GE and the City of Torino Unveil Monument in Piazza Solferino to Commemorate Torino 2006 Olympic Winter Games


TORINO, ITALY - Jan. 19, 2006 - GE, a worldwide partner of the Olympic Games, and the city of Torino today unveiled an Olympic-themed monument dedicated to the residents and visitors of the city for the Torino 2006 Olympic Winter Games. Torino Mayor Sergio Chiamparino and president of GE Italy Giuseppe Recchi attended the event at the GE Ice Plaza in Piazza Solferino, in the heart of Torino's historic city center, where the structure will remain through the Games. The monument is a gift from GE's 300,000 worldwide employees to the city.

The monument was designed by Richi Ferrero and Carmelo Giammello to resemble an ice-covered mountain with vertical rock formations and a central spire. Affectionately named "Il Dente del Gigante," or the Giant's Tooth, in honor of the famous 4,014 meter mountain peak along the border of Italy and France, the structure is eight meters high and was constructed with 550 square meters of GE's Lexan* Margard* thermoplastic sheet and GE lights. As part of the exhibit, GE employees will be able to send messages via the Internet during the Games that will be displayed on a digital messaging system at the base of the structure, which will emit colored lights and sounds periodically. A "webcam" will beam video images of the structure back to GE employees via the Internet.

"We are just under one month from the beginning of the Torino Games and we are thrilled with the commitment that Olympic sponsors like GE are showing to the city. This monument that celebrates the geography of our region in a beautiful and modern way will be a beacon and a meeting point during the Games," said Torino Mayor Sergio Chiamparino. "Piazza Solferino will be a great gathering place for Olympic fans in Torino."

Ferdinando Beccalli-Falco, president and CEO of GE International said, "We wanted to give our 300,000 employees around the world an opportunity to participate directly in the Games and now they have a real-time way to send their best wishes directly to the center of Torino for all to see."

After the Games, the monument will be moved to another location in Torino, where it will remain until February 2007.

Lexan Margard sheet is approximately half the weight of comparative glass products, which also features GE's proven hard-coating technology on both sides delivering high level protection against abrasion, cleaning fluids, paints, and adhesives and allows frequent cleaning or removal of graffiti without causing damage. Finally, its durability and weatherability protects against abrasives, chemicals, and impact over a wide temperature range (-40 C to +120 C). It maintains its excellent optical clarity; in fact, it carries a 10-year limited written warranty against breakage.

About GE and the Olympic Games
As a Worldwide Partner of the Olympic Games, GE is the exclusive provider of a wide range of innovative products and services that are integral to a successful Games. Beginning with the 2006 Olympic Winter Games in Torino, Italy, GE's Olympic partnership is the company's first global sports sponsorship at the corporate level in recent years. From providing power, lighting, security, and modular space solutions at Olympic venues to supplying ultrasound and MRI equipment to help doctors treat athletes, GE works closely with the Organizing Committees, local municipalities and other Olympic Partners to understand their needs and deliver solutions that only GE can. NBC Universal, a division of GE, is the exclusive U.S. media partner of the Olympic Games. The GE and NBC Universal partnerships extend through 2012. On the Web: http://www.ge.com/olympicgames.

About GE - Plastics
GE - Plastics is a global supplier of plastic resins widely used in automotive, healthcare, consumer electronics, transportation, performance packaging, building & construction, telecommunications, and optical media applications. The company manufactures and compounds polycarbonate, ABS, SAN, ASA, PPE, PC/ABS, PBT and PEI resins, as well as the LNP* line of high-performance specialty compounds. GE - Plastics, Specialty Film & Sheet manufactures high-performance Lexan* sheet and film products used in thousands of demanding applications worldwide. In addition, GE - Plastics' dedicated Automotive organization is an experienced, world-wide competitor, offering leading plastics solutions for five key automotive segments: body panels and glazing; under the hood applications; component; structures and interiors; and lighting. As a Worldwide Partner of the Olympic Games, GE is the exclusive provider of a wide range of innovative products and services that are integral to a successful Games.

* Lexan and Margard are trademarks of General Electric Company.

Contacts
Europe
Banu Kukner
GE - Plastics, Specialty Film & Sheet,
Bergen op Zoom, The Netherlands
Tel: +31 164 291 605
Email: banu.kukner@ge.com

Agency Contacts
The Americas
Jim Allison
AH&M Marketing Communications,
Pittsfield, Mass.
Tel: +1-413-448-2260, Ext. 25
E-Mail: jallison@ahminc.com

Europe
Folke Markus
Marketing Solutions, Bergen op Zoom,
The Netherlands
Tel: +31 164 317 038
E-Mail: fmarkus@marketingsolutions.be

China
William Li
Ketchum Newscan, Shanghai, China
Tel: +86 21 5289 5838 Ext. 105
E-Mail: william.li@knprsh.com

Japan
Mitsu Sugino
Tokyo PR Inc., Tokyo, Japan
Tel: +81 3 3256 5691
E-Mail: sugino@tokyopr.co.jp

o GE - Plastics - Monument in Piazza Solferino to Commemorate Torino 2006 Olympic Winter Games Press Release

GE, a Worldwide Partner of the Olympic Games, and the City of Torino today unveiled an Olympic-themed monument dedicated to the residents and visitors of the city for the Torino 2006 Olympic Winter Games. The monument is a gift from GE's 300,000 worldwide employees to the city. Affectionately named "Il Dente del Gigante," or the Giant's Tooth, in honor of the famous 4,014 meter mountain peak along the border of Italy and France, the structure is eight meters high and was constructed with 550 square meters of GE's Lexan* Margard* thermoplastic sheet and GE lights. As part of the exhibit, GE employees will be able to send messages via the Internet during the Games that will be displayed on a digital messaging system at the base of the structure, which will emit colored lights and sounds periodically.

* Lexan and Margard are trademarks of General Electric Company.

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