General Electric – Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

General Electric Company

Imagination at work

General Electric, or GE, is an American multinational conglomerate corporation incorporated in Schenectady, New York and headquartered in Fairfield, Connecticut, United States.[1][3] The company operates through four segments: Energy, Technology Infrastructure, Capital Finance and Consumer and Industrial.[4][5]

In 2011, GE ranked among the Fortune 500 as the 26th-largest firm in the U.S. by gross revenue,[6] as well as the 14th most profitable.[7] However, the company is currently listed the 4th-largest in the world among the Forbes Global 2000, further metrics being taken into account.[8] Other rankings for 2011/2012 include No. 7 company for leaders (Fortune), No. 5 best global brand (Interbrand), No. 63 green company (Newsweek), No. 15 most admired company (Fortune), and No. 19 most innovative company (Fast Company).[9]

Before 1889, Thomas Edison had business interests in many electricity-related companies: Edison Lamp Company, a lamp manufacturer in East Newark, New Jersey; Edison Machine Works, a manufacturer of dynamos and large electric motors in Schenectady, New York; Bergmann & Company, a manufacturer of electric lighting fixtures, sockets, and other electric lighting devices; and Edison Electric Light Company, the patent-holding company and the financial arm backed by J.P. Morgan and the Vanderbilt family for Edison's lighting experiments.[10] In 1889, Drexel, Morgan & Co., a company founded by J.P. Morgan and Anthony J. Drexel, financed Edisons research and helped merge those companies under one corporation to form Edison General Electric Company which was incorporated in New York on April 24, 1889. The new company also acquired Sprague Electric Railway & Motor Company in the same year.[11][12]

At about the same time, Charles Coffin, leading Thomson-Houston Electric Company, acquired a number of competitors and gained access to their key patents.

General Electric was formed by the 1892 merger of Edison General Electric Company of Schenectady, New York and Thomson-Houston Electric Company of Lynn, Massachusetts with the help of Drexel, Morgan & Co.[12] Both plants continue to operate under the GE banner to this day.[13] The company was incorporated in New York, with the Schenectady plant used as headquarters for many years thereafter. Around the same time, General Electric's Canadian counterpart, Canadian General Electric, was formed.

In 1896, General Electric was one of the original 12 companies listed on the newly formed Dow Jones Industrial Average. After 117 years, it is the only one of the original companies still listed on the Dow index, although it has not been on the index continuously.[14]

In 1911 General Electric absorbed the National Electric Lamp Association (NELA) into its lighting business. GE established its lighting division headquarters at Nela Park in East Cleveland, Ohio. Nela Park is still the headquarters for GE's lighting business.

The Radio Corporation of America (RCA) was founded by GE in 1919 to further international radio. GE used RCA as its retail arm for radio sales from 1919, when GE began production, until separation on 1930.[15] RCA would quickly grow into an industrial giant of its own.

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General Electric - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia