed more than $500m worth of contracts to supply electricity generating equipment for what will become the biggest power plant in Bahrain.

The company is doing a lot of value addition in its projects in the Middle East and is hiring more staff to provide after sales services, according to its top officials.

The company is launching two major products in the Middle East amid the global crisis, said Joseph Davis, the company's regional manager (Gulf Automation).

This includes oil and gas remote monitoring system and another system that streamlines work flow in an organisation. "We see a demand for such projects both among national companies and large private companies," he said.

Davis pointed out that about 20 per cent of GE Fanuc's projects that were a part of real estate projects in Dubai have been delayed.

The company is, however, doing better in infrastructure projects such as sewerage treatment plants that are financed by the government, Davis said.

"The difference is that the projects have been delayed and not shelved. More than 50 per cent of our operations today are outside the US and Middle East along with India and China are the places we are giving a lot of importance to," Sylvester said.

Sources said GE is actively vying for nuclear projects as a part of consortium that includes companies from Japan. However, GE Fanuc's officials declined to comment on the matter.

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