ABB has opened a new Customer Experience Center at its R&D Competence Center in Bergamo, Northern Italy. Designed to support customers, the center will introduce them to more intelligent electrical distribution and energy management solutions and will speed up product development and project execution, by testing and certifying customer solutions in ABB’s state-of-the-art facilities.
Giampiero Frisio, managing director of ABB’s Smart Power business, said: “Opening the Customer Experience Center supports ABB’s digital transformation strategy and our commitment to support customers in this process. Our expanded range of intelligent low-voltage electrification products and digital solutions use data and connectivity to save time, energy and costs.”
“With the ABB AbilityTM Electrical Distribution Control System cloud platform offering even more options for customization and new functionalities to boost reliability and performance, the Customer Experience Center will help companies leverage ABB’s technologies and expertise to accelerate their own digital transformation.”
In the first six months of operation, more than 1,000 customers from over 400 companies from all over the world have visited the center. The Center provides a space for customers to work with ABB experts on the design and validation of any digital or connectivity solution before it goes into service.
The facility’s Open Lab is able to simulate a range of different scenarios, testing functionalities in applications such as automatic transfer switching, load shedding, demand response, cloud connectivity and logic selectivity. The new Center also demonstrates ABB’s most advanced solutions, with a Virtual Theater giving visitors a tour of ABB applications in some of the world’s most challenging working environments.
Meanwhile, testing and certification facilities enable customers to leverage ABB’s extensive testing expertise, providing an extra layer of confidence for customers in new solutions that are more digital and connected. Type testing is also available at the facility, enabling customers to add new, state-of-the-art solutions to their portfolio.
ABB Smart Power customer experience manager Matteo Carollo said: “Opening this new Experience Center will make working with ABB even easier. As power systems evolve into microgrids and demand for digital solutions increases, the Center will help customers and partners expand their capabilities. Working with ABB experts and technicians in the Center’s state-of-the-art facilities will enable customers to design, validate and certify more innovative and effective solutions.”
Carollo added: “The Center makes it easier for ABB to work with a broader range of partners, not just customers. The Center can develop bespoke solutions faster, configuring and simulating them, with laboratories on hand to test everything from durability to extreme fault conditions, even advanced materials. Working side-by-side to bring more industry knowledge and expertise into our process will help ABB to anticipate changing market requirements so that we continue to lead on emerging technology trends.”
A recent customer event at the new Center brought together customers from across Europe with experts from ABB and other sectors to explore the impact of e-mobility and electric vehicle charging requirements on power supplies and future smart buildings. Discussions followed about the challenges and possibilities of carbon emission reductions, as well as the role big data and cloud technology will play to optimize energy use in homes, commercial buildings and factories.
ABB (ABBN: SIX Swiss Ex) is a pioneering technology leader in power grids, electrification products, industrial automation and robotics and motion, serving customers in utilities, industry and transport & infrastructure globally. Continuing a history of innovation spanning more than 130 years, ABB today is writing the future of industrial digitalization with two clear value propositions: bringing electricity from any power plant to any plug and automating industries from natural resources to finished products. As title partner in ABB Formula E, the fully electric international FIA motorsport class, ABB is pushing the boundaries of e-mobility to contribute to a sustainable future. ABB operates in more than 100 countries with about 147,000 employees. www.abb.com
