Nation's most powerful Democrat tours Minden plant

With the economy slouching, and unemployment rampant in some sectors, such as residential construction, U.S. Sen. Harry Reid, D-Nev., held up the GE Energy plant in Minden as a model business for both employers and employees.

"This a wonderful place for employees," Reid said, after touring the 285,000-square-foot facility off Bently Parkway. "It's remarkable to have a facility like this in Nevada. We have things to export rather than alfalfa."

The plant is the headquarters of GE's optimization and control branch. It develops and manufactures electronics and other technology used to monitor and increase efficiency of power plants and heavy machinery used in the oil and gas industry.

The plant exports about 100,000 products outside the U.S. every year and is one of the largest manufacturers in Northern Nevada.

Globally, GE's optimization and control branch employs 3,200 people. The Minden plant employs about 850 manufacturers, engineers and other workers.

"The economy in this country is in deep trouble," Reid said. "We're fortunate to have these jobs available."

Jeffrey Schnitzer, general manager of asset condition monitoring, led the tour through the manufacturing floor.

Schnitzer stopped by a giant metal chamber and explained it was a vibration and temperature test chamber.

"Electronics have a 3 to 5 percent failure rate," he said.

"GE has a less than 1 percent failure. In this chamber, we try to force a failure and figure out what the problems are."

Upstairs, Reid found a fully-staffed cafeteria, a full-sized gym, a health and wellness center and an adventure room where employees can check out kayaks, skis and other outdoor equipment.

Down the hall in the engineering lab, 31-year-old Tonya Woods of Minden was working on what looked like a small octopus with wires as tentacles.

"How'd you learn how to do this?" Reid asked.

"I became an air conditioner mechanic when I was 18," she said. "Then I went to a two-year technical school, then to a four-year school and became an electrical engineer."

Minden resident Robert Nikkels, 50, was working on a wireless sensor.

"How long have you been working on this?" Reid asked.

"About two months," Nikkels said. "But this project is far bigger than me."

The prototype is scheduled to be released in October.

The tour concluded with a presentation about GE Energy in a conference room with a view of the Carson Range.

"The employees seem really happy," Reid said. "And they want to live here."