SMRT Architects and Engineers Selected to Design New $115M Digital X-Ray Manufacturing Facility for GE ...( Sustainable 'Green' Design and Op...),Health

Sustainable 'Green' Design and Operations a Principle Objective for

Planning Team

TROY, N.Y. and PORTLAND, Maine, Nov. 15 /PRNewswire/ -- Architects and engineers SMRT Inc. http://www.smrtinc.com/ of Portland, ME and Troy, NY was selected by General Electric Healthcare http://www.gehealthcare.com/ to design a new digital X-ray detector production facility in North Greenbush, NY. The new 150,000 square foot clean manufacturing facility will help meet a growing worldwide demand for digital imaging equipment used by healthcare professionals for patient x-rays, mammograms and diagnostic testing. When complete in 2008, the operation in New York will employ 100-150 people.

The new North Greenbush production facility will feature a dramatic, curved glass and brick entrance anchoring a two-story manufacturing center. The facility's infrastructure will be equally dramatic, states Russ Bailey, SMRT's Troy, NY Office Director. "The interior production spaces will feature state-of-the-art clean manufacturing and sustainable, energy-efficient mechanical, electrical and control systems," Bailey said.

SMRT and GE Healthcare will make use of sustainable design standards for the project, and will pursue certification for environmental performance through the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED(R)) rating system administered by the U.S. Green Building Council.

At the core of GE's digital technology is the digital detector, the image panel where healthcare professionals read and interpret digital test results. The new digital image quality is far superior to analog imaging equipment, which relies on lower resolution film and screen images. The clarity of the digital images offers significantly better outcomes, and provides a tool that will save lives in the process. Production plans call for 2000 g
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