GE Power Systems expanded its already-significant turbinemanufacturing force with yesterday’s announced purchase ofWeatherford Global Compression Services’ Gemini division. Financialterms of the acquisition were not disclosed.

“Acquiring Gemini increases our capabilities to serve ourNAFTA-based customers and reinforces our leadership position in thegas compression industry,” said Robert L. Nardelli, CEO of GE PowerSystems. “It fits perfectly with our global strategy of servingcustomers through an expanding portfolio of products and servicesfor the energy industry, from wellhead to consumer.”

A leading manufacturer of high-speed reciprocating compressorsfor natural gas applications, Gemini is based in Corpus Christi,TX. With this acquisition, GE said it will add lower horsepower,higher speed compressors to its line of products for the naturalgas industry. Gemini will be part of GE Nuovo Pignone’sreciprocating compressor business, and will focus on a marketestimated at more than $200 million a year, primarily in Canada,the U.S. and Mexico. Customers will include equipment packagers formajor oil and gas corporations as well as independent companies.

Gemini has wide experience in the gas compression industry, withmore than 11,000 units installed, 80 employees and annual sales ofapproximately $21 million. The GE acquisition also includesGemini’s manufacturing facilities in Texas.

Even before this purchase, GE Power Systems was one of thenation’s leading suppliers of power generation technology, energyservices and energy management systems. In October, Entergy Corp.announced a 28-turbine purchase from GE for $1.9 billion. One ofGE’s main competitors in the turbine manufacturing market, Siemens,announced last September that it too had taken turbine orders worthapproximately $2 billion over the past year.

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