1.1 We are committed to safeguarding the privacy of our website visitors; this policy sets out how we will treat your personal information.
1.2 By using our website and agreeing to this policy, you consent to our use of cookies in accordance with the terms of this policy.
Collecting personal information
2.1 We may collect, store and use the following kinds of personal information:
(a) information about your computer and about your visits to and use of this website (including your IP address, geographical location, browser type and version, operating system, referral source, length of visit, page views and website navigation paths);
(b) information that you provide to us when registering with our website (including your email address)
(c) information that you provide when completing your profile on our website (including your name, user name, country/region, employment details, password);
(d) information that you provide to us for the purpose of subscribing to our email notifications and/or newsletters (including your name and email address);
(e) information that you provide to us when using the services on our website, or that is generated in the course of the use of those services (including the timing, frequency and pattern of service use;
(f) information relating to any purchases you make of our goods / services / goods and/or services or any other transactions that you enter into through our website (including your name, address, telephone number, email address and card details;
(g) information that you post to our website for publication on the internet (including your user name, your profile pictures and the content of your posts);
(h) information contained in or relating to any communications that you send to us or send through our website (including the communication content and meta data associated with the communication);
(i) any other personal information that you choose to send to us; and
2.2 Before you disclose to us the personal information of another person, you must obtain that person's consent to both the disclosure and the processing of that personal information in accordance with the terms of this policy.
Using your personal information
3.1 Personal information submitted to us through our website will be used for the purposes specified in this policy or on the relevant pages of the website.
3.2 We may use your personal information to:
(a) administer our website and business;
(b) personalise our website for you;
(c) enable your use of the services available on our website;
(d) send you goods purchased through our website;
(e) supply to you services purchased through our website;
(f) send statements, invoices and payment reminders to you, and collect payments from you;
(g) send you non-marketing commercial communications;
(h) send you email notifications that you have specifically requested;
(i) send you our email newsletter, if you have requested it (you can inform us at any time if you no longer require the newsletter);
(j) send you marketing communications relating to our business or the businesses of carefully-selected third parties which we think may be of interest to you, by post or, where you have specifically agreed to this, by email or similar technology (you can inform us at any time if you no longer require marketing communications);
(k) provide third parties with statistical information about our users (but those third parties will not be able to identify any individual user from that information);
(l) deal with enquiries and complaints made by or about you relating to our website;
(m) keep our website secure and prevent fraud;
(n) verify compliance with the terms and conditions governing the use of our website (including monitoring private messages sent through our website private messaging service);
3.3 If you submit personal information for publication on our website, we will publish and otherwise use that information in accordance with the licence you grant to us.
3.4 Your privacy settings can be used to limit the publication of your information on our website, and can be adjusted using privacy controls on the website.
3.5 We will not, without your express consent, supply your personal information to any third party for the purpose of their or any other third party's direct marketing.
3.6 All our website financial transactions are handled through our payment services provider, Paypal. You can review the provider's privacy policy at https://www.paypal.com/gr/webapps/mpp/ua/privacy-full. We will share information with our payment services provider only to the extent necessary for the purposes of processing payments you make via our website, refunding such payments and dealing with complaints and queries relating to such payments and refunds.
Disclosing personal information
4.1 We may disclose your personal information to any of our employees, officers, insurers, professional advisers, agents, suppliers or subcontractors insofar as reasonably necessary for the purposes set out in this policy.
4.2 We may disclose your personal information to any member of our group of companies (this means our subsidiaries, our ultimate holding company and all its subsidiaries) insofar as reasonably necessary for the purposes set out in this policy.
4.3 We may disclose your personal information:
(a) to the extent that we are required to do so by law;
(b) in connection with any ongoing or prospective legal proceedings;
(c) in order to establish, exercise or defend our legal rights (including providing information to others for the purposes of fraud prevention and reducing credit risk);
(d) to the purchaser (or prospective purchaser) of any business or asset that we are (or are contemplating) selling; and
(e) to any person who we reasonably believe may apply to a court or other competent authority for disclosure of that personal information where, in our reasonable opinion, such court or authority would be reasonably likely to order disclosure of that personal information.
4.4 Except as provided in this policy, we will not provide your personal information to third parties.
International data transfers
5.1 Information that we collect may be stored and processed in and transferred between any of the countries in which we operate in order to enable us to use the information in accordance with this policy.
5.2 Information that we collect may be transferred to the following countries which do not have data protection laws equivalent to those in force in the European Economic Area: the United States of America, Russia, Japan, China and India.
5.3 Personal information that you publish on our website or submit for publication on our website may be available, via the internet, around the world. We cannot prevent the use or misuse of such information by others.
5.4 You expressly agree to the transfers of personal information described in this Section 5.
Retaining personal information
6.1 This Section 6 sets out our data retention policies and procedure, which are designed to help ensure that we comply with our legal obligations in relation to the retention and deletion of personal information.
6.2 Personal information that we process for any purpose or purposes shall not be kept for longer than is necessary for that purpose or those purposes.
6.3 Notwithstanding the other provisions of this Section 6, we will retain documents (including electronic documents) containing personal data:
(a) to the extent that we are required to do so by law;
(b) if we believe that the documents may be relevant to any ongoing or prospective legal proceedings; and
(c) in order to establish, exercise or defend our legal rights (including providing information to others for the purposes of fraud prevention and reducing credit risk).
Security of your personal information
7.1 We will take reasonable technical and organisational precautions to prevent the loss, misuse or alteration of your personal information.
7.2 We will store all the personal information you provide on our secure (password- and firewall-protected) servers.
7.3 All electronic financial transactions entered into through our website will be protected by encryption technology.
7.4 You acknowledge that the transmission of information over the internet is inherently insecure, and we cannot guarantee the security of data sent over the internet.
7.5 You are responsible for keeping the password you use for accessing our website confidential; we will not ask you for your password (except when you log in to our website).
Amendments
8.1 We may update this policy from time to time by publishing a new version on our website.
8.2 You should check this page occasionally to ensure you are happy with any changes to this policy.
8.3 We may notify you of changes to this policy [by email or through the private messaging system on our website.
Your rights
9.1 You may instruct us to provide you with any personal information we hold about you; provision of such information will be subject to:
(a) the payment of a fee (currently fixed at GBP 10); and
(b) the supply of appropriate evidence of your identity (for this purpose, we will usually accept a photocopy of your passport certified by a solicitor or bank plus an original copy of a utility bill showing your current address).
9.2 We may withhold personal information that you request to the extent permitted by law.
9.3 You may instruct us at any time not to process your personal information for marketing purposes.
9.4 In practice, you will usually either expressly agree in advance to our use of your personal information for marketing purposes, or we will provide you with an opportunity to opt out of the use of your personal information for marketing purposes.
Third party websites
10.1 Our website includes hyperlinks to, and details of, third party websites.
10.2 We have no control over, and are not responsible for, the privacy policies and practices of third parties.
Updating information
11.1 Please let us know if the personal information that we hold about you needs to be corrected or updated.
Part 2: Cookies
About cookies
1.1 A cookie is a file containing an identifier (a string of letters and numbers) that is sent by a web server to a web browser and is stored by the browser. The identifier is then sent back to the server each time the browser requests a page from the server.
1.2 Cookies may be either "persistent" cookies or "session" cookies: a persistent cookie will be stored by a web browser and will remain valid until its set expiry date, unless deleted by the user before the expiry date; a session cookie, on the other hand, will expire at the end of the user session, when the web browser is closed.
1.3 Cookies do not typically contain any information that personally identifies a user, but personal information that we store about you may be linked to the information stored in and obtained from cookies.
1.4 Cookies can be used by web servers to identity and track users as they navigate different pages on a website and identify users returning to a website.
Our cookies
2.1 We use only both session and persistent cookies on our website.
2.2 The names of the cookies that we use on our website, and the purposes for which they are used, are set out below:
(a) we use session cookie on our website to recognise a computer when a user visits the website and track users as they navigate the website;
(b) we use secure cookie on our website to prevent fraud and improve the security of the website;
(c) Persistent cookies will be stored by a web browser and will remain valid until its set expiry date, unless deleted by the user before the expiry date;
Analytics cookies
3.1 We use Google Analytics to analyse the use of our website.
3.2 Our analytics service provider generates statistical and other information about website use by means of cookies.
3.3 The analytics cookies used by our website have the following names: _utma, _utmt, _utmb, _utmc, _utmv and _utmz
3.4 The information generated relating to our website is used to create reports about the use of our website.
3.5 Our analytics service provider's privacy policy is available at: http://www.google.com/policies/privacy/.
Third party cookies
4.1 Our website also uses third party cookies.
Blocking cookies
5.1 Most browsers allow you to refuse to accept cookies; for example:
(a) in Internet Explorer (version 10) you can block cookies using the cookie handling override settings available by clicking "Tools", "Internet Options", "Privacy" and then "Advanced";
(b) in Firefox (version 24) you can block all cookies by clicking "Tools", "Options", "Privacy", selecting "Use custom settings for history" from the drop-down menu, and unticking "Accept cookies from sites"; and
(c) in Chrome (version 29), you can block all cookies by accessing the "Customise and control" menu, and clicking "Settings", "Show advanced settings" and "Content settings", and then selecting "Block sites from setting any data" under the "Cookies" heading.
5.2 Blocking all cookies will have a negative impact upon the usability of many websites.
5.3 If you block cookies, you will not be able to use all the features on our website.
Deleting cookies
6.1 You can delete cookies already stored on your computer; for example:
(a) in Internet Explorer (version 10), you must manually delete cookie files (you can find instructions for doing so at http://support.microsoft.com/kb/278835);
(b) in Firefox (version 24), you can delete cookies by clicking "Tools", "Options" and "Privacy", then selecting "Use custom settings for history", clicking "Show Cookies", and then clicking "Remove All Cookies"; and
(c) in Chrome (version 29), you can delete all cookies by accessing the "Customise and control" menu, and clicking "Settings", "Show advanced settings" and "Clear browsing data", and then selecting "Delete cookies and other site and plug-in data" before clicking "Clear browsing data".
6.2 Deleting cookies will have a negative impact on the usability of many websites.
Cookie preferences
7.1 You can manage your preferences relating to the use of cookies on our website by visiting: controls below
Part 3: Our details
Data protection registration
1.1 We are registered as a data controller with the UK Information Commissioner's Office.
Our details
2.1 This website is owned and operated by Focus Reports Ltd.
2.2 We are registered in England and Wales under registration number 7676770, and our registered office is at Lynton House, 7-12 Tavistock Square, London WC1H 9LT, United Kingdom.
2.3 You can contact us by writing to the business address given above, by using our website contact form or by telephone on +441707828754.
The President of GE Oil & Gas Le Creusot discusses the site’s status as center of excellence and future prospects for their lead product: the Integrated Compressor Line (ICL).
How has the Thermodyn Unit in Le Creusot become a center of excellence for GE Oil & Gas?
The site of le Creusot has been focused on specific applications in low pressure and medium to small sized compressors for over a century, an historical expertise which is highly competitive. The engineering team here has always focused on being at the edge of technology and delivering integrated and advanced solutions, including the use of active magnetic bearings. There are very few players in the world capable of producing similar compressors. When GE was prospecting in the area, the company was extremely impressed with the expertise available in Le Creusot and decided as a result to coordinate an acquisition.
GE Oil & Gas Le Creusot has therefore developed over time a very advanced modeling tool to predict the performances and design the compressors in order to maximize efficiency levels for every application. The global group currently employs this model to perform compression selection and optimization. GE Oil & Gas has invested considerable funds to enable our site to erect its own product line. In 2008, we unveiled an integrated compressor om magnetic bearings, otherwise known as Integrated Compressor Line (ICL), which remains today the most advanced product on the market at the moment.
Being a global center of excellence certainly comes with the responsibility to constantly innovate. How would you describe the innovation and R&D agenda of GE Oil & Gas Le Creusot?
The most important program is related to the integrated compressor. We introduced this program in 2004, before finally launching the most advanced compressor in the world. We have addressed compression for gas transportation and storage and treatment of strictly clean gas designed for the mid-stream industry. The product we have developed responds to the needs and requirements of the European market. We have in this regard sold 30 ICL products since 2008.
Today the overall idea is to develop the integrated processors into a product line capable of addressing all services comprised in the oil and gas industry: mid-stream, upstream, treatment of acid or sour gas in the Middle-East, offshore installations and so forth. It has become essential for us to differentiate our offering and extend the applicability of our ICL product.
Steam turbines constitute our other product line, which stems from our impulse technology coming from the licenses we hold. These steam turbines serve different markets particularly in the oil and gas field, but also for biomass, solar applications and the navy industry. Our site was actually the historical supplier of steam turbines to the French Navy. GE Oil & Gas Le Creusot is also allocating considerable investment funds to enhance the efficiency and quality of these turbines.
How did the company perform in 2014?
GE Oil & Gas Le Creusot comprises manufacturing and repair activities, which responds to order intakes from the broader oil and gas industry. The site is completely integrated with the other GE Turbomachinery site that is located in Florence, Italy. GE Le Creusot’s growth in the last three years has been stable. 60% of our turnover comes from new unit sales while services account for 40%. Services are incrementally representing a greater portion of our sales.
In 2013, GE Oil & Gas expressed its wish to progressively introduce a restructuring plan in various French entities. Did this reflect the growing trend in the energy sector to reduce costs in light of the current slowdown and increasing competition? Have you been affected by these waves of layoffs?
In 2012 we performed a restructuring plan to increase the productivity of the site and reduce variable costs by reducing labor hours. This restructuring was finally executed towards the end of 2013 and was a mere representation of the trends for cost-reduction that are affecting the entire sector.
How economically viable is it to maintain a manufacturing unit in France?
GE Oil & Gas Le Creusot is a producer in an application space where every unit is customized and every project carries different duties to execute. The expertise developed by this site in compression services symbolizes France’s technology-oriented nature. Centrifugal compressors, high speed motors and magnetic bearings, the key components of the ICL product, are all produced in France. In France, we have an easier access to technology, which constitutes a significant asset. Every field has a different gas composition, which must be addressed. These parameters have very technical implications, and our site in Le Creusot is best suited to incorporate them. For instance, delivering for a customer operating on a North Sea platform differs from executing a project for a pipeline transporter in China. Today, more than 80% of our revenues are drawn from our worldwide customers.
Your international presence is very robust. You export your products to Africa, the Middle East, Europe obviously and the United States. Which regions are today preferred export markets and where do you see growth or sustained demand coming from in the future, in light of the current changing energy market dynamics?
Le Creusot’s expertise has developed strong ties with North Sea customers. We have also been involved in important projects in China regarding gas transportation. China represents a great opportunity because their pipeline infrastructure needs to expand. We are also planning on enhancing our position in the offshore sector, especially in Brazil where we have been handling projects for Petrobras and important EPC’s like SBM Offshore. It must be however noted that in recent months, the drop of the oil price has hindered opportunities for projects in the offshore sector.
We have also recently won a project in Ghana for ENI. In Africa we capitalize on France’s deep-rooted ties on the continent to win projects in Algeria for example on behalf of Sonatrach. The broad scope of our international projects illustrates the robustness of our products and services.
You were appointed CEO of GE Oil & Gas Le Creusot with a mandate to consolidate the plant as a Center of excellence while ensuring adequate project execution and determining the strategy for coming years. How would you define your vision for the short to medium term?
Our objective in the future is to further extend our portfolio. We have for example introduced a product line, the DH compressors, which was formerly only available in the US. This bold move has led to multiple sales here in France. I aspire to make Le Creusot a world market leader in integrated compressors by transforming the ICL into a genuine product line. My second objective is to unveil new products to increase our flexibility from downstream to upstream.