Excerpt:
G.Binswanger and Company, an electrical goods wholesaler established in London during the 1880s by a German immigrant named Gustav Binswanger (later Byng), was the building block for GEC.
In 1886 Byng was joined by another German immigrant, Hugo Hirst, (later Lord Hirst) the 'Father of GEC' and the company changed its name to The General Electric Apparatus Company (G.Binswanger). This date is regarded as the real start of GEC.
The following year, the company produced the first electrical catalogue of its kind. In 1888 the firm acquired its first factory in Manchester for the manufacture of telephones, electric bells, ceiling roses and switches.
Annotation:
Here is an extensive history of the General Electric Company.