GE says its water business will prosper

FAIRFIELD, CT — General Electric Co. (GE) says it expects healthy revenue growth in 2008 for its products that provide environmental benefits despite the downturn in the economy, a recent Associated Press article carried by Forbes.com said.

Those products, many falling under the company’s “Ecomagination” program, include water/wastewater treatment equipment and systems. Revenue from “Ecomagination” products is expected to increase by 21 percent in 2008 over 2007, to $17 billion, the article said.

At the same time, the company recently announced that it was reorganizing its GE Energy Infrastructure business, which includes GE Water & Process Technologies (GE Water), the company’s water treatment technology arm. Jeff Garwood, who has been president of GE Water, will move out of that role to work on projects that are GE Energy Infrastructure-wide, alongside Energy Infrastructure President and CEO (and GE Vice Chairman) John Krenicki Jr.

Replacing Garwood as president of GE Water will be Heiner Markhoff, a former executive in GE’s plastics business.

In a recent message to GE employees, Krenicki announced that GE will be combining its water and power businesses into a new unit called Power and Water, which will have Steve Bolze as president and CEO. Markhoff will report to Bolze.

For GE, Krenicki wrote, the new structure “combines the deal structuring, risk management and project experience of Power Generation with the wealth of domain knowledge and industry expertise that exists today within the Water business.” He added that “water and energy are inextricably linked” and that the company’s commitment to water process technology “has never been greater.”

“Water represents a vital part of the overall portfolio and a tremendous growth opportunity for the business,” Krenicki told employees.