May 9, 2017 | By Benedict
GE has launched GE in the Wild, an online miniseries that sheds some light on the people and facilities behind GE. In Episode 1, former Mythbusters host Adam Savage and Innovation Nation correspondent Alie Ward look at GE’s Advanced Manufacturing Works in Greenville, SC.
When you’re a large company, there are many ways to get the general public interested in what you do. You can run a viral marketing campaign, have your CEO appear at popular public events, or even trash talk your competitors. If you’re GE, however, you tend to do only one thing: you call Adam Savage.
After linking up with the former Mythbusters host for last year’s somewhat Mythbusters-esque Unimpossible Missions miniseries, General Electric has renewed its acquaintance with Savage for GE in the Wild, a new show that provides a behind-the-scenes look at various GE facilities and the people who work there. Savage co-hosts the new series with another popular science geek, Innovation Nation correspondent Alie Ward.
“GE in the Wild pairs information and entertainment to celebrate the amazing work that GE employees and our customers are doing every day,” said GE CMO Linda Boff.
While it’s easy to scoff at GE’s attempt to create a YouTube-friendly, popular science-y show with such blatant corporate intent, it’s actually quite interesting to see what GE’s massive facilities look like inside. And while the hosts and GE staff never get overly technical—at one point Savage asks “These are all printing machines, right?”—the episodes certainly provide a unique visual glimpse at the work that goes on in these places.
Fortunately for us, the first episode of the miniseries takes a look at GE’s Advanced Manufacturing Works in Greenville, SC, where a number of high-end 3D printers are used to create metal parts for gas turbines and other systems. Steve Woods, the site’s Additive Manufacturing Manager, shows the hosts around, inviting them to watch as a metal turbine component goes from on-screen concept to printed part.
Alie ward and Adam Savage hosting GE in the Wild
This is all quite interesting, though perhaps the most interesting part for me was seeing that GE still appears to be using SLM Solutions 3D printers, this despite GE’s failed takeover of the German company last year and subsequent acquisition of Arcam and Concept Laser instead.
For Savage, however, there’s a more interesting discussion to be had: labels on the 3D printers reveal that each machine in the facility is named after a character from X-Men, and the GE staff get lightheartedly berated for their geekiness. Shortly afterwards, it is revealed that one GE employee 3D printed her husband’s wedding ring at the facility.
Clearly then, this isn’t an in-depth look at GE’s trials and tribulations as it attempts to tackle the very challenging 3D printing industry. Still, it’s worth a watch if you have any curiosity about the places and people behind GE’s 3D printing endeavors.
“I've always been obsessed with peeking behind the curtain and seeing how things really work, both big and small,” Savage said of the new series. “GE gave us unbelievable access to their facilities and to their fantastic people. I could have spent another week at every single location. I also love that we get to tell a story of the ingenuity and innovation across so many different fields.”
The second episode of GE in the Wild takes a look at the GE Aviation facility in Peebles, OH.
Posted in 3D Printer Company
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