ABB, formerly
ASEA Brown Boveri, is a
SwissSwitzerland , officially the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 states named cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities...
-
SwedishSweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe...
multinational corporationA multinational corporation or transnational corporation , also called multinational enterprise , is a corporation or enterprise that manages production or delivers services in more than one country...
headquartered in
ZürichZürich or Zurich is the largest city in Switzerland and the capital of the canton of Zürich. The city is Switzerland's main commercial and cultural centre and sometimes called the Cultural Capital of Switzerland, the political capital of Switzerland being Berne...
, Switzerland, operating mainly in the
powerIn thermodynamics, motive power is an agency, as water or steam, used to impart motion. Generally, motive power is defined as a natural agent, as water, steam, wind, electricity, etc., used to impart motion to machinery; a motor; a mover. The term may also define something, as a locomotive or a...
and
automationAutomation is the use of control systems , in concert with other applications of information technology , to control industrial machinery and processes, reducing the need for human intervention...
technology areas. ABB is one of the largest
engineering companiesElectrical engineering, sometimes referred to as electrical and electronic engineering, is a field of engineering that deals with the study and application of electricity, electronics and electromagnetism. The field first became an identifiable occupation in the late nineteenth century after...
as well as one of the largest
conglomerate companies in the world. ABB has operations in around 100 countries, with approximately 115,000 employees (2008).
ABB is traded on the SIX Swiss Exchange under the Virt-x financial system based in
ZurichZürich or Zurich is the largest city in Switzerland and the capital of the canton of Zürich. The city is Switzerland's main commercial and cultural centre and sometimes called the Cultural Capital of Switzerland, the political capital of Switzerland being Berne...
, the
Stockholm Stock ExchangeThe Stockholm Stock Exchange is a stock exchange located in Stockholm, Sweden. Founded in 1863 it is the primary securities exchange of the Nordic Countries....
in
SwedenSweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe...
, and the New York Stock Exchange in the
United StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
.
ABB is the world's largest builder of electricity grids and is active in many sectors with its core businesses in power and automation technology.
The division incorporates ABB's manufacturing network for transformers, switchgear, circuit breakers, cables, and associated high voltage and medium voltage equipment such as digital protective relays.
ABB, formerly
ASEA Brown Boveri, is a
SwissSwitzerland , officially the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 states named cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities...
-
SwedishSweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe...
multinational corporationA multinational corporation or transnational corporation , also called multinational enterprise , is a corporation or enterprise that manages production or delivers services in more than one country...
headquartered in
ZürichZürich or Zurich is the largest city in Switzerland and the capital of the canton of Zürich. The city is Switzerland's main commercial and cultural centre and sometimes called the Cultural Capital of Switzerland, the political capital of Switzerland being Berne...
, Switzerland, operating mainly in the
powerIn thermodynamics, motive power is an agency, as water or steam, used to impart motion. Generally, motive power is defined as a natural agent, as water, steam, wind, electricity, etc., used to impart motion to machinery; a motor; a mover. The term may also define something, as a locomotive or a...
and
automationAutomation is the use of control systems , in concert with other applications of information technology , to control industrial machinery and processes, reducing the need for human intervention...
technology areas. ABB is one of the largest
engineering companiesElectrical engineering, sometimes referred to as electrical and electronic engineering, is a field of engineering that deals with the study and application of electricity, electronics and electromagnetism. The field first became an identifiable occupation in the late nineteenth century after...
as well as one of the largest
conglomerate companies in the world. ABB has operations in around 100 countries, with approximately 115,000 employees (2008).
ABB is traded on the SIX Swiss Exchange under the Virt-x financial system based in
ZurichZürich or Zurich is the largest city in Switzerland and the capital of the canton of Zürich. The city is Switzerland's main commercial and cultural centre and sometimes called the Cultural Capital of Switzerland, the political capital of Switzerland being Berne...
, the
Stockholm Stock ExchangeThe Stockholm Stock Exchange is a stock exchange located in Stockholm, Sweden. Founded in 1863 it is the primary securities exchange of the Nordic Countries....
in
SwedenSweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe...
, and the New York Stock Exchange in the
United StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
.
Divisions
ABB is the world's largest builder of electricity grids and 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 and medium voltage equipment such as digital protective relays. 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
turnkeyA turn-key or a turn-key project is a type of project that is constructed by a developer and sold or turned over to a buyer in a ready-to-use condition.-Common usage:...
systems and service for power
transmissionTransmission is the act of passing something on.Specifically, it may refer to:*Transmission , a gear system transmitting mechanical power, as in a car*Transmission , the act of transmitting messages over distances...
and
distributionFile:Electricity grid simple- North America.svg|thumb|380px|right|Simplified diagram of AC electricity distribution from generation stations to consumersrect 2 243 235 438 Power stationrect 276 317 412 556 Transformer...
gridsAn electrical grid is an interconnected network for delivering electricity from suppliers to consumers.-Overview:When referring to the power industry, "grid" is a term used for an electricity network which may support all or some of the following three distinct operations:#Electricity...
, and for power plants.
Electrical substationAn electrical substation is a subsidiary station of an electricity generation, transmission and distribution system where voltage is transformed from high to low or the reverse using transformers...
s and substation automation systems are key areas. Additional highlights include flexible alternating current transmission systems (FACTS),
high-voltage direct current (HVDC)A high-voltage, direct current electric power transmission system uses direct current for the bulk transmission of electrical power, in contrast with the more common alternating current systems. For long-distance distribution, HVDC systems are less expensive and suffer lower electrical losses...
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.
Automation Products
It provides products to improve customers' productivity, including
drivesA motor controller is a device or group of devices that serves to govern in some predetermined manner the performance of an electric motor. A motor controller might include a manual or automatic means for starting and stopping the motor, selecting forward or reverse rotation, selecting and...
, electric motors and generators, low voltage products,
instrumentationInstrumentation is the branch of engineering that deals with measurement and control.According to ISA or known as Instrumentation and Systems Automation Society formerly known as Instrument Society of America, the official definition of Instrumentation - is a collection of Instruments and their...
and analytical, and
power electronicsPower electronics is the applications of solid-state electronics for the control and conversion of electric power-Introductions:Power electronic converters can be found wherever there is a need to modify the electrical energy form...
. 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
oilAn oil is any substance that is liquid at ambient temperatures and is hydrophobic but soluble in organic solvents. Oils have a high carbon and hydrogen content and are nonpolar substances. The general definition above includes compound classes with otherwise unrelated chemical structures,...
and
gasThis page is about the physical properties of gas as a state of matter. For the uses of gases, and other meanings, see Gas .A gas is one of four states of matter. Near absolute zero, a substance exists as a solid...
,
powerElectric power is defined as the rate at which electrical energy is transferred by an electric circuit. The SI unit of power is the watt.When electric current flows in a circuit, it can transfer energy to do mechanical or thermodynamic work...
,
chemicalsThe chemical industry comprises the companies that produce industrial chemicals. It is central to modern world economy, converting raw materials into more than 70,000 different products.-Products:...
and pharmaceuticals,
pulpPulp is a dry fibrous material prepared by chemically or mechanically separating fibers from wood, fiber crops or waste paper.Pulp can be either fluffy or formed into thick sheets. The latter form is used if the pulp must be transported from the pulp mill to a paper mill...
and paper, metals and minerals, marine and turbocharging.
Robotics
ABB has one of the world's largest installed bases of
industrial robotAn industrial robot is officially defined by ISO as an automatically controlled, reprogrammable, multipurpose manipulator programmable in three or more axes...
s also providing robot software, peripheral equipment and modular manufacturing cells. ABB's robots are provided for tasks such as
thermal sprayingThermal spraying techniques are coating processes in which melted materials are sprayed onto a surface. The "feedstock" is heated by electrical or chemical means ....
(plasma, HVOF), welding, assembly, painting and finishing, picking, packing, palletizing and machine tending. Key markets include automotive, plastics,
metal fabricationFabrication, when used as an industrial term, applies to the building of machines, structures and other equipment, by cutting, shaping and assembling components made from raw materials...
,
foundryA foundry is a factory that produces metal castings from either ferrous or non-ferrous alloys. Metals are turned into parts by melting them into a liquid, pouring the metal in a mold, and removing the mold material or casting after the metal has solidified as it cools. The most common metal...
, packaging,
material handlingBulk material handling is an engineering field that is centred around the design of equipment used for the transportation of materials such as ores and cereals in loose bulk form...
, and
food & beverageF&B is a common abbreviation in the United States and Commonwealth countries, including Hong Kong. F&B is typically the widely accepted abbreviation for "Food and Beverage," which is the sector/industry that specializes in the conceptualization, the making of, and delivery of foods. The largest...
industries. In 2006 ABB's global robotics headquarters moved to
ShanghaiShanghai is the largest city in China, and one of the largest metropolitan areas in the world, with over 20 million people. Located on China's central eastern coast at the mouth of the Yangtze River, the city is administered as a municipality of the People's Republic of China with province-level...
,
ChinaChina is a cultural region, an ancient civilization, and, depending on perspective, a national or multinational entity extending over a large area in East Asia....
and in 2007 ABB added a manufacturing unit for industrial robots in China serving the local market.
Other areas of activity
The company's Building Systems still operates in a handful of countries. It provides integrated solutions for building facilities encompassing indoor air quality,
building automationBuilding automation describes the functionality provided by the control system of a building. A building automation system is an example of a distributed control system...
as well as power distribution and management. In the UK, ABB has supplied and installed Highway / Street / Public Lighting for developers, councils and others. In
AustraliaAustralia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the continental mainland , the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans...
, ABB plays a major role in the installation and maintenance of the country's copper-wire telephone network or 'local loop' (owned by
TelstraTelstra or Telstra Corporation Ltd , is an Australian telecommunications and media company, formerly owned by the Australian government...
).
History
ABB resulted from the 1988 merger of
SwedishSweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe...
and
SwissSwitzerland , officially the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 states named cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities...
corporations ASEA and BBC Brown Boveri (
Brown, Boveri & CieBrown, Boveri & Cie was a Swiss group of electrical engineering company.It was founded in Baden, Switzerland in 1891 by Charles Eugene Lancelot Brown and Walter Boveri who worked at the Maschinenfabrik Oerlikon. In 1970 BBC took over the Maschinenfabrik Oerlikon...
), the latter had absorbed the Maschinenfabrik Oerlikon in 1967. CEO at the time of the merger was the former CEO of ASEA,
Percy BarnevikPercy N. Barnevik is a Swedish business executive, probably best known as CEO and later Chairman of Asea Brown Boveri 1988-2002, a company he created in a bold cross-border merger in 1988. He was long considered Europe's answer to General Electric CEO Jack Welch...
, who ran the company until 1996.
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 EngineeringCombustion Engineering was an innovative American engineering firm and leading firm in the development of power systems in the United States with approximately 30,000 employees in about a dozen states at its peak. Headquartered in Stamford, Connecticut, C-E owned over two dozen other companies...
(C-E) headquartered in
StamfordStamford is a city in Fairfield County, Connecticut, United States. According to 2007 Census Bureau estimates, the population of the city is 118,475, making it the fourth largest city in the state and the eighth largest city in New England Stamford is part of the New York metropolitan area.-Sister...
and
Norwalk, ConnecticutNorwalk is a city in Fairfield County, Connecticut, United States. According to 2006 Census Bureau estimates, the population of the city is 84,437, making it the sixth largest city in Connecticut, and the third largest in Fairfield County...
, a leading U.S. firm in the development of conventional
fossil fuelFossil fuels or mineral fuels are fuels formed by natural resources such as anaerobic decomposition of buried dead organisms. The age of the organisms and their resulting fossil fuels is typically millions of years, and sometimes exceeds 650 million years...
power and
nuclear powerNuclear power is power produced from controlled nuclear reactions. Commercial plants in use to date use nuclear fission reactions....
supply systems to break into the North American market. Continuing with its expansion plans, ABB purchased ELSAG BAILEY in 1997, which included Bailey Controls, Hartmann & Braun, and Fischer & Porter. This was the largest acquisition to date in ABB's history.
ABB bought International Combustion Ltd from Rolls-Royce in 1997.
In 2000, ABB signed a contract for the delivery of equipment and services for two
North KoreaNorth Korea, officially the Democratic People's Republic of Korea , is a state in East Asia, occupying the northern half of the Korean Peninsula. Its capital and largest city is Pyongyang. The Korean Demilitarized Zone serves as the buffer area between North Korea and South Korea...
n nuclear powerplants to be supplied under an agreement with the
Korean Peninsula Energy Development OrganizationThe Korean Peninsula Energy Development Organization is an organization founded on March 15, 1995 by the United States, South Korea, and Japan to implement the 1994 U.S.-North Korea Agreed Framework that froze North Korea's indigenous nuclear power plant development centered at the Yongbyon...
(KEDO), a consortium formed in 1995 by the governments of the United States, Japan, South Korea and the European Union. Also in 2000, ABB formally divested from a joint venture named ABB-Alstom Power and sold its interest in conventional power generation systems and rail transportation to
Alstom PowerAlstom is a large French multinational conglomerate which holds interests in the power generation and transport markets. According to the company website, in the years 2007-'08 Alstom had annual sales of over €16.9 billion, and employed more than 81,500 people in 70 countries. Alstom's...
. ABB's nuclear business was sold to
BNFLBritish Nuclear Fuels plc or BNFL manufactures and transports nuclear fuel , runs reactors, generates and sells electricity, reprocesses and manages spent fuel , and decommissions nuclear plants and other similar facilities. BNFL is owned by the British government...
and merged into
Westinghouse Electric CompanyThe Westinghouse Electric Company is a multi-national nuclear technologies company, a part of the original Westinghouse Electric. The company's operations incorporate various nuclear services, power plants, nuclear fuel, inspection equipment, advanced welding services, and remote handling...
.
In 2002 ABB asked Lindahl, the company's former chief executive, to return some of his $50 million retirement pay, which its board called excessive. ABB also asked its former chairman Percy Barnevik to pay back part of his $87 million pension package. The size of the pensions was disclosed at the same time as ABB's huge $691 million net loss for 2001 made headlines and drew sharp criticism in Switzerland and Sweden.
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 indexSustainability, in a broad sense, is the capacity to endure. In ecology, the word describes how biological systems remain diverse and productive over time...
for the third year in a row.
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
asbestosAsbestos is a naturally occurring silicate mineral with long, thin fibrous crystals. The word asbestos is a borrowed Greek adjective meaning inextinguishable. The Greeks termed asbestos the miracle mineral because of its soft and pliant properties, as well as its ability to withstand...
liability regarding claims that were filed against ABB's U.S. subsidiaries,
Combustion EngineeringCombustion Engineering was an innovative American engineering firm and leading firm in the development of power systems in the United States with approximately 30,000 employees in about a dozen states at its peak. Headquartered in Stamford, Connecticut, C-E owned over two dozen other companies...
and Lummus Global. In August 2007, Lummus Global was sold to CB&I.
History of leadership
On July 17, 2008, the Board of Directors of ABB Ltd. announced that Joseph Hogan has been appointed
Chief Executive OfficerA chief executive officer or chief executive is one of the highest-ranking corporate officers or administrators in charge of total management...
of the ABB Group as of September first. Mr. Hogan is the former head of
GE HealthcareGE Healthcare is a unit of GE Technology Infrastructure, which is a unit of General Electric . It employs more than 46,000 people worldwide and is headquartered in Little Chalfont, Buckinghamshire, United Kingdom. The CEO of GE Healthcare is John Dineen. GE Healthcare is the first GE business...
. Mr. Hogan holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration from
Geneva CollegeGeneva College is a Christian liberal arts college in Beaver Falls, Pennsylvania, United States, north of Pittsburgh. Founded in 1848, in Northwood, Ohio, the college moved to its present location in 1880, where it continues to educate a student body of about 1400 traditional undergraduates in...
and an MBA from
Robert Morris UniversityThis article is about the university in Pennsylvania. For the university in Illinois, see Robert Morris University .Robert Morris University is a private, coeducational university...
, both located in
PennsylvaniaThe Commonwealth of Pennsylvania , often colloquially referred to as PA by natives and Northeasterners, is a state located in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States...
.
Former CEOs:
- September 2008 onwards: Joe Hogan
- February 2008 - September 2008: Michel Demaré - ad interim
- January 2005 - February 2008: Fred Kindle
- September 2002 - December 2004: Jürgen Dormann
- January 2001 - September 2002: Jörgen Centerman
- January 1997 - December 2000: Göran Lindahl
- 1987-1996: Percy Barnevik
Percy N. Barnevik is a Swedish business executive, probably best known as CEO and later Chairman of Asea Brown Boveri 1988-2002, a company he created in a bold cross-border merger in 1988. He was long considered Europe's answer to General Electric CEO Jack Welch...
The Board of Directors is chaired by Hubertus von Grünberg. He took over the position in May 2007, following the retirement of Jürgen Dormann, who had chaired the board since 2002.
Former Board Members:
- Peter Sutherland
Peter Denis Sutherland, Honorary KCMG is an international businessman and former Attorney General of Ireland, associated with the Fine Gael party . He is a barrister by profession, and is also Senior Counsel at the Irish Bar...
- Donald Rumsfeld
Donald Henry Rumsfeld is a United States businessman, politician, the 13th Secretary of Defense under President Gerald Ford from 1975 to 1977, and the 21st Secretary of Defense under President George W. Bush from 2001 to 2006...
Primary investors
Fully half of ABB's shareholders reside in
SwedenSweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe...
. The largest single stake in the firm is held by the Swedish
investmentInvestment or investing is a term with several closely-related meanings in business management, finance and economics, related to saving or deferring consumption. Investing is the active redirection of resources: from being consumed today, to creating benefits in the future; the use of assets to...
company
Investor ABInvestor AB is a Swedish investment company, founded in 1916 and still controlled by the Wallenberg family. The company owns a controlling stake in several large Swedish companies with smaller positions in a number of other firms. In 2006 it had a market value of 119 billion kronor...
, controlled by the
Wallenberg familyThe Wallenberg family is one of the most influential and wealthy families in Sweden, renowned as bankers and industrialists. In 1990, it was estimated that the family indirectly controlled one-third of the Swedish Gross National Product...
, which holds 7.3%.
See also
- :de:Brown, Boveri & Cie
- :de:Maschinenfabrik Oerlikon
- Combustion Engineering
Combustion Engineering was an innovative American engineering firm and leading firm in the development of power systems in the United States with approximately 30,000 employees in about a dozen states at its peak. Headquartered in Stamford, Connecticut, C-E owned over two dozen other companies...
See also
- Investor AB
Investor AB is a Swedish investment company, founded in 1916 and still controlled by the Wallenberg family. The company owns a controlling stake in several large Swedish companies with smaller positions in a number of other firms. In 2006 it had a market value of 119 billion kronor...
- List of conglomerates
- Stromberg (company)
Stromberg or Oy Strömberg Ab, was a company founded by Gottfrid Strömberg in 1889 in Helsinki, Finland, and manufactured electromechanical products such as: generators, electric motors and small power plants. The company was founded initially as Gottfrid Strömbergin sähköyhtiö in Finnish, Gottfrid...