Engineering Design Center in Warsaw Honored with Corporate Catalyst Award
February 13, 2020 | by Joanna Apelska and Yari Bovalino
For aviation lovers, the recent accolade garnered by the GE Engineering Design Center (EDC) in Warsaw—the Corporate Catalyst Award—should sound familiar, being that it shares a name with the first all-European, clean-sheet turboprop engine for which the GE Polish engineers’ design, development, and testing work have been so crucial. But for the growing team of scientists and engineers at the EDC, this recognition has a much broader meaning.
The GE Catalyst is not the only engine that benefits from the EDC’s collective smarts. Populated by some 1,500 employees from across the Aviation, Power, and Renewables divisions, 93 percent of whom are engineers, the crew at the EDC has contributed to both next generation and legacy engine programs, from CFM56 and CF6 to CF34, GE90, GEnx, LEAP and Passport. And they work in a host of different disciplines: power distribution, electric start, anti-icing, vehicle health, data management systems, and digital solutions, among others.
Recognized for its positive impact on Polish society and the country’s economic growth, the General Electric Company Polska (GECP) was presented with the prestigious Corporate Catalyst Award by the Józef Piłsudski Institute of America. The institute was created in 1943 when Poland was under German and Soviet occupation by prominent Polish statesmen and expatriates in the United States. Its main goal was, and remains today, to preserve and share Polish heritage, history and culture in the U.S. through outreach and an impressive archive of books, artwork, and documents.
Poland itself owns an eminent aviation legacy that dates back to the early 20th century, before the cataclysmic interruption caused by World War II. The EDC was founded, in part, to restore that tradition. Over the past two decades, the EDC has distinguished itself in the industry as one of the biggest engineering hubs in all of Europe, growing in size and making great strides in technological innovation.
The Corporate Catalyst Award honors the EDC for creating sustainable research programs and operating in partnership with Łukasiewicz Research Network – Institute of Aviation. The GECP was praised as well for its high social responsibility standards, demonstrated through its longstanding relationships with 12 Polish universities, and GE’s Scholarship Program, organized in cooperation with the Polish-Slavic Federal Credit Union, under the patronage of President Andrzej Duda.
During the award ceremony, Zdzisław Sokal, Minister of the Chancellery of the President, congratulated all EDC employees for their hard work over the years—a sentiment echoed in the remarks made by Marian Lubieniecki, EDC Leader and Chairman of the Board of General Electric Company Polska. “Today, Polish engineers don’t have to live abroad to create state-of-the-art technical and industrial solutions that are being used all over the world,” she said. “Creating and promoting innovative products is a great way to boost Poland’s significance in Europe.”
Mohamed Ali, Vice President of GE Aviation Services Engineering, was also on hand to congratulate the EDC team members on their bright success. In his speech, he noted that there are a select number of specialized technologies that are being developed by GE in only two places in the world—the United States and Poland.
“On the behalf of GE Aviation, I’m proud to say that EDC is a hub that harbors these projects,” he said. “Your 20th anniversary just highlights the fantastic time we have behind us and shows us that we have an even brighter future ahead of us. GECP plays a huge role in the GE ecosystem. Without you GE wouldn’t be the same.”
The GE Catalyst is not the only engine that benefits from the EDC’s collective smarts. Populated by some 1,500 employees from across the Aviation, Power, and Renewables divisions, 93 percent of whom are engineers, the crew at the EDC has contributed to both next generation and legacy engine programs, from CFM56 and CF6 to CF34, GE90, GEnx, LEAP and Passport. And they work in a host of different disciplines: power distribution, electric start, anti-icing, vehicle health, data management systems, and digital solutions, among others.
Recognized for its positive impact on Polish society and the country’s economic growth, the General Electric Company Polska (GECP) was presented with the prestigious Corporate Catalyst Award by the Józef Piłsudski Institute of America. The institute was created in 1943 when Poland was under German and Soviet occupation by prominent Polish statesmen and expatriates in the United States. Its main goal was, and remains today, to preserve and share Polish heritage, history and culture in the U.S. through outreach and an impressive archive of books, artwork, and documents.
Poland itself owns an eminent aviation legacy that dates back to the early 20th century, before the cataclysmic interruption caused by World War II. The EDC was founded, in part, to restore that tradition. Over the past two decades, the EDC has distinguished itself in the industry as one of the biggest engineering hubs in all of Europe, growing in size and making great strides in technological innovation.
The Corporate Catalyst Award honors the EDC for creating sustainable research programs and operating in partnership with Łukasiewicz Research Network – Institute of Aviation. The GECP was praised as well for its high social responsibility standards, demonstrated through its longstanding relationships with 12 Polish universities, and GE’s Scholarship Program, organized in cooperation with the Polish-Slavic Federal Credit Union, under the patronage of President Andrzej Duda.
During the award ceremony, Zdzisław Sokal, Minister of the Chancellery of the President, congratulated all EDC employees for their hard work over the years—a sentiment echoed in the remarks made by Marian Lubieniecki, EDC Leader and Chairman of the Board of General Electric Company Polska. “Today, Polish engineers don’t have to live abroad to create state-of-the-art technical and industrial solutions that are being used all over the world,” she said. “Creating and promoting innovative products is a great way to boost Poland’s significance in Europe.”
Mohamed Ali, Vice President of GE Aviation Services Engineering, was also on hand to congratulate the EDC team members on their bright success. In his speech, he noted that there are a select number of specialized technologies that are being developed by GE in only two places in the world—the United States and Poland.
“On the behalf of GE Aviation, I’m proud to say that EDC is a hub that harbors these projects,” he said. “Your 20th anniversary just highlights the fantastic time we have behind us and shows us that we have an even brighter future ahead of us. GECP plays a huge role in the GE ecosystem. Without you GE wouldn’t be the same.”
Above: Marian Lubieniecki, EDC Leader and Chairman of the Board of General Electric Company Polska receives the Corporate Catalyst Award from Iwona Korga, president of Piłsudski Institute of America. Top: Mohamed Ali, Vice President of GE Aviation Services Engineering, with Korga.
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