HUERTH, GERMANY-Following receipt of regulatory approvals, General Electric Co. completes the acquisition of Everest VIT Inc. (EVIT), a Welch Allyn subsidiary focused on remote visual inspection equipment for industrial applications. Terms of the transaction are not being disclosed. EVIT will become part of GE Inspection Technologies, headquartered in Huerth, Germany.
"We are very excited to complete the acquisition of EVIT," says Jeff Nagel, president of GE Inspection Technologies. "This acquisition will allow GE Inspection Technologies to expand its nondestructive testing (NDT) capabilities to include remote visual inspection and enhance our product offerings to our customers."
Headquartered in Flanders, NJ, EVIT focuses primarily on the development, sales, rental, training and on-site service of remote visual inspection equipment. EVIT products have been used to streamline the inspection process in industries such as aviation, power generation, processing, manufacturing, law enforcement and infrastructure. The company has approximately 300 employees at 17 locations around the world.
In other GE news, GE Inspection Technologies opens a training academy for its North American customers. The NDT training academy in Cincinnati offers professional and flexible training in all NDT techniques. The facility compliments the company's existing training centers in Lewistown, PA, and Huerth, Germany. This new facility will provide particular expertise in all aspects of radiography, including film, computed radiography and digital radiography.
The facility is located at the GE Aircraft Engines headquarters in a $15 million training and learning complex. A range of courses are offered in ultrasonic and eddy current inspection as well as radiography. All training is to ASNT and other recognized
standards. The academy offers conventional 40-hour courses or blended courses, which split the student's classroom time and reduce travel and accommodation expenses. With a blended course, students work with course content on a CD from their own PCs, are examined on-line and then attend the academy for practical, hands-on training and final examination.
