- ABB Chairman Peter Voser shared his thoughts on technology-led transformation at the 35th IBLAC meeting in Shanghai
- Support Shanghai to further develop its innovation capacity in an era of rapid technological revolution and industrial change
- Collaborate in the focus areas of digital economy, metaverse, smart terminals and low-carbon operations to explore new opportunities
ABB Chairman Peter Voser attended the 35th annual meeting of the International Business Leaders Advisory Council (IBLAC) for the Mayor of Shanghai on October 15, and discussed the theme “Changes and New Opportunities: Making Shanghai a More Robust and Resilient International Metropolis” with the leaders of the Shanghai Municipal Government and 30 business leaders from 12 countries. Shanghai Party Secretary Chen Jining met with Peter Voser the day before the meeting.
“Shanghai is one of the leading cities in driving growth through innovation. I appreciate Shanghai's clear focus on accelerating development in the digital economy, metaverse, smart terminals and low-carbon operations. These are also key development areas for ABB.” said Peter Voser at the meeting.
Shanghai has taken the lead in incorporating the metaverse in its long-term planning. Peter Voser highlighted the great promise of the industrial metaverse: it can connect and enhance the digital and physical worlds by integrating technologies like digital twins, machine learning, the Internet of Things, mixed reality and 5G to enable innovative new applications.
Artificial intelligence is key to unlocking the power of the metaverse. AI delivers insights that can be used to optimize industrial processes, leading to improved efficiency and productivity. AI can also make robots easier to use, reducing barriers to adoption and enabling robots to support new use cases across industries.
ABB has applied these technologies in China and elsewhere in the world, such as using AI-powered robots for quality inspection to achieve higher levels of accuracy, optimizing robotic cell design with augmented reality applications, and upgrading traditional manufacturing to automated production through human-machine collaboration.
“We see a huge demand for advanced manufacturing technologies from Chinese businesses – which is a great assurance for our long-term investments in China.” said Peter Voser, “ we recently inaugurated our new robotics mega factory in Shanghai, together with our new R&D center, to promote open innovation in AI, digitalization and software.”
While the development of new technologies opens up new opportunities, the pace of their adoption must be matched by progress on skills and training. We need joint efforts from government, businesses and schools to bridge the skills gap and nurture the talent pipeline for the future. In China, ABB collaborates with many universities and vocational schools. We help train teachers, build laboratories and organize competitions to support the engineers and technologists of tomorrow.
Collaboration is vital to innovation. The annual China International Import Expo (CIIE) and China International Industrial Fair (CIIF) provide invaluable platforms for cross-border cooperation and exploring new avenues for collaborative innovation. ABB has participated in the CIIE since its first session in 2018. This year, ABB will bring to the sixth CIIE more than 50 innovative products and digital solutions focus on clean energy, smart manufacturing, smart city and green transportation.
China is ABB’s second largest market worldwide, and Shanghai is a key location for ABB. ABB established its first joint venture in Shanghai in 1994, and since then its business has been growing together with Shanghai and the company has been involved in many important projects. In 2018, ABB and the Shanghai municipal government signed a memorandum of understanding on strategic cooperation in the fields of industry, energy, transport and infrastructure. In December 2022, ABB officially opened its fully automated and flexible robotics mega factory in Shanghai.
IBLAC is an international think-tank for the mayor of Shanghai. ABB first took part in Shanghai IBLAC in 2005. By integrating its global perspective and local knowledge, ABB has provided forward-looking advice over the years to support Shanghai’s economic development with a focus on driving innovation, digitalization and sustainable growth.
ABB is a technology leader in electrification and automation, enabling a more sustainable and resource-efficient future. The company’s solutions connect engineering know-how and software to optimize how things are manufactured, moved, powered and operated. Building on more than 130 years of excellence, ABB’s ~105,000 employees are committed to driving innovations that accelerate industrial transformation.
