ABB Ltd. history, company profile (overview) and history video
ABB Ltd. is a global technology company headquartered in Zurich, Switzerland.
OPERATIONS
ABB operates through the following business areas: Electrification, Motion, Process Automation, and Robotics & Discrete Automation.
Electrification
The Electrification business segment offers a wide-ranging portfolio of products, digital solutions and services, from substation to socket. It offers EV infrastructure, solar inverters, modular substations, distribution automation, power protection, wiring accessories, switchgear, enclosures, cabling, sensing and control.
Motion
ABB’s Motion business is one of the world’s largest suppliers of drives and motors. It provides electrical motors, generators, drives and services, as well as mechanical power transmission products and integrated digital powertrain solutions.
Process Automation
The Process Automation business segment offers solutions for process and hybrid industries, including industry-specific integrated automation, electrification and digital solutions, control technologies, software and advanced services, as well as measurement & analytics, and marine and turbocharging offerings. ABB’s Process Automation business is one world’s largest suppliers in this market.
Robotics & Discrete Automation
The Robotics & Discrete Automation business segment provides solutions in robotics, machine and factory automation.
HISTORY
ABB was formed in 1988 when Sweden’s Allmänna Svenska Elektriska Aktiebolaget (ASEA) merged with Switzerland’s Brown, Boveri & Cie (BBC) to create ASEA Brown Boveri, later simplified to the initials ABB.
In 1990, ABB launched Azipod, a family of electric propulsion systems that are fixed to the outside of ships providing both thrust and steering functions. It also launched the FlexPicker, a delta robot designed for the picking and packing industry.
In 2000, ABB delivered the world’s first commercial high-voltage shore-to-ship electric power, helping reduce greenhouse gas emissions from ships.
In 2002, ABB linked the AC networks of South Australia and Victoria with the world’s longest underground transmission. It also linked Conneticut and Long Island with the world’s first extruded HVDC submarine transmission.
In 2008, NorNed, the longest submarine HVDC cable in the world, linked the power networks of Norway and the Netherlands.
In 2010, ABB linked the Xiangjiaba hydropower plant in southwest China to Shanghai.
In 2015, ABB introduced the world’s truly collaborative robot: YuMi®.
In 2017, ABB Ability™ was launched.
In 2018, ABB joined the FIA Formula E Championship as the series’ title partner to form the newly-named ABB FIA Formula E Championship.
In 2020, ABB Ability™ Genix Industrial Analytics and AI Suite combined the power of data management, domain knowledge, technology capabilities and implementation expertise.
HISTORY BEFORE THE ASEA AND BBC MERGER
Allmänna Svenska Elektriska Aktiebolaget (ASEA)
ASEA’s origins date back to 1883 when Ludvig Fredholm established Elektriska Aktiebolaget in Stockholm as a manufacturer of electrical lighting and generators.
In 1890, Elektriska Aktiebolaget merged with Wenströms & Granströms Elektriska Kraftbolag to form Allmänna Svenska Elektriska Aktiebolaget, later shortened to ASEA.
In 1893, ASEA built the first three-phase transmission system in Sweden.
In 1953, ASEA became the first company in the world to manufacture synthetic diamonds.
In 1972, ASEA built the first nuclear power plant in Sweden.
In 1978, ASEA launched one of the first industrial robots.
Brown, Boveri & Cie (BBC)
Brown, Boveri & Cie was founded in 1891 by Charles E. L. Brown and Walter Boveri in Baden, Switzerland. Shortly afterward, Brown, Boveri was the first company to transmit high-voltage power.
In 1893, Brown Boveri supplied Europe’s first large-scale combined heat and power plant producing alternating current.
In 1901, BBC built the first steam turbine in Europe.
In 1939, BBC built the first combustion gas turbine for generating electricity.
In 1969, BBC developed the first gearless cement drive in the world.
In 1984, BBC installed the first of nine BBC generators in the world’s largest hydroelectric power station at Itaipú in South America.
With more than 105,000 employees in over 100 countries, ABB Ltd. is considered one of the world’s largest technology companies. According to Forbes, it is considered one of the Largest Public Companies in the World.
*Information from Forbes.com, Wikipedia.org, and global.abb/group/en.
**Video published on YouTube by “ABB“