FARNBOROUGH, England (Reuters) – General Electric Chief Executive Larry Culp said on Monday a new “GE Aerospace” brand for its aviation business pointed to a “wider strategic aperture” that could eventually lead the industrial giant entering new businesses.
Asked at the Farnborough Airshow if it could trigger acquisitions, Culp said the approach would be “first and foremost organic and then and only then inorganic opportunities”.
“The choice to use aerospace as our go-forward name is in some respects to make sure everyone understands we are more than what we do in commercial,” Culp told reporters.
“It is a wider strategic aperture but it would be premature to talk about this or that area being of particular interest,” he added.
Asked about clogged aerospace supply chains, Culp said “I don’t think this can be solved overnight … It may take 18 months for everyone to catch up.”
“We have an industry grappling with a downturn and bounce-back at a challenging time for the economy.”
(Reporting by Tim Hepher; Editing by Mark Potter)