Invest in France Agency north-america Office

Yves Menat, Managing Director of GE Energy

Can you briefly describe the activities of GE Energy in Belfort?

In Belfort, we do gas turbines and combined cycle, which means a power plant based on a gas turbine.  Combined cycle is the most efficient way to transform fossil energy into electricity with an efficiency rate of between 58% and 60%.  Just to compare, that is about twice what one can get from a car.

Why did GE Energy choose Belfort as its European headquarters?

GE Energy is here mainly for historical reasons.  Belfort is a traditional industrial region, with a lot of expertise, good people and this business originated from another business that we acquired in 1999.  Since then, we have multiplied total sales by four of five.  Therefore, we have had great success and great growth in GE Energy.

Why has GE Energy, especially the Belfort site, done so well in France?

Unlike other fields, in business, American and French people work well together and the mix of American rigour, logistic management and supply chain management along with French creativity is doing very well.

How can you reconcile economic growth and sustainable development?

For us in GE Energy and GE as a whole, sustainable development is really the core of our development.  Since Jeff Immelt launched the eco imagination initiative three years ago, it has become the core of our business.  For example, in our business, we have promoted combined cycle to decrease the production of CO2.  We are also investing a lot in the gasification of the core and expect it to become an important contributor in the fight against global warming.

What are the future plans of GE Energy in France?

Internally, we have a huge technology centre project and we have hired about 300 to 500 people over the past three or four years.  Most of them are engineers, to increase our expertise and knowledge.  With the help of local authorities, we are building a technology centre, where we hope to do more R&D.  As you probably know, there has been a good law in France since the beginning of the year concerning tax credits for R&D.  We can save a lot of money, which is very cost effective and I think it will prove very effective in increasing R&D in France. (Click here for more information on The Best research tax credit in Europe)

Finally, how is France different from other countries?

First, it is in the mind: French people feel different from people in other countries.  However, having worked in several other countries, I would say that the main difference is in work. Productivity in France is better than in other country – and that is not really well known.

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