GE Drivetrain Technologies, a unit of GE Transportation, and Chongqing XinXing Fengneng Investment Company have formed a joint venture company to produce large diameter gears for the wind turbine industry.
Chongqing XinXing Gear Company has 16 years of gear manufacturing experience in the automotive and motorcycle industries through its subsidiary company, Chongqing Xinxing Fengneng Company while GE Drivetrain Technologies has provided drive train components to the wind turbine industry since 2004. Under the terms of the joint venture, Chongqing XinXing Fengneng will be the majority owner, and the gears will be produced in a new manufacturing facility in Chongqing.
A signing ceremony was held in Chongqing with the vice-mayor of Chongqing Huang Qishan and Tim Schweikert, the president of GE Technology Infrastructure in China in attendance.
Initially, the new business will manufacture gears for GE Drivetrain Technologies' wind turbine gearbox production facility in Shenyang, China. GE Drivetrain Technologies and A-Power Energy Systems announced the development of the facility as part of a joint venture agreement in January 2009.
This agreement signifies GE Drivetrain Technologies' commitment to the development of a local Chinese supply chain and supports China's initiative to increase wind energy output from one gigawatt in 2005 to 100 gigawatts by 2020.
With this agreement, GE Drivetrain Technologies continues to expand its offering to the wind industry. Earlier this year, the business announced the launch of a wind generator and control systems division to complement its existing gearbox business.
