ABB India Ltd (Formerly Known as ABB Ltd) is one of the world's leading engineering companies, which helps customers to use electrical power effectively and to increase industrial productivity. The Company has extensive installed base for manufacturing and a countrywide marketing and service presence. They have served utility and industry customers with complete range of engineering, products, solutions and services in areas like Automation and Power Technology. They operate nearly 14 manufacturing plants in India and serving customers through the presence with more than 18 marketing offices, 8 service centers, 3 logistics warehouses and a network of over 800 channel partners.
The Company segments includes: power systems, which offers turnkey systems and services for transmission and distributions for power grid and power plants, instrumentation, control and balance of power plants; power products, which manufactures, engineers, supplies key components to transmit and distribute electricity, and also produces transformers, high and medium voltage switchgears, circuit breakers, capacitors, distribution relays; process automation, which provides integrated solutions and served oil and gas, power, chemicals and pharmaceuticals, pulps and paper, metals and minerals, marine and turbo charging industries; automation products, which provides motors, variable speed drives, low voltage products, instrumentation and power electronics; Others consists of robotics systems.
ABB India Ltd was incorporated on December 24, 1949 as Hindustan Electric Company Ltd. In September 24, 1965, the name of the company was changed to Hindustan Brown Boveri Ltd. In the year 1989, Asea Ltd was amalgamated with the company with effect from January 1, 1989 and the company changed their name to Asea Brown Boveri Ltd with effect from October 13, 1989. In the year 1995, Flakt India Ltd was amalgamated with the company with effect from October 5, 1995.
During the year 1994-95, ABB Zurich and Daimler-Benz AG, Germany established a joint venture company, namely 'ABB Daimler-Benz Transportation AG' (Adtranz) in Germany. Also, a subsidiary of Adtranz was incorporated in India namely, 'ABB Daimler-Benz Transportation Ltd' which took over the Transportation Business of the company with effect from January 1, 1996. In the year 1999, the power generation business was de-merged and transferred to ABB Alstom Power India Ltd with effect from April 1, 1999. The name of the company was changed to ABB Ltd with effect from April 16, 2003.
In the year 2004, the company introduced new range of wiring accessories including switches, regulators and sockets in the Indian market. They made major expansions in their installed capacity of Motors and Other Machines, Switchgear of all types, Turbochargers, Transformers, Electronic Control and Supply Units for Variable Speed Drives and Other applications Power Capacitors of all types. In July 12, 2004, the company divested their Control Valves Business to Kent Introl Pvt Ltd. They added several new products under Power Technologies and Automation Technologies divisions.
In the year 2005, the company won the first major equipment order for 765 KV extra-high voltage (EHV) transformers and shunt reactors from the National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC) and Power Grid Corporation of India Ltd. They established a technology center in Nasik for medium voltage power technologies cater to the fast developing power distribution sector. In the year 2006, they entered into an MoU with IIT Delhi
In 2007, the company received an order worth Rs 186 crore for integrated power distribution management system. In September 2007, the company won an order Rs 933 million from KHD Humboldt Wedag GmbH, Germany, for providing a turnkey electrics and automation solution for a 5000 TPD capacity green-field cement plant at Katrana in Jordan. Also, the company was awarded a turnkey contract worth Rs 186 crores by Karnataka Power Transmission Corporation Ltd for implementing an integrated Network Manager SCADA/ EMS/DMS (Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition, Energy Management System, Distribution Management System) solution.
In October 2007, the company received orders worth Rs 512 crore from JSW and their associated companies, for providing turnkey power and automation solutions for their steel and power plant projects. In February 2008, the company was awarded orders worth Rs 330 crore for providing turnkey substation solutions and a range of power products to Powergrid Corporation of India Ltd (PGCIL) as part of their efforts to strengthen the transmission grid across the country.
In June 2008, the company won orders worth Rs 295 crore for providing power solution for JSW Energy for their upcoming thermal power plant in Ratnagiri. In July 2008, the company won an order of Rs 312 crore for design, supply, installation, testing and commissioning of electrical products and systems for a new terminal T3 at Indira Gandhi International Airport in Delhi, India. Also, they won orders worth Rs 455 crore from Vedanta Aluminium Ltd for providing automation and power products, systems and solutions for expansion of their aluminium smelter plant at Jharsuguda in Orissa.
In December 2009, the company won an order worth Rs 506 crore from Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation Ltd for providing power solutions for a planned metro network in Bangalore. In March 2010, the company won orders worth $22 from Haryana Vidyut Prasaran Nigam Limited (HVPNL), a state-owned power utility in northern India for providing four turnkey substations for the regional grid.
In October 2010, the company acquired the business of Metsys Engineering and Consultancy Pvt Ltd (Metsys), based in Bangalore, a private limited company engaged in providing engineering services/consultancy and optimized solutions to OEMs/End customers mainly in Metal industry, for a total consideration of Rs 84.6 million.
In May 2011, the company entered into an agreement with ABB Global Industries and services Ltd, to purchase and acquire the assets and liabilities of three businesses, namely Transformer Insulation - Boards and Components,Low Voltage Breakers and Switches and Vacuum Interrupters for an aggregate consideration of Rs 40,000 lakh on a slump sale basis with effect from April 01, 2011.
In August 2011, the company won orders worth INR161 million to supply turnkey power and automation solution for three photovoltaic solar power plants with a combined capacity of 11 megawatts (MW) in India. Also, they won an order worth around USD 1 billion from the Dutch-German network operator TenneT on a power link for transmitting high voltage direct current (HVDC), which will connect the offshore wind in the North Sea to the grid on the German mainland. In December 2011, the company won an order worth about Rs 175 crore from Powergrid Corporation of India Ltd to supply equipment for the Champa transmission substation in the central Indian state of Chhattisgarh.
The company acquired 100% equity shares of Baldor Electric India Pvt Ltd, Pune, from Baldor Holdings Inc, USA and Baldor Electric Switzerland AG, Switzerland for a total consideration of Rs 3390 lakh. Baldor became a wholly owned subsidiary of the company with effect from December 1, 2011.
In 2012, the company wins Rs.75 crore order in India to power metro for pink city Jaipur(Rajasthan). The company also wins Rs 175 crore order to strengthen Western India's Power Grid.
In 2013, the company inaugurates two new manufacturing plants for power products in India. During the year the company's name was changed name from ABB Ltd. to ABB India Ltd. During 2014, the company set up a substation in Southern India to help meet growing power demand. The company also commissions world record voltage circuit breaker during the year under review. The company wins Rs. 334 Crore orders to boost power capacity and strengthen during the year. The company also wins power products orders worth Rs. 310 crore in India during the year under review.
In 2015, the company won an order worth Rs 256 crore from Ceylon Electricity Board (CEB), Sri Lanka. During the year, the company also won an order of Rs 90 crore from Techno Electric and Engineering Company (Techno). During the year, the company launches freehome - Making home automation easier than ever. The company also wins Rs.125 crore order to upgrade three substations in agricultural belt. The company during the year also secured orders worth Rs 119 crore to provide plant electrification, automation and substation solutions for solar power plants. During the year under review, the company also introduced the first 800 kilovolt (kV) converter transformer which is manufactured at their Vadodara facility in Gujarat.
On 5 April 2016, ABB India announced that it has signed a memorandum of understanding with the Indian Institute of Technology Madras (IITM) to enter a technical cooperation to build microgrids as well as joint R&D in the field of rural electrification, utilization of natural non-fossil resources, battery energy storage and their connection to loads and main grid. IITM and ABB will jointly work to design, build and supply equipment for up to two such microgrids in rural areas. Along with ABB equipment, the microgrid will enable homes to be fitted with energy efficient DC devices like LED bulbs, TV, Cell phone charges, Brushless DC motor based fans, specially designed by IITM. The project shall be managed by IITM till the transfer of the installations to the local distribution utility (DISCOM).
On 1 September 2016, ABB India inaugurated a new solar inverter manufacturing facility in Bengaluru. The facility is set to double the solar inverter manufacturing capacity of the company. On 14 September 2016, ABB India announced that it has commissioned a state-of-the-art solution for shore-to-ship power supply for ships at the V.O.Chidambaranar Port, formerly the Tuticorin Port. This solution expands the scope of the green agenda beyond renewable power to technology, which will enable ships docking at a port to plug for power instead of running on polluting diesel generators and using expensive power.
On 7 October 2016, ABB India announced that it has developed, manufactured and energized a 1,200-kilovolt (kV) ultrahigh voltage power transformer to support India's plans to build a 1,200 kV transmission system, supplementing the existing 400 kV and 800 kV transmission grid as demand for electricity increases. This 1.2 million volt transformer represents the highest alternating current voltage level in the world and is installed at the national test station at Bina, Madhya Pradesh in Central India, as part of a collaborative initiative by the country's central transmission utility, Power Grid Corporation of India Limited (POWERGRID). The transformer was manufactured and tested at ABB's facility in Vadodara.
On 5 December 2016, ABB India announced that it has signed an MoU with NITTTR to establish a first of its kind SCoE for teachers, students and industry engineers to develop a deeper understanding of the underlying multi-physics and design principles for the manufacturing of various best in class electro-mechanical equipment in India. The electro-mechanical equipment industry is a critical element in the success of the proposed exponential growth in the Indian power sector and needs to reach a quality level among the best in class to become a manufacturing hub of global repute.
On 21 March 2017, ABB India announced that it has restored and modernized the critical 1,035 MW Sharavathi hydropower plant in Karnataka, which approximately accounts for 25 percent of the state utility Karnataka Power Corporation's power generation.
On 4 May 2017, ABB India inaugurated two new facilities that support the nation's digital transformation, energy saving technology and rise in industrial productivity. In Bengaluru, ABB India launched India's first digitalized remote service center for its energy saving drives solutions and added a new production line for digitalized low voltage drives. The ABB remote service center will provide 24x7 access to information and support on drives installed at customer facilities for predictive maintenance and condition monitoring for all industries including power, cement, oil and gas, metals, food & beverage and many other applications. The new center is the third of its kind in the ABB global footprint and is now fully activated in India. It will support customer installations in India and around the world.
On 30 August 2017, ABB India announced that it has surpassed the 5 GW milestone for the supply of solar inverters in India. Inverters are the heart of solar installations and ABB pioneered inverter production in the country in 2012.
On 10 January 2017, ABB India announced that it has won a mega Rs 4350 crore project from Power Grid Corporation of India Limited to deliver a transmission link that will have the capacity to bring reliable electricity to more than 80 million people. The Raigarh-Pugalur 800 kilovolt (kV) ultrahigh-voltage direct current (UHVDC) system will connect Raigarh in Central India to Pugalur in the southern state of Tamil Nadu. The 1,830 kilometer (km) link will be among the longest in the world.
On 19 January 2018, ABB India inaugurated a new factory for the production of power distribution products in Nashik in Maharashtra. The best in class smart facility will be export focused. This factory is the only one in the ABB universe to manufacture certain categories of products and supply across the globe. The factory will manufacture outdoor products for substations like live tank vacuum-circuit breaker, auto reclosers and indoor ones like gas-insulated switchgear. The reclosers are used on overhead power distribution systems to detect and interrupt momentary faults and to improve uptime of the system. The gas-insulated switchgear (GIS), which occupy upto 45 percent less space than air insulated switchgears, freeing up space for power distribution and is very popular across industrial sectors like steel, cement, marine and also in distribution networks due to its high reliability and safety.
On 15 February 2018, ABB India announced the installation of an electric-vehicle fast charging station at NITI Aayog in the national capital. ABB's 50kW fast charging station can provide a full charge to an electric vehicle in only 30 minutes.
On 27 March 2018, ABB India inaugurated one of the first smart factories in Bangalore for the production of electrical protection and connection solutions. The facility will be located on the existing factory premises of Nelamangala in Bangalore, the start-up and IT capital of India. The smart factory, which is part of ABB's manufacturing 19-acre Nelamangala campus, will house the production line for the entire range of ABB's protection and connection business, which helps to protect power systems from surges and enables a reliable power supply for various installations. The Bangalore facility will manufacture ABB's range of air and molded case circuit breakers, electronic and thermal relays, contactors, pilot devices and ABB's latest range of plug and play low-voltage circuit breaker, Emax 2. The products are key in optimizing resources, reducing energy and life-cycle costs and boosting the productivity of industrial installations across sectors like process industries (cement, textile, chemicals, and metals), marine, data centers and automotive.
During the FY2019,the Bengaluru Bench of National Company Law Tribunal vide order dated November 27, 2019, sanctioned the Scheme of Arrangement between the Company, ABB Power Products and Systems India Limited (APPSIL) and respective shareholders & creditors involving the demerger of the power grids business of the Company to APPSIL under the provisions of Sections 230 - 232 and other applicable provisions of the Companies Act, 2013 (Scheme). The Scheme has become effective December 1, 2019. Pursuant to the sanctioned Scheme, APPSIL has allotted equity shares to the shareholders of the Company on December 24, 2019. Consequently as per the Scheme, the entire investment of Rs 1,00,000 (50,000 equity shares of Rs 2/- each) held by the Company and its nominee shareholders stand cancelled. Accordingly APPSIL ceased to be a Subsidiary of the Company. As per approved Scheme of Arrangement, APPSIL has allotted the equity shares to the eligible members of the Company and these equity shares have been listed In BSE Limited and National Stock Exchange of India Limited.
ABB Motion business recognized as wind generator manufacturing company - 2019' by India Wind Energy Forum. The company Won the 2019 Working Mother and Avtar Award for being among the best 100 companies for women in India.
During the FY2020, the Company has sold Company's Solar Inverter Business as a going concern on slump sale basis to a wholly owned Indian Subsidiary of Italian Company, FIMER S.p.A viz, 'Marici Solar India Private Limited', for a total value of Rs 105.63 Crore by way of Business Transfer Agreement (BTA) which was effective April 1, 2020.
The company bagged the coveted 'Technology of the YearGenerator' 2020 Award from India Wind Energy Forum (IWEF).
The COVID -19 pandemic is rapidly spreading throughout the world ABB's plants and offices were under nationwide lockdown since March 24, 2020. Effective middle of May 2020 as per the directives of Ministry of Home Affairs(MHA) wherein some relaxation was announced, the Company opened up its manufacturing activities in its locations across the country with 50% to 60% capacities after putting in place the due safety precautions and standard norms and processes prescribed by the MHA and the respective State Governments.
Effective January 1, 2021, Erstwhile Industrial Automation segment has been renamed as Process Automation.
In FY'21, Company secured first order for the supply of 25kV GIS for first Semi-High Speed Rail project in India. It commissioned air insulated switchgear (AIS) for Kanpur Metro, low voltage switchgears for Kolkata Metro. New sustainable products such as eco-efficient switchgears,
energy efficient smart meters, highest efficiency level IE5 motors were launched in 2021.
In 2021, the Faridabad facility which ramped up manufacturing of low voltage motors, was powered by 100% renewable energy. It completed the demerger of the Power Grids business.
During the year 2022, the Company sold investment into its wholly owned subsidiary, Turbocharging Industries and Services India Private Limited (TISPL), and resultant has ceased to be a wholly owned subsidiary of the Company. Energy efficiency projects were commissioned with specialized drives and motors from JW Marriott to Wonder Cement. In 2022, new products launched included specialized products like flame proof motors for explosive atmospheres and smart electric metering and energy monitoring solutions. The Company enhanced productivity into Smart Power Division by expanding the manufacturing facility with with ABB Cobots. The Digital Substation Products and Digital Systems Factory was opened in Vadodara, Gujarat in 2022. ABB Measurement & Analytics also opened their first Smart Instrumentation Factory in Bengaluru, to support the manufacturing hub.
The Company commissioned latest technology Breakers for largest software Software Manufacturing Companies; low Voltage Building Products in Hyderabad, Low voltage Electrical Switchgear & Panels to an IT Park & Low-Rise Apartment in NCR; ABB Make 25kV GIS became operational in 2022 for Phase I of service operations in Pune; installed 11kV Eco-GIS solution at premier fertilizer organization in Gujarat and installed ABB RMUs for India's flagship Highway in 2022.