ABB Asea Brown Boveri

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ABB

Type	Public (OMX: ABB, NYSE: ABB)
Founded	1988 through merger of ASEA of Sweden and Brown, Boveri & Cie of Switzerland
Headquarters	Zürich, Switzerland
Key people	Fred Kindle, CEO, President
Industry	Power technology, Industrial Automation
Revenue	$24.4 billion USD (2006)
Employees	111,000
Slogan	Power and productivity for a better world.
Website	www.abb.com

ABB, formerly Asea Brown Boveri, is a multinational corporation headquartered in Zürich, Switzerland, operating mainly in the power and automation technology areas. ABB is one of the largest engineering companies as well as one of the largest conglomerate companies in the world. ABB has operations in around 100 countries, with approximately 111,000 employees. ABB is traded on the SWX Swiss Exchange under the Virt-x financial system based in Zurich, the Stockholm Stock Exchange in Sweden, and the New York Stock Exchange in the United States.

1 Company History
2 Business Sectors
3 History of leadership
4 External References
5 References
6 External links
7 See also

Company History

ABB resulted from the 1988 merger of Swedish and Swiss corporations ASEA and BBC Brown Boveri (Brown, Boveri & Cie), the latter had absorbed the Maschinenfabrik Oerlikon in 1967. ABB's history goes back to the late nineteenth century. ASEA was incorporated in 1883 and Brown, Boveri & Cie (BBC) was formed in 1891. In the early 1990s, ABB purchased Combustion Engineering (C-E) headquartered in Stamford and Norwalk, Connecticut, a leading U.S. firm in the development of conventional fossil fuel power and nuclear power supply systems to break into the North American market. Continuing with its expansion plans, ABB purchased ELSAG BAILEY in 1999, which included Bailey Controls, Hartmann & Braun, and Fischer & Porter. This was the largest acquisition to date in ABB's history. In 2000, ABB signed a contract for the delivery of equipment and services for two North Korean nuclear powerplants to be supplied under an agreement with KEDO (Korean Peninsula Energy Development Organization), a consortium formed in 1995 by the governments of the United States, Japan, South Korea and the European Union.^[1] Also in 2000, ABB formerly divested from a joint venture named ABB-Alstom Power and sold its interest in conventional power generation systems and rail transportation to Alstom Power. ABB also sold its nuclear business to Westinghouse Electric Company. ABB was formally listed on the New York Stock Exchange in 2001. Also during that year, ABB was ranked as number one on the Dow Jones corporate sustainability index^[2] for the third year in a row.[1] ABB went through a reorganization in 2005 to focus on the company's core business of power and automation technologies. The reorganization created the current structure of ABB with five business sectors (units) consisting of Power Products, Power Systems, Automation Products, Process Automation, and Robotics. In 2006, ABB returned to financial health by settling its asbestos liability regarding claims that were filed against ABB's U.S. susidiaries, Combustion Engineering and Lummus Global.^[3] In August 2007, Lummus Global was sold to CB&I.^[4]

Business Sectors

ABB is active in many sectors with its core businesses in power and automation technology.

Power Products

The division incorporates ABB's manufacturing network for transformers, switchgear, circuit breakers, cables, and associated high voltage equipment. Power Products are the key components to transmit and distribute electricity. It also offers all the services needed to ensure products' performance and extend their lifespan. The division is subdivided into three business units - High Voltage Products, Medium Voltage Products and Transformers.

Power Systems

Power Systems offers turnkey systems and services for power transmission and distribution grids, and for power plants. Electrical substations and substation automation systems are key areas. Additional highlights include flexible alternating current transmission systems (FACTS), high-voltage direct current (HVDC) systems and network management systems. In power generation, Power Systems offers the instrumentation, control and electrification of power plants. The division is subdivided into four business units - Grid Systems, Substations, Network Management, and Power Generation. In the UK, ABB Ltd has supplied and installed Highway / Street / Public Lighting for developers, councils and others.

Automation Products

It provides products to improve customers' productivity, including drives, electric motors and generators, low voltage products, instrumentation and analytical, and power electronics. The customer profile of this division includes a wide range of industry and utility operations, plus commercial and residential buildings.

Process Automation

The main focus of this ABB business is to provide customers with integrated solutions for control, plant optimization, and industry-specific application knowledge. The industries served include oil and gas, power, chemicals and pharmaceuticals, pulp and paper, metals and minerals, marine and turbocharging.

Robotics

ABB has one of the world's largest installed bases of industrial robots also providing robot software, peripheral equipment and modular manufacturing cells for tasks such as welding, assembly, painting and finishing, picking, packing, palletizing and machine tending. Key markets include automotive, plastics, metal fabrication, foundry, packaging, material handling, and food & beverage industries.

Building Systems

This division of ABB operates only in a handful of countries (has been sold off globally) and specialises in providing integrated solutions for building facilities encompassing indoor air quality, building automation as well as power distribution and management to ensure uninterrupted operations, continuous performance, energy conservation and comfort throughout the life-cycle of the building.^[5]

Telecommunications

In Australia, ABB plays a major role in the installation and maintenance of the country's copper-wire telephone network or 'local loop' (owned by Telstra).

History of leadership

Fred Kindle assumed the role of President and CEO on January 1, 2005. Kindle's most recently served as CEO of Sulzer Ltd. in 2004. Kindle received an engineering degree from ETH Zürich, and received his MBA from the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University in Illinois, U.S. In December 2007, Kindle was named "Entrepreneur of the year" in a survey of 100 Swiss business journalists. ^[6] Former CEOs:

September 2002 - December 2004: Jürgen Dormann
January 2001 - September 2002: Jörgen Centermann
January 1997 - December 2000: Göran Lindahl
1987-1996: Percy Barnevik

Former Board Members:

External References

Combustion Engineering

References

^ Randeep Ramesh. "The two faces of Rumsfeld", The Guardian, May 9, 2003.
^ "Dow Jones Sustainability Indexes".
^ Uncredited. "ABB asbestos claims resolved", Reuters, September, 1 2006.
^ CB&I to buy Lummus Global from ABB
^ Building Systems Integrated Service Solutions
^ Swissinfo: ABB boss named Entrepreneur of the Year

External links

Official website