Businessweek

ABB Ltd provides power and automation technologies for its utility and industry customers. The company provides a range of products, systems, solutions, and services. The company’s power businesses focus on power transmission, distribution and power-plant automation, and support electric, gas, and water utilities, as well as industrial and commercial customers. Its automation businesses serve a range of industries with measurement, control, protection, and process optimization applications. The company operates in approximately 100 countries across 4 regions, such as Europe, the Americas, Asia, and the Middle East and Africa. Divisions The company operates through five divisions: Power Products, Power Systems, Discrete Automation and Motion, Low Voltage Products, and Process Automation. POWER PRODUCTS This division primarily serves electric, gas, and water utilities, as well as industrial and commercial customers, with a portfolio of products and services across a voltage range to facilitate power generation, transmission, and distribution. Primary technologies include high- and medium-voltage switchgear, circuit breakers for a range of current ratings and voltage levels, power, distribution, traction, and other special transformers, as well as products to help control and protect electrical networks. This division manufactures products that could be placed in three categories, such as high-voltage products, medium-voltage products, and transformers. This division sells primarily to utilities and also through channels, such as distributors, wholesalers, installers, and original equipment manufacturers (OEMs). Some of this division's products are also integrated into the turnkey offerings of systems divisions, such as Power Systems and Process Automation or sold through engineering, procurement, and construction (EPC) firms. The high-voltage products business provides high-voltage equipment, ranging from 50 to 1,200 kilovolts, primarily to serve power transmission utilities and industrial customers. As part of its portfolio, this business designs and manufactures a range of air-, gas-insulated and hybrid switchgear, generator circuit breakers, capacitors, high-voltage circuit breakers, surge arresters, instrument transformers, cable accessories, and various high-voltage components. The medium-voltage business offers products and services that primarily serve the power distribution sector, serving as the link between high-voltage transmission systems and lower voltage users. Medium-voltage products help utility and industrial customers. This business reaches customers directly and through channels, such as distributors and OEMs. Its offering includes medium-voltage equipment (1 to 50 kilovolts), indoor and outdoor circuit breakers, reclosers, fuses, contactors, relays, instrument transformers, sensors, motor control centers, and ring main units for primary and secondary distribution, as well as a range of air- and gas-insulated switchgear. It also produces indoor and outdoor modular systems and other solutions to facilitate power distribution. The transformers business of this division designs and manufactures power transformers (72.5 to 1,200 kilovolts) for utility and industrial customers that help to step up or step down voltage levels and include special applications, such as high voltage direct current (DC) (HVDC) transformers or phase shifters. This business also supplies transformer components and insulation material, such as bushings and tap changers. It also manufactures a range of distribution transformers (approximately 72.5 kilovolts) for use in the power distribution sector, industrial facilities, and commercial buildings. These transformers are designed to step down electrical voltage bringing it to consumption levels. Another part of the offering includes traction transformers for use in electric locomotives, special application transformers, as well as a range of service and retrofit solutions for utilities and industry customers. Customers This division serves electric utilities, owners, and operators of power generating plants and power transmission and distribution network