ABB, the leading power and automation technology group, announced today that it has selected the city of Huntersville, North Carolina as the site for a new manufacturing facility. The new plant, located in northern Mecklenburg County and the greater Charlotte metropolitan area, will manufacture high-voltage land power cables for use in AC and DC applications. ABB is investing approximately $90 million in the new manufacturing facility, which will employ more than 100 people. "Creating jobs is my top priority and this multi-county investment and expansion by ABB is a win for the regions and our state," said North Carolina Governor Bev Perdue. "North Carolina's commitment to education, custom training programs and an integrated transportation system has helped our state maintain the sort of top-rated business climate that will allow globally competitive companies like ABB and their employees to thrive in North Carolina." ABB already employs more than 770 people state-wide in manufacturing and other facilities. This includes its Corporate Research Center, as well as the Power Products and Power Systems divisional headquarters for North America, all on the Centennial Campus of North Carolina State University in Raleigh. The company's North America corporate headquarters are located in Cary. "We have a very good and long-standing relationship with the state of North Carolina," said Enrique Santacana, region manager for ABB in North America. "The combination of proximity to transportation, top-notch engineering talent and an attractive living environment made Huntersville an excellent choice for this facility." Initial site preparations are expected to begin early in 2011 with construction of the main facility—including an extrusion tower of over 350 feet—slated for completion in the second half of 2012. The Huntersville factory will produce high-voltage and extra-high voltage cables that are increasingly being used to transport power over long distances from remote renewable energy sources such as wind and solar. ABB has pioneered power transmission technologies since the 1950s, when it delivered the world's first commercial HVDC (high-voltage direct current) power link. The company developed HVDC Light in the 1990s, enabling underground and undersea power transmission over long distances. ABB recently commissioned the world's longest and most powerful transmission link, delivered the world's longest underwater power link in 2008, is currently connecting the world's most remote offshore wind farm. Hiring for job opportunities at the new ABB cable plant will begin in the second half of 2011, following plant construction. At that time, these jobs will be posted at www.abb.us/careers. They will also be posted at the NC Employment Security Commission website at www.ncesc.com
ABB has highlighted the significant growth opportunities it sees in the modernization of the world's power grids, its expansion into the discrete automation sector, and the convergence of power and automation demand across its business portfolio. "ABB today has a highly dynamic and balanced automation and power technology portfolio and geographic market balance," said ABB's CEO Joe Hogan at the company's annual capital markets day in Zurich, Switzerland. "The power of our portfolio helped us during the economic crisis and will help us grow as our markets recover." Hogan said over the past 12 months, ABB has improved operationally and become more market focused by realigning its automation business and introducing a dedicated marketing and technology function for high growth opportunities. The company has also made new investments in production facilities and research and development. "We are today in a great position to benefit from the most important market trends in the industry, such as energy efficiency, industrial productivity, changing power requirements and the continuing strength of emerging economies," Hogan said. CFO Michel Demaré provided a brief update on the current business environment, saying that demand trends seen in the second quarter remain unchanged. "Our short-cycle businesses continue their robust recovery, but the long-cycle infrastructure business still faces headwinds," Demaré said. "The company's cost savings program remains on track to deliver $3 billion in cost reductions by the end of 2010." Although the third quarter EBIT margin is traditionally weaker than Q2 due to a different business mix, ABB expects its Q3 2010 revenues in local currencies and EBIT margin adjusted for derivative transactions and restructuring-related costs to be higher than in the same quarter in 2009. In the medium term, political action to reduce global CO2 emissions will continue to drive demand for renewable energies. However, the need to integrate energy sources such as wind and solar power into existing electricity grids is also creating significant business and technology challenges for its power customers. Peter Leupp, head of ABB's Power Systems division, described how the company can address these issues through its combined expertise in the areas of alternating and direct current power transmission, grid IT solutions and, increasingly, power storage. ABB also outlined the strategy to grow its Discrete Automation and Motion division, which was created at the beginning of 2010 as part of the realignment of its automation businesses to better tap future growth opportunities. Divisional head Ulrich Spiesshofer explained the company's aims to increase its share in a market of more than $100 billion growing 5-10 percent a year. In addition, the company described how it is meeting growing demand for both power and automation solutions in infrastructure markets with good long-term growth potential, such as renewable energies, rail and water, smart grids and data centers. By targeting these sectors with integrated solutions that include both power and automation technologies, ABB intends to play a leading role in these markets over the long-term, said Brice Koch, head of ABB's Customer and Market Solutions team. www.abb.com
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