Growing from a small workshop into a major international manufacturer and globally respected electrical brand, SACE’s people and technologies were pioneers. With a reputation for quality and for solutions that met the specific needs of customers, SACE became a technology leader.
In the 1950s, SACE first introduced its low voltage moulded case circuit breakers, following quickly with air circuit breaker technology. Both provided significant advances in the safety and reliability of electrical distribution.
SACE became a part of ABB in 1988. Today, more than 8 million ABB SACE circuit breakers are produced each year. Customers worldwide count on ABB SACE circuit breakers to keep hospitals, data centers, factories, commercial buildings and renewables running safely and efficiently. The SACE Infinitus, launched in 2023, is the first circuit breaker designed for direct current distribution.
Lara Cortinovis, Head of ABB Smart Power’s Distribution & Energy Management Unit, said: "The passion and vision of SACE and its people continue to inspire us today. Customers look to us for solutions that will help make a zero-carbon future possible - and with 90 years of innovation inside each one, they can rely on ABB SACE breakers to set the standard for safety, sustainability and reliability."
Throughout 2024, ABB employees and local communities in Bergamo, Dalmine and Frosinone, Italy will participate in events to celebrate the 90th anniversary of SACE.
ABB is celebrating 90 years of the SACE brand, which continues to set the standard for innovation in electrical engineering. 
ABB Smart Power headquarters in Bergamo will host events this year to celebrate the 90th anniversary of the SACE brand 
First opened in 1969, ABB Frosinone today produces millions of SACE circuit breakers each year
How SACE started
Electrification was the most important technological advance of the 20th century and the city of Bergamo in northern Italy was a hotspot for innovation in electricity. The Lombardy region was home to the first electric power plants in Europe and workshops sprung up to provide the know-how and equipment for local communities and industry to use electricity safely and reliably.
In 1906, seeing Italy’s electrical industry taking its first steps, an entrepreneurial workshop foreman called Alberto Fantini decided to set up his own workshop building electrical switchboards and equipment in Bergamo. Over the years, Fantini’s company evolved into SACE, “Società Anonima Costruzioni Elettromeccaniche" and was formally founded in 1934.
SACE’s focus on quality and on devising solutions to meet the specific needs of customers made the company’s name in Italy: major orders for the country’s railways and growing industrial sector followed.
In 1969, SACE opened a new factory in Frosinone, followed by further expansion in Dalmine in 1979, scaling up production to meet growing international demand. When ABB acquired SACE in 1988, the SACE name stayed on the circuit breakers and the brand’s reputation for innovation continued.
ABB introduced the industry’s first smart circuit breakers, the SACE Emax 2 in 2013, followed by the SACE Tmax XT in 2018. The SACE Infinitus, launched in 2023, is the world’s first solid state circuit breaker, built to enable the sustainable direct current networks of tomorrow.
