ABB

Lore & Background

ABB was created on 5 January 1988 from the merger of ASEA and BBC, with each parent holding 50 percent. The company remained headquartered in both Zurich and Västerås. In its first year, ABB undertook about 15 acquisitions, including Fläkt AB of Sweden, Sadelmi/Cogepi of Italy, and Scandia-Randers A/S of Denmark. In 1989, it purchased 40 more companies, including Westinghouse Electric's transmission and distribution assets and Combustion Engineering. During the 1990s, ABB expanded into Central and Eastern Europe, Asia, and Australia, and in 1995 merged its rail unit with Daimler-Benz to form Adtranz. The company sold its stake in Adtranz in 1999 and merged its power generation business with Alstom in a 50-50 joint venture, later divesting those interests in 2000. In 2002, ABB reported its first-ever annual loss due to asbestos-related litigation from Combustion Engineering. The company has been subject to three US Foreign Corrupt Practices Act bribery settlements (2004, 2010, 2022) and a 2001 bid-rigging guilty plea. In 2020, ABB sold its power grids business to Hitachi, and in 2022 spun off its turbocharging business.

Reader's Guide

ABB's significance lies in its development of technologies for generating, transmitting, and distributing electricity, as well as industrial automation. Employees and predecessor companies invented the miniature circuit breaker, which protects against fires and is found in almost every home. Predecessor ASEA introduced the first microprocessor into an industrial robot and helped develop the Azipod electric propulsion system, which improved manoeuvrability by locating propulsion outside the hull. ABB's 1991 introduction of the IRB 6000, the first modular robot, demonstrated increased capacity in spot-welding. During the 2010s, ABB focused its growth strategy on robotics and industrial automation. Before selling its Power Grids division in 2020, ABB was Switzerland's largest industrial employer. The company's history includes controversy: asbestos litigation from Combustion Engineering led to its first loss in 2001, with a final claims settlement in 2006. ABB also faced multiple bribery settlements and a bid-rigging conviction.

Did You Know?

• ABB was formed in 1988 from the merger of ASEA (Sweden) and Brown, Boveri & Cie (Switzerland).
• The miniature circuit breaker, invented by Hugo Stotz, was developed by ABB or its predecessors and is found in almost every home.
• ABB sold its power grids business to Hitachi in 2020 and spun off its turbocharging business in 2022.