OREANDA-NEWS. GE (NYSE: GE) today announced the grand opening of its state-of-the-art Customer Solutions Center (CSC) at GE Measurement & Control’s Inspection Technologies site in Lewistown, Pa. GE has invested more than USD 10 million in this expansion project, positioning itself to meet the growing demand for industrial and infrastructure inspection technology solutions worldwide. The enhanced facility also will serve as the North American hub for GE’s Inspection Academy, which trains both GE employees and customers on GE’s latest non-destructive testing (NDT) tools, helping address a global shortage of experienced, well-trained NDT personnel. Critical in supporting safe operation and quality control, non-destructive testing enables the detection and evaluation of flaws in materials or structural properties, without producing harmful effects on the subjects being tested.

Local officials joined GE executives for the official opening and ribbon-cutting ceremony today. As part of this event, GE customers toured the facility and experienced GE’s complete Inspection Technologies product portfolio and how GE is helping customers address the most demanding inspection applications in real-world industrial environments across the oil and gas, power generation, aerospace, metals manufacturing and automotive industries.

“GE is committed to making a difference in our customers’ lives through the development and application of innovative, advanced technologies designed to help them succeed,” said Jeff Anderson, general manager, Inspection Technologies for GE Measurement & Control, a GE Oil & Gas division. “The newly expanded Lewistown facility enables us to grow our new product development capabilities and manufacturing capacity, while continuing to shape the NDT industry through advanced training, research, development and collaboration efforts through our world-class Inspection Academy.”

GE’s newly completed, 52,000-square-foot expansion project has increased the facility’s floor space by more than 63 percent. This expansion supports the growing number of industrial operators who have embraced the use of NDT solutions to monitor the condition of their equipment and more accurately predict when certain components might need repair or replacement—helping them to avoid costly, unplanned maintenance outages. GE’s technology also is used to inspect the quality and integrity of new products, such as jet engine blades before they are installed, and infrastructure assets including bridges and pipelines.

 The expansion also will enable GE to maintain its position as a technology thought leader in developing and manufacturing a wide range of remote visual inspection, ultrasonic, electromagnetic, advanced radiography and computed tomography systems as well as data management software. These NDT systems are used to help assess the health of industrial assets throughout the life cycle by providing timely, quality assessments of critical equipment.