CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA December 11, 2009 GE (NYSE: GE) and FANUC LTD announced today that the two companies have completed their agreement to dissolve the GE Fanuc Automation Corporation Joint Venture. This agreement reverts the respective portions of the joint venture back to the parent company and allows each company to focus on its existing businesses and pursue growth in its respective core industry of expertise. The two companies signed the final agreement today in Chicago, and will now operate independently as GE Intelligent Platforms and FANUC LTD.
“Today begins the next phase in GE Intelligent Platforms’ focus to provide our customers with a sustainable advantage through industry-leading technology and the passion and expertise of our people,” said Maryrose Sylvester, President and CEO of GE Intelligent Platforms. “We will continue to invest in our product and solution platforms that allow our customers to compete and succeed in a challenging economy. In addition, we intend to utilize our world-class enterprise software as a platform for faster growth for the entire GE portfolio. ”
GE Intelligent Platforms continues to be a leading high-performance technology company that serves a vast array of industries around the world including government & defense, telecommunications, energy, water, transportation, and consumer packaged goods. The company delivers software and services, control systems, and embedded systems globally.
FANUC Honorary Chairman Dr. Seiuemon Inaba said, “Our joint venture has achieved great success in the computer numerical control (CNC) business. We have achieved many things together, but FANUC is now looking forward to focusing our efforts on our industry-leading CNC portfolio and the opportunities unique to our industry that will deliver great benefits to our customers.”
The two companies will continue to work together in a commercial relationship related to GE’s motion control and motor products with no interruption in supply of these components. In addition, GE intends to support its CNC customers in the Americas through its CNC services business.
Sylvester added, “We are truly grateful to Dr. Inaba and his team at FANUC for their partnership with GE over these past 20 years, and we wish them continued success in the future. We are confident that this change will allow both companies to serve our customers better as we continue to innovate and solve some of our customers’ toughest problems.”
About FANUC
FANUC LTD, headquartered on the foot of Mt. Fuji, Japan, is the most diversified manufacturer of FA (Factory Automation), robots and Robomachines in the world. Since its inception in 1956, FANUC has contributed to the automation of machine tools as a pioneer in the development of computer numerical control equipments. FANUC technology has contributed to a worldwide manufacturing revolution, which evolved from the automation of a single piece of machine to the automation of entire production lines. FANUC develops better and more reliable products into the twenty-first century.
About GE Intelligent Platforms
GE Intelligent Platforms is an experienced high-performance technology company and a global provider of software, hardware, services, and expertise in automation and embedded computing. We offer a unique foundation of agile and reliable technology providing customers a sustainable advantage in the industries they serve, including energy, water, consumer packaged goods, government & defense, and telecommunications. GE Intelligent Platforms is headquartered in Charlottesville, VA and is part of GE Enterprise Solutions. For more information, visit www.ge-ip.com.
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