General Electric Company Completes Acquisition of Everest VIT, Inc.

Huerth, Germany, August 29th, 2005 .

General Electric Company has completed the acquisition of Everest VIT, Inc. (EVIT), a Welch Allyn subsidiary focused on remote visual inspection equipment for industrial applications, following receipt of the various regulatory approvals. Terms of the transaction are not being disclosed. EVIT will now become part of GE Inspection Technologies, headquartered in Huerth, Germany.

"We are very excited to complete the acquisition of EVIT," said Jeff Nagel, president of GE Inspection Technologies. "This acquisition will allow GE Inspection Technologies to expand its nondestructive testing capabilities to include remote visual inspection and enhance our product offerings to our customers."

"The employees of Everest VIT and I are very excited to become part of GE Inspection Technologies," said Bruce Pellegrino, who will continue to lead the business after the acquisition. "Our combined depth of applications knowledge and experience as well as our solutions-based approach to inspection needs will be a tremendous benefit to all of our customers. Our now-larger tool box of NDT modalities will help to enhance our customers´ safety, quality & productivity."

Headquartered in Flanders, New Jersey, EVIT focuses primarily on the development, sales, rental, training and on-site service of remote visual inspection equipment. EVIT´s services and products enable companies to inspect machinery, facilities and infrastructure in the safest, quickest and most cost-effective manner possible. EVIT products have been used to streamline the inspection process in all industries where safety, security and accuracy are of paramount concern, such as aviation, power generation, processing, manufacturing, law enforcement and infrastructure. The company has approximately 300 employees at 17 locations around the world. For more information, visit Everest VIT.