GE Healthcare in Madison as a Strong Economic Engine

The FINANCIAL — A new, independent study of GE Healthcare reveals the company’s Life Care Solutions business in Madison is an important part of the Dane County and statewide economy, with a total economic impact of around $342 million in Wisconsin annually.

Additionally, the study shows GE Healthcare Madison supports nearly 1,780 jobs in the Badger State, including approximately 630 employees at its Ohmeda Drive facility.

“For every one person employed by GE Healthcare Madison, another 1.8 jobs are created in Wisconsin,” said Neal Sandy, Chief Marketing Officer of GE Healthcare Life Care Solutions. “This study quantifies GE Healthcare’s considerable footprint in Madison as an employer and economic catalyst in the area. It emphasizes the truly significant impact GE has locally and globally, as products made in Madison are exported and put to work in emergency rooms, intensive care units and operating rooms worldwide,” Sandy added.

Madison is the U.S. hub of GE Healthcare’s global Life Care Solutions business, which manufactures anesthesia delivery systems and respiratory equipment. Responsible for more than $115 million in exports from Wisconsin in 2012, GE Healthcare ships its Madison-made cutting edge technology to India, Europe, China and other parts of the world. In 2011, the company’s Madison operations contributed to GE Healthcare being awarded the State of Wisconsin’s Export Achievement Award for its contribution to Wisconsin’s ability to compete globally.

In Wisconsin, the report shows that GE Healthcare Madison annually contributes $200.4 million in direct spending to the state economy and indirectly contributes another $141.5 million through the spending of employees, their households and suppliers. GE Healthcare spends approximately $12.4 million with Dane County suppliers annually, and the company’s presence in Dane County also adds nearly $12 million to the state and local tax base every year, according to the report.

The study also highlights GE Healthcare Madison’s community contributions. The company’s Madison employees support a number of community activities and events including Meals on Wheels, Habitat for Humanity, Vera Court, Ronald McDonald House, Project Backpack, United Way Day of Giving, Red Cross blood drives, food pantry drives and assisting local families in need during the holidays.

“GE Healthcare Madison has a longstanding relationship with the Madison community as a company that gives back to the community both financially and through volunteer hours. This study offers further proof that what GE Healthcare and our Dane County workforce are doing in Madison has a significant economic and societal impact locally, in Wisconsin and around the world,” Sandy said.

The Madison, Wisconsin team designs and manufactures innovative life support medical equipment found in most surgical suites and intensive care units around the world. Aisys CS², Avance CS², Aespire View, and Engström Carestation are advanced anesthesia and respiratory technologies that integrate devices, therapies and information systems at the clinician’s fingertips.

Developed, engineered and manufactured in Madison, these machines digitally control and measure ventilation, vaporization and gas delivery. These innovations help clinicians save lives and restore health for millions of patients around the world, according to General electric.

During the past 20 years, GE Healthcare and UW-Madison have developed a strong collaboration and strong talent pipeline through a local engineering development program. About 250 students have gone through the program, many of which now have full-time jobs at GE Healthcare.

GE Healthcare acquired Datex-Ohmeda in 2003. Tripp Umbach, a national healthcare consultant based in Pittsburgh, was commissioned to conduct the GE Healthcare Madison economic impact study. A previous Tripp Umbach study shows that GE Healthcare’s overall economic impact in Wisconsin – including its Milwaukee, Waukesha and Madison operations – totaled $3.8 billion and sustains more than 21,000 jobs, according to General electric.