A turnover that grew to 6 billion dollars in 2013, a portfolio counting 7 billion in orders, nearly 5,500 workers, and an important program of investments to create new generation gas turbines. These are the figures from Nuovo Pignone, a historic machinery and equipment company for the oil & gas industry that GE purchased and revamped in 1994. The American giant now celebrates the 20-year anniversary by launching the new “Nova LT16” turbine. The entire turbine was created in Tuscany, partly though a collaboration between the GE plant and the Sesta laboratory (in the Siena province) – pecialized in turbine research – recently upgraded through a Region of Tuscany intervention.

After acquiring the company through the privatizations initiated by ENI, to which Nuovo Pignone belonged, General Electric turned it into the leader of its Oil & Gas division, which has a global turnover of 17 billion. Matteo Renzi recently defined it as “the best chapter of the history of Italian privatizations”. “It has become the group’s flagship”, stated Nuovo Pignone president Massimo Messeri during an interview to Corriere della Sera, who added “It currently serves as the reference point for General Electric’s diversification in the Oil & Gas sector”.

“Florence and Tuscany have truly been a breeding ground for Nuovo Pignone and for GE Oil & Gas, but we don’t stop here – explained Lorenzo Simonelli, current president and managing director of the business unit. We want to continue investing in Nuovo Pignone’s growth, as demonstrated by the new turbine, just launched on the market, marking the beginning of a project entirely executed in Tuscany”. Over the past year, the Florentine company dedicated 160 million dollars to the research and development of new products, an additional 90 million were used to upgrade the plants and approximately 6 million in professional development. According to statements by Simonelli during the 20-year anniversary celebrations, GE’s three points of strength during its years in Tuscany have been: a close relationship with the territory, and with the Region of Tuscany in particular; the ability to merge business culture and technology; and the great attention paid to improving personnel’s skills.

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