GE Oil & Gas unit Lufkin-RMT launches new manufacturing facility in US

US-based Lufkin-RMT, a subsidiary of GE Oil & Gas, has opened a new manufacturing facility in Allegany County, New York.

Lufkin-RMT has invested $5.5m in the new facility, with plans to invest an additional $2.5m by the end of the year.

The facility designs and manufactures precision-engineered bearings for rotating equipment such as pumps, turbines, compressors, expanders and gearboxes for the oil and gas industry.

The 55,000ft² facility also repairs, overhauls and upgrades complete rotating equipment assemblies such as turbo expanders and gearboxes.

Allegany County Industrial Development Agency (ACIDA) and Empire State Development (ESD) have provided $850,000 incentives for the new facility.

Lufkin-RMT general manager John Mulryan said that the regional economycontinues to provide the quality workers needed to compete on an international stage.

"We are very proud that our only manufacturing operation in the northeastern US is located in Allegany County, New York state," he said.

On 1 July, GE Oil & Gas completed the acquisition of Lufkin Industries for approximately $3.3bn. Lufkin provides artificial lift technologies to the oil and gas industry, which allows resources to be lifted to the surface from reservoirs with low pressure. The technology is currently used in around 94% of oil-producing wells in the world.

The global artificial lift sector is anticipated to be worth almost $13bn by the end of the year, with the development of unconventional shale plays and liquids-rich resource plays.

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Image: Lufkin Power Transmission Gear Box. Photo: courtesy of Lufkin Industries.