Defense & Aerospace Companies, Volume I - North America: General Electric

General Electric Company is one of the largest and most diversified industrial corporations in the world. GE traces its beginnings to Thomas A. Edison, who established his electric light company in 1878. In 1892, a merger of the Edison General Electric Company and the Thomson-Houston Electric Company formed General Electric Company. From the time of General Electric's incorporation in 1892, the company has engaged in developing, manufacturing, and marketing a wide variety of products for the generation, transmission, distribution, control, and utilization of electricity. Over the years, development and application of related and new technologies have considerably broadened the scope of GE's activities and those of its affiliates. The company's products include lamps, motors, locomotives, major appliances for the home, industrial electronic products and components, electrical distribution and control equipment, power generation and delivery products, nuclear power support services and fuel assemblies, and commercial and military aircraft jet engines. It also produces engineered plastics, silicones, and cutting materials, as well as a wide variety of high-technology products used in aerospace, defense, and medical diagnostic applications.

General Electric employs about 287,000 people worldwide.