GE Industrial Systems gone

[ATSman]

So its GE for another 10 years? I hope they keep the current design. I'd abhor to see ABB launch its own product line with GE going the way of FPE, Zinsco, Challenger. I have way to much invested in GE...

DITTO!!

 

[mbrooke]

DITTO!!

In 2010 I'd never have imagined it- never. In fact I was expecting any one of the others to get sold off. For a while I thought QO would be discontinued.

 

[ggunn]

it is edemic of a larger trend, problem imo
our economy has shifted from making things to paper transactions
stock market
financial instruments
interest
credit cards
currency manipulation
etc
where 5% per yr was good we want that in minutes

others realize durable goods are more stable
about all we held on too was defense related, and even that is eroding
bae
sig sauer
h&k

imo this will not change
the folks controlling the wealth prefer fast profit that does not require actual work
financial, healthcare and services are our future
and government
those are likely 90% of our gdp

Several years ago I heard the statistic that something like 30% of the US GNP at the time came from "finance", i.e. moving money around and taking a cut. What? No one I talked to about it seemed to think it was anything to worry about.

 

[peter d]

So its GE for another 10 years? I hope they keep the current design. I'd abhor to see ABB launch its own product line with GE going the way of FPE, Zinsco, Challenger. I have way to much invested in GE...

I doubt that is much of a concern. The Eaton stuff, from resi BR all the way to switchgear is still based off the original Westinghouse and Bryant designs from decades ago - same with Siemens (ITE, Gould, etc.) I highly doubt ABB will tamper with GE's legacy products that they bring into their portfolio.

 

[mbrooke]

I doubt that is much of a concern. The Eaton stuff, from resi BR all the way to switchgear is still based off the original Westinghouse and Bryant designs from decades ago - same with Siemens (ITE, Gould, etc.) I highly doubt ABB will tamper with GE's legacy products that they bring into their portfolio.

Very true and spot on. Now that I think about it I'd place my bet on you. In fact BR breaker guts have now entered CH-CH breakers where the design used to be original only to CH-CH.

 

[Ingenieur]

Several years ago I heard the statistic that something like 30% of the US GNP at the time came from "finance", i.e. moving money around and taking a cut. What? No one I talked to about it seemed to think it was anything to worry about.

private healthcare 6% https://www.cms.gov/Research-Statis...endData/NationalHealthAccountsHistorical.html

gov 36% https://www.usgovernmentspending.com/percent_gdp

financial 20% https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.wa...u-s-economy-and-when-the-democrats-signed-on/

if financial is 20%, total from above 62%
leaves 38% for mfg and services
iirc mfg is ~ 10%

if gov was reduced by 20% gdp would fall by 7%, = depression

 

[peter d]

In 2010 I'd never have imagined it- never. In fact I was expecting any one of the others to get sold off. For a while I thought QO would be discontinued.

I don't think QO is all that great. I have found many loose clips on QO breakers that were barely holding the breaker onto the bus bar. CH-CH is better if you're going to insist on that kind of breaker/bus connection.

 

[mbrooke]

I don't think QO is all that great. I have found many loose clips on QO breakers that were barely holding the breaker onto the bus bar. CH-CH is better if you're going to insist on that kind of breaker/bus connection.

That and QO is insanely over priced for resi if you ask me. Same guts on Homeline and its often cheaper than Murray. I know many commercial places using Eaton or Siemens without problem where I-line or QOB would have been specked.

 

[Coppersmith]

I think that GE as a company will only exist in name only 5 years from now.

Not true. It will exist as millions of crappy circuit breakers for the next 50 years.

 

[mbrooke]

Not true. It will exist as millions of crappy circuit breakers for the next 50 years.

With reports from independent investigators saying that GE knowingly sold a high percentage of defective breakers and as such recommend replacement.

 

[peter d]

That and QO is insanely over priced for resi if you ask me. Same guts on Homeline and its often cheaper than Murray. I know many commercial places using Eaton or Siemens without problem where I-line or QOB would have been specked.

I would much rather use Homeline. QO is only worth it if you can get the special pricing from the distributor but you have to buy a lot of it. Otherwise I agree, it's way overpriced.

 

[peter d]

Not true. It will exist as millions of crappy circuit breakers for the next 50 years.

Very true. :lol:

 

[Skokian]

G.E.I.S. = Gone, Gone, Gone.

G.E.I.S. = Gone, Gone, Gone.

Very true. :lol:

This is very sad news to me; but, not to surprising based on the "Heads Up" [. . . Up their . . .] management of the past couple of decades.

I worked very closely with several of the engineers at the Mebane N.C. plant. A bunch of very, very knowledgeable, but down to earth and very helpful and friendly guys.

Specifically I worked with their guys in charge of thei G.E. CR-194 line of medium motor controllers while I was Director of Engineering at Master Control Systems, Inc. We sold fire pump controllers and used the CR-194 units as the base for our medium voltage fire pump controllers. These ranged from 100 Hp up to 500 Hp; but, could go a lot higher. These units made use of vacuum contactors and were/are very reliable. They could be used in line-ups with other G.E. 90" high gear.

As a side note, the G.E. sales man was also very helpful and friendly. And his last name was Geis, as in GEIS. Weird coincidence.

We purchased the line of electric fire pumps from G.E. in 1980.

What a great loss of knowledge and experience.

Sigh . . .

 

[Jraef]

All the equipment manufacturers with the exception of Allen-Bradley are foreign now, Eaton, Irish, ABB/GE, Swiss, SQ D, French, & Siemens, German. Really does not change things much if any, just a observation.

Reminds me of a dinner conversation I had back in around 1983 with the then President of Klockner Moeller USA, the US division of the German electrical equipment mfr (now part of Eaton). Back then he had just come from a meeting of NEMA, the National Electrical Manufactrurer's Association, of which they were a member. At that meeting, Siemens / ITE had just merged, which was what started a discussion about how the then 25+ members who made PD&C (Power Distribution and Control) products would be down to just 5 in the next 5 years. It took a longer than they thought, but that's exactly where we are now. Ironically, ABB didn't yet exist as a single entity, it was still Asea, Brown-Boveri, and Stromberg separately. Westinghouse, Cutler Hammer and K-M were all still separate (now all Eaton), as were Telemecanique, Square-D and Merlin-Gerin. A-B was bought by Rockwell, and then bought Sprecher - Schuh for an IEC presence, but A-B never got into Switchgear and Distribution. They tried to buy Westinghouse at the same time Eaton did, but lost that battle. GE was always pretty much alone though. They bought a small IEC company in Spain called Agut, but that never amounted to a big presence in Europe and elsewhere. That's likely why they struggled as the world got smaller. Adapt or perish...