OREANDA-NEWS. Enabling GE (NYSE: GE) engineers to design, develop and deliver new products faster than ever before, GE’s Industrial Solutions business today announced the opening of its USD 1.5 million, 17,000-square-foot New Product Introduction (NPI) Accelerator Lab located at the business’ headquarters in Plainville, Conn. The lab enables engineers to focus their attention on developing technologies that customers are demanding and strengthens GE’s ability to respond quicker to changing market conditions.

In conjunction with the opening, GE also kicks off this year’s completely renovated customer road tour, GE Odyssey: The Road to Renewal. A five-month traveling road show throughout the U.S. and Canada, GE’s Odyssey truck highlights innovative product and service offerings from the Industrial Solutions business.

The NPI Accelerator Lab features a team room, high-tech machine shop, product teardown area and pilot-run production area. To celebrate the facility’s opening, GE is hosting a Technology Day for local high school students, employees and media with a variety of activities to inspire creative engineering and the spirit of innovation, some of which include:

GE Innovation Regatta Challenge – Students from Plainville High School and University High School of Science and Engineering (UHSSE) will compete in a challenge designed to further pique their interest in applied science and engineering. With just a few, simple materials, teams of students paired with a GE engineer will design and build mini sailboats to race, propelled only by the wind from a floor fan.
FIRST® Robotics Demonstration — “The Dragons - Team 1991,” comprised of students from UHSSE, will demonstrate the abilities of a robot they built under the guidance of GE engineers, for the FIRST Robotics Competition. The robot performs amazing feats including climbing a pyramid and targeted Frisbee throwing.

“The NPI Accelerator Lab co-locates our engineering, sourcing, product management and supply chain teams enabling improved communication and cross-functional engagement,” said Paul Singer, senior executive of engineering for GE’s Industrial Solutions business. “From rapid-prototyping capabilities to shorten product-cycle time, to our tear-down area for conducting product comparison analysis, this new facility with state-of-the-art equipment enables our team to quickly troubleshoot design challenges, apply manufacturing processes and gain invaluable hands-on experience.”

This NPI Accelerator Lab is part of GE’s leadership in Advanced Manufacturing. GE is redefining the future of industry — through new, agile processes, inventing breakthrough products and inspiring an open and collaborative workforce. The company is building a culture committed to delivering better outcomes for its customers faster. It is increasing its speed, finding greater efficiencies and injecting new processes for better outcomes that unlock new productivity and growth. GE is making better things in a better way and leading the next industrial revolution.