November 2010 Vol. 237 No. 11

In The News

GE Continues Expansion With Acquisition Of Dresser

GE announced on Oct. 6 the purchase of Dresser, Inc. for $3 billion. The addition of Dresser’s portfolio, which includes technologies for gas engines, control and relief valves, measurement, regulation and control solutions for gas and fuel distribution, will extend GE’s reach into adjacent offerings for its energy and industrial customers worldwide.

John Krenicki, vice chairman of GE and president/CEO of GE Energy, said: “Dresser’s technology complements our existing gas engine portfolio and adds offerings complementary to those of GE in the $45 billion flow technology industry, including product offerings in the highly engineered valve segment. About 85% of Dresser’s revenue is from energy customers, and it has developed a large installed base of equipment, which is a big reason why 40% of its total revenue is derived from aftermarket service offerings, and there is a lot of room for future expansion.”

Dresser has a global franchise and brand with 60% of revenues outside of North America, which will be accelerated by GE’s global footprint.

“Through the acquisition, we will bring to bear our focus on research and development to Dresser’s custom solutions and create an opportunity for Dresser’s 6,300 employees to dramatically expand their businesses,” Krenicki said.

Headquartered in Addison, TX, Dresser operates in more than 100 countries, delivering compression, flow technology, measurement and distribution infrastructure and services to customers in more than 150 countries. Dresser had revenues of $2 billion and earnings of $318 million in 2009.

Dresser’s gas engines will give GE low-emissions, fuel-flexible mechanical-drive technology that can be applied to the small-scale compression segment for customers in the oil and gas sector.

Dresser also will further the development of GE Energy’s monitoring, diagnostics and performance optimization offerings. Dresser’s pressure relief and control valve technologies will be complemented by GE’s domain expertise, which will create opportunities to bring additional technology and applications to Dresser’s offerings.

GE plans to build out solutions it offers to help customers manage the pressure and relief flows in pipelines, processing plants and power generation facilities.