French waste and water group Suez has boosted its industrial water treatment business with the 3.2 billion euros ($3.4 billion) acquisition of GE Water from General Electric (GE.N).

The deal will give Suez access to most major industries globally, including food and beverage, oil and gas, power, mining, pharmaceuticals, and micro-electronics and will make it a supplier to blue-chip companies such as Exxon-Mobil, Total, Shell, BASF, Nestle, Cargill, Intel, Samsung and Pfizer.

Chief Executive Jean-Louis Chaussade told reporters on Wednesday the industrial water market was more important than Suez’s traditional municipal water market, because industry accounts for 15-20 percent of global water consumption compared with just 5-8 percent for human consumption in cities.

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