Zurich, Switzerland, March 24, 1998 - ABB, the international electrical engineering group, today announced the formation of a joint venture company in Chongqing, southwest China, to manufacture power transformers for utilities and industrial customers. The new company will be named ABB Chongqing Transformer Co. Ltd. ABB's partners in the new company include Chongqing Transformer Works and a number of other Chinese industrial companies. ABB will have full management responsibility.
ABB plans to modernize and upgrade the company's production facilities, allowing it to manufacture a wide range of power transformers for the Chinese market. The joint venture is ABB's 20th in China and will employ about 940 people.
This joint venture is an important part of ABB's business development plan for China, adding skilled and experienced partners to complete the scope of ABB's presence on the Chinese power transmission and distribution market.
Including this investment, ABB employs approximately 6,000 people in China. ABB Chongqing Transformer Co. Ltd will be a member of ABB's Power Transmission and Distribution Segment which employs 51,000 people worldwide with orders in 1997 of about US$ 9 billion. The ABB Group employs 213,000 people worldwide with orders in 1997 of US$ 35 billion. (End)
