ABB (www.abb.com), the Zurich-based power and automation technologies provider, has inaugurated its greenfield automation products facility near Bangalore, India, to manufacture automation products.
With this plant, ABB will expand capacity to meet the needs of the future in the country, and cater to export markets in Africa and Southeast Asia. Spread over 18 acres, the factory will manufacture products such as air circuit breakers, switch fuse units, molded-case circuit breakers, low- and medium-voltage drives and systems, high-power rectifiers, static excitation systems and main and auxiliary traction converters, among others.
The company has invested $50 million for setting up the new factory, which also includes a “demo room” showcasing a wide array of ABB products. The new facility was inaugurated April 8 by Swiss Ambassador to India, Philippe Welti.
The new plant will help ABB generate additional revenue of close to $100 million in the automation products business this year, says Tom Sjoekvist, head of the Automation Products Division for ABB Group. “The new production facility will help significantly increase ABB’s production capacity in India and enhance the company’s footprint in the region, while catering to growing demand for intelligent automation products in the Indian and overseas markets,” he adds.
Commending ABB’s growth in the last six to seven years, Sjoekvist notes that the virtual debt-free status and a healthy order backlog will help ABB tide over the global economic crisis. “Improving energy efficiency and focus on renewable energy were key factors in adding value,” he says.
ABB has recently won an order worth around $140 million to deliver transformers to the State Grid Corp. of China, as that country develops its electricity network to meet demand.
About the author
Uday Lal Pai, [email protected], is a freelance journalist based in India.
ABB
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