Complementary to the official opening of the Technology Center in Barcelona, GE Security was awarded a grant from the Catalan Government which will help fund GE's significant investment in developing the next generation of fire detection technology.

"The expansion of our fire Centre of Excellence is a key cornerstone for the execution of our EMEA fire product strategy," said Jurgen van Goethem, product mnagement oeader-Fire GE Security EMEA. Two major new product introductions are currently under development and will be launched across EMEA in the 2009 - 2010 timeframe. They will incorporate the most recent advances in communications technology, will help reduce costs and will be easier to install.

The centre is equipped with various test labs, among them anechoic chambers for carrying out electromagnetic compatibility tests and full environmental testing according to the applicable EN standards. Climate-controlled rooms reproduce temperature and humidity changes (allowing the temperature in a room to be varied by over 70ºC in a matter of seconds); There are fully equipped smoke rooms for the assessment of detection times and algorithms using real fire in a variety of situations, a smoke tunnel to measure detector sensitivity, as well as all types of equipment for the measurement of radiated and conducted electromagnetic interference.

A group of more than 40 professionals work at the centre, most of them engineers specialised in different areas - electronics, software, mechanics, certification, etc. To set up the centre, GE has adapted a floor spanning more than 1,000m2 and equipped it with the most advanced technologies available. The centre has more than 4,000m of cable installed throughout the building to facilitate real tests and operates 24/7.

As part of the continuous effort to optimise reliability, the products will be subjected to strict testing and functioning conditions reducing the approval period for the different specifications required in close to 40 countries in which GE Security operates. "With the new European directives on standardisation and quality of the elements that make up a detection system, the Esplugues de Llobregat team's work will allow new devices to be launched more quickly, as well as expanding and standardising our range of products," said Victor Rodrígues, country sales manager for GE Security Spain.

Francis Bailly, general manager European global accounts, GE commented: "The inauguration of these new facilities forms part of our strategy of establishing global centres of excellence in Spain and continuing to capitalise on the important reserves of local R&D resources for use at both a European and global level. The new GE Security centre in Barcelona joins the centres of excellence in our other business units, such as GE Lighting's LED lighting innovation centre in Getafe, Madrid; GE Energy's wind turbine plant in Noblejas, Toledo; and GE Digital's electrical equipment protection and optimisation centre in Zamudio, Vizcaya".

In Spain, GE Security is present in Barcelona, Madrid and Seville. GE Security's technology covers the whole spectrum of security and life safety solutions for the control of assets and property, including high-tech video surveillance, intrusion and fire detection, sound and communications, and explosives and narcotics detection. It spans all sectors such as commerce, banking, transport and monitoring of cities, road and large private and public infrastructures. One example of its technology in use is the video surveillance system in place at ExpoZaragoza 2008.