General Electric expands mining equipment holdings with $0.7 billion acquisition

General Electric (NYSE:GE) has expanded its interests in the mining equipment sector with the $700 million acquisition of Brisbane-based Industrea (ASX:IDL).

The Australian reports that GE’s new global mining division announced yesterday that it had finalized the purchase, marking the company’s first foray into Australia’s manufacturing sector as well as the biggest addition to its industrial holdings in the country.

Geoff Knox, head of General Electric’s new global mining division, said the purchase attests to GE’s firm optimism with respect to the global resources sector.

Although 2012 appears to be a peak year for capital spending, and 2013 is going to come down a bit on that, we’re still at record levels that we’d never even seen in 2010…there is still plenty of volume out there if you’ve got good products and good client relationships.

Earlier in the year GE purchased Fairchild International, a US-based manufacturer of underground mining equipment.