GE Transportation Systems (GETS) has announced that it will locate its newly created 20-person e-commerce team in Knowledge Park at Penn State Erie later this summer. The GETS e-commerce team will occupy 13,000 square feet in the park's first 72,000 square-foot office building; 40,000 square feet already are occupied by Aalborg Industries.
GETS' e-commerce team will create Web pages that allow railroads to track information about their GE locomotive fleet, including ordering parts and scheduling maintenance. The team is expected to double in size by year-end, including both new and current employees.
"This decision results from a recent series of meetings of GE leadership and faculty and staff at Penn State Erie," said John G. Rice, president and CEO of GETS. "The opportunity to locate our development team side-by-side with people who are researching and developing information-based technologies gives us access to the latest thinking in Internet services."
John M. Lilley, provost and dean of Penn State Erie, said that in locating its e-commerce team at Knowledge Park, GETS will have access to internship programs, faculty and student research, and applied research and technology transfer centers such as the college's proposed Center for e-Commerce.
Knowledge Park at Penn State Erie is being developed in partnership with the Greater Erie Industrial Development Corp. When its initial phases are completed the park will include a technical training center, a shared conference center, a child-care center and at least six multi-tenant buildings housing knowledge-based companies.