Terry Biederman Joins GE Intelligent Platforms as Water Industry Leader on World Water Day

22 March 2012

Terry Biederman Joins GE Intelligent Platforms as Water Industry Leader on World Water Day

 

• 25+ years of hands-on experience in Water & Wastewater Industry
• Previously Director of Public Works regarded as model of modern water/wastewater control systems with reputation for successful implementation of innovative technology solutions

CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA. — MARCH 22, 2012—On World Water Day, GE Intelligent Platforms (NYSE: GE) announced that Terry Biederman has been named Global Industry Manager for its Water & Wastewater industry. Biederman brings 25+ years of experience in the day-to-day management of water utilities as well as a keen knowledge of the technologies needed to run a world-class facility.

Prior to joining GE, Biederman served as the Director of Public Works for the Township of Waterford, Michigan, the third most populated township in the state with a population of approximately 71,000 people since 1996. The Department of Public Works (DPW) is responsible for potable water treatment and delivery, wastewater collection and transportation, building and ground maintenance, and fleet maintenance. Biederman managed 52 full-time employees and an $18 million annual budget.

“Terry Biederman’s reputation for successful implementation of innovative solutions is renowned in the industry,” said Alan Hinchman, Global Market Director for GE Intelligent Platforms’ Infrastructure Industry. “I have worked with him personally and know him to have tremendous vision into the solutions needed to run a complex organization in a way that is both innovative and insightful.”

In his new role, Biederman will have global responsibility for GE Intelligent Platforms’ activities in the Water & Wastewater industry including working with customers to advise and counsel on a variety of technology solutions supported by the company’s industry-leading Proficy® Software platform and PACSystems® control systems.

Bringing Biederman on board during the week of World Water Day highlights GE Intelligent Platforms’ on-going commitment to bringing innovative hardware and software automation solutions to municipal water and wastewater plants.

GE Intelligent Platforms is also supporting World Water Day through the Our Water Counts movement. The Our Water Counts weekly blog – in celebration of World Water Day – will feature daily blogs on the global water crisis. Our Water Counts is an interactive web site and active blog featuring real discussions between all water stakeholders to create new, innovative ways to solve how the world sources, treats, moves and uses water. Visitwww.ourwatercounts.com.

For more information on GE Intelligent Platforms’ water solutions: www.ge-ip.com/water.

GE’s Alan Hinchman Named Water Innovations Alliance Executive Chair

22 March 2012

GE’s Alan Hinchman Named Water Innovations Alliance Executive Chair

 

• Group uses technology innovation to solve big water challenges around the world

• Focus on better information management to drive smarter decisions key for GE

CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA. — March 22, 2012— GE Intelligent Platforms (NYSE: GE) today announced that Alan Hinchman, Global Market Director, Infrastructure, has been named Executive Chair of the Water Innovations Alliance for 2012. In that role, Hinchman will lead the alliance’s efforts to address America’s water infrastructure issues.

The Water Innovations Alliance (WIA) is an industry association focused on developing new funding, increasing collaboration and raising awareness for cutting-edge water technologies and the problems they solve. The Alliance's role is to advocate policies that promote the aggressive development of water technologies and innovations across all sectors and users of water by creating new market opportunities, increasing funding, strengthening research and development programs, removing regulatory and market barriers and improving education, communication and outreach efforts.

“GE believes that better information management of connected data sources drives smarter decisions. This can be accomplished by bringing together existing technologies to build intelligent water systems. That’s where the Water Innovations Alliance comes in,” said Hinchman, who has been a member of the organization since 2010. “The WIA is the public policy voice of water researchers, technologists and innovators, and it is these people, who can come together and build a better solution for the industry.”

“We are honored to have Alan Hinchman as our Executive Chair,” said Vincent Caprio, Co-founder and SVP of Operations for the WIA. “Alan brings a vast and extensive knowledge of the water industry. His leadership will provide the vision needed to drive WIA’s water infrastructure agenda.”

GE Intelligent Platforms sponsors “Our Water Counts,” an interactive web site and active blog that seeks real discussions between all water stakeholders to create new, innovative ways to solve how the world sources, treats, moves and uses water. Visit www.ourwatercounts.com.

For more information on GE Intelligent Platforms’ water solutions: www.ge-ip.com/water.

For more information on the Water Innovations Alliance:www.waterinnovations.org.

News Release from IBM - Smart Growth

City of Zhenjiang, China and IBM Collaborate to Build a Smarter City

IBM Smarter Cities Solution Helps Zhenjiang Boost Economic Development and Tourism Plans

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Armonk, NY & Zhenjiang, China - 24 Feb 2012: IBM (NYSE: IBM) and the City of Zhenjiang, China today announced that IBM is helping to transform the city’s public transportation system. Zhenjiang will use hardware, software, services and technologies from IBM's Research labs, all brought together through the IBM Intelligent Operations Center (IOC) for Smarter Cities – a solution that will serve as the central point of command for the city.

Zhenjiang is a renowned historical and cultural city in the eastern People's Republic of China (PRC), a region experiencing rapid economic growth.  Zhenjiang has an estimated population of three million people and has become an important regional transportation hub due to its location near the intersection of the Yangtze River and the Grand Canal, the longest canal in the world.  It is also considered a state model for environmental protection.

To bolster economic development, increase tourism and improve overall public welfare, the city initiated the “Smarter Zhenjiang, Smarter Tourism” project which includes plans to replace and upgrade more than 400 bus stations and over 1,000 public transportation vehicles. In conjunction with the system-wide upgrade, Zhenjiang will rely on IBM’s Intelligent Transportation solution to provide city managers with a consolidated view of the transportation network, and initiate a new bus scheduling system that will use analytics technologies to manage traffic patterns and over 80 routes across the city.

A First-of-a-Kind (FOAK) IBM Research-developed platform will increase traffic throughput and improve the efficiency of its public transportation system while anticipating traffic jams before they happen. The solution will build on services assets that simulate transit fleets and passenger flow across the transportation network, while tapping into IBM technologies that enable real-time bus monitoring and route and dispatch management for the vehicle fleet.

The overall solution will provide a comprehensive, real-time picture of the city’s traffic network to alleviate congestion, improve traffic management, maximize road capacity, rapidly respond to incidents and enhance the travel experience for citizens, business travelers and tourists.

“Building a smart city has become a strategic choice of the city's urban development as it creates profound impact on the city’s information management standard and contributes to the formation of a huge industrial chain,” said Mingnian Yin, Director of Reform Commission, City of Zhenjiang.  “Working with IBM, we will make our public transportation system faster and more efficient, while making our city a better place to live in.”

“Our collaboration with Zhenjiang exemplifies IBM’s commitment to supporting the government's agenda to build smarter cities in China,” said D.C. Chien, General Manager, IBM Greater China Group. “We expect this collaboration to help transform the transportation system, support the government's effort of building a harmonious society, and accelerate the economic growth and transformation of this vibrant country.”

According to Pike Research, by 2020 the Asia-Pacific smart city technology market will be worth $5.5 billion annually - a cumulative investment of over $36 billion between 2010 and 2020.  China represents the largest single market in Asia for smart city technology, roughly 30 percent of the total opportunity.

"It’s estimated that up to $30 trillion will be spent on transportation infrastructure globally in the next 20 years. Building new physical infrastructure only goes so far, especially with the ever-present debate on the best ways to maintain roads, rails and terminals in the face of strained budgets and resources. By integrating technology and intelligence into the physical transportation infrastructure, cities can improve capacity, enhance the traveler experience and make transportation systems more efficient, safe and sustainable for future growth,” said Gerry Mooney, General Manager, Smarter Cities, IBM. "With the IOC, Zhenjiang has access to advanced analytics technology that will make it easier for the city to predict potential disruptions so that they can minimize impact and deliver better services to people living in and visiting their city.”

IBM's Intelligent Operations Center and Intelligent Transportation solutions draw on experience gained from over 2,000 Smarter Cities projects with cities around the world, and assets from IBM's hardware, software, services and research divisions. With flexibility and scalability, the Intelligent Operations Center can be extended to support a wide range of city services such as water management and public safety among others.