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GE Energy Inaugurates Customer Support and Training Center in Germany New Facility Services Europe's Wind Industry ZARAGOZA, SPAIN (September 22, 2004) — Underscoring its commitment to the wind energy industry in Europe, GE Energy has officially inaugurated its European Customer Support and Training Center in Salzbergen-Holsterfeld, Germany with a celebration attended by customers and media. While the new facility's primary focus is to provide customers with an avenue for immediate 24-hour technical support, the Training Center also offers a wide range of training programs for customers and GE service technicians. "This world-class center provides our European customers with prompt and comprehensive 24-hour service," said Ulrich Schomakers, Director of Global Customer Service for GE Energy's wind operations. "The new facility complements our local service agencies and central maintenance and inspection department." The Customer Support Center, which has been in operation since the spring of 2004, provides three levels of support. Basic requests, including wind turbine faults that can be corrected through the turbine's remote control system, are routinely handled over the telephone or through network connections. Approximately 70-80% of inquiries and data requests received can be answered at this first level. Second level requests requiring technical-level assistance are immediately assessed and directed to an on-duty engineer. If necessary, a technician may be dispatched to the site. At the third level, expert engineers are available to handle more in-depth inquiries. "This three-level structure streamlines the customer inquiry process and leads to a faster solution for operating questions and issues, which results in improved wind turbine availability and higher energy yield for our customers," said Schomakers. The Salzbergen facility recently was expanded to include the Training Center, which offers programs covering all areas of wind turbine operation from basic technical courses to specialized training for specific wind turbine models. A full-size motor-driven, GE 1.5-megawatt wind turbine installed at the site is available for practical, hands-on training. For more information about courses available at the Training Center, customers can contact Willi Elsenheimer at +49 5971 980 1950. Also located at the new facility is the product service engineering team for GE Energy's wind operations. This group works closely with the Customer Service Center's three support levels and focuses on root cause analysis actions to help prevent turbine failures and reduce failure rates, resulting in wind turbines with higher energy output and lower long-term operational costs. The new Customer Support and Training Center in Salzbergen is the second major GE facility supporting the wind industry to open in Germany this year. The GE Global Research-Europe Center is now operating in Munich, and one of the center's central missions is the development of technology to further increase the reliability and performance of wind turbines. About GE Energy GE Energy (www.gepower.com) is one of the world's leading suppliers of power generation and energy delivery technology, with 2003 revenues of nearly $18.5 billion. Based in Atlanta, Georgia, GE Energy provides equipment, service and management solutions across the power generation, oil and gas, transmission and distribution, distributed power and energy rental industries. With wind turbine design, manufacturing and/or assembly facilities in Germany, Spain, India and the United States, GE Energy's current wind energy portfolio includes wind turbines with rated outputs ranging from 1,500 to 3,600 kilowatts, and support services ranging from project development assistance to operation and maintenance. The company has developed and/or installed more than 6,700 wind turbines with a total capacity exceeding 4,900 megawatts. For more information, contact: GE Energy: Dennis Murphy GE Energy +1 678 844 6948 dennis.murphy@ps.ge.com Ken Darling or Howard Masto Masto Public Relations +1 518 786 6488 kenneth.darling@ps.ge.com howard.masto@ps.ge.com > Press Contacts > More 2004 Press Releases |