GE Energy’s Bently Nevada product line, which focuses on machine condition monitoring, will incorporate Commtest products into its portfolio and enhance an already robust lineup. Terms of the deal were not announced.
Bently Nevada provides machinery protection and condition monitoring for refineries, petrochemical plants, power plants and wind farms. As a major component of predictive maintenance, condition monitoring is essential to increasing asset longevity. Through condition monitoring, plant managers constantly receive data that provides input about the health of their machines.
For example, by knowing the vibration behavior and temperature of certain assets, managers can make strategic decisions about preventative maintenance to avoid asset fatigue, breakdown and failure. This is especially critical in the oil and gas and power industries where failed assets potentially cost hundreds of thousands of dollars a day in lost production revenue and increased operating and maintenance costs.
Commtest is based in Christchurch, New Zealand, and primarily focuses on producing vibration analysis and monitoring equipment. Vibration analysis detects early signs of impending machine failure so managers can proactively direct repairs and make replacements before they encounter expensive failures.
“The acquisition of Commtest allows us to significantly upgrade our portable vibration data collection and analysis capabilities,” explained Art Eunson, general manager for GE’s Bently Nevada product line. “Bently has an extensive portfolio of continuous monitoring solutions, sensors and transducers, software and supporting diagnostic instillation services, but the Commtest acquisition will help us bring our customers a more integrated offering that takes into account the health of the entire plant.”
GE (www.ge.com)
Commtest (www.commtest.com)
