GE Jenbacher
| GmbH & Co. OHG | |
| Industry | Cogeneration, peaking power plants, biogas energy, mine gas management |
| Predecessor | Jenbacher Werke AG |
| Founded | 1959 |
| Headquarters | Jenbach, Austria |
| Products | Reciprocating engines, generator sets |
| Website | jenbacher.com |
GE Power & Water manufactures Jenbacher gas engines and cogeneration modules in the Austrian town of Jenbach in the Tyrol. It is part of their Distributed Energy portfolio of products and is one of their gas engine technologies; the other being Waukesha Engines. Jenbacher emerged from the former Jenbacher Werke, which was founded in 1959 and manufactured gas and diesel engines, and locomotives. The company was bought out by General Electric in 2003 and was renamed GE Jenbacher GmbH & Co. OHG.
Although the company itself has a relatively short history, its origins go far back. In 1487, a mine and foundry was founded by the Fugger family. In 1657, all Fugger properties in Tyrol were taken over by the state. Due to exhaustion of the copper- and silver deposits, the mine changed focus to iron. In 1909, the mine ran out of iron as well, and after a boom during the First World War only the foundry was left. The company was acquired by Julius and Theodor Reitlinger in 1881. At the beginning of World War II, all of Tyrol was seized and Aryanized, and the company was to 'work for the benefit of the country'. The plant made brake pads for the Deutsche Reichsbahn, and from 1939 they made aeroplane parts and rocket motors for Heinkel. After the collapse at the end of the Second World War the factory was placed under public administration. It had to be converted to civilian production, and started out with cookware, but also started with the repair of railway wagons.
Because of the availability of appropriate specialists and skilled workers, it was decided to concentrate on the production of diesel engines. The first product was a 15 hp two-stroke engine, which was very successful and was manufactured in large quantities. This was followed by more two-stroke and four stroke models of engine. The JW 15, 8 TO 15 Hp; the JW20, 15 to 20 Hp; and the JW20M, the same engine,but with inertial mass damping to counteract the vibrations of the single cylinder. The company was now pushed to develop generators, compressors and pumps of the same quality.
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