ABB's energy-efficient drives help Chinese customers save power and reduce emission to great extend
Beijing, June 22, 2010 -ABB, the leading power and automation technology group, today celebrated the opening ceremony for the third phase of the factory expansion of ABB Beijing Drive Systems Co. Ltd., the largest drive manufacturer in the country. The expansion enables production capacities for wind power converters and medium-voltage (MV) drives increased by 3 times and 8 times respectively and product portfolio will be expanded further. Thus, the company will be able to meet greater demands in energy efficiency for customers from home and abroad.
Claudio Facchin, Chairman and President of ABB China said on the opening ceremony, "standing in the forefront of energy efficiency, the low voltage drives delivered from this factory have helped our Chinese customers save 50 billion kWh of electricity in the past 15 years, enough to meet the electrical needs of all the Beijing citizens for more than 10 years, and reducing CO2 emissions by about 50 million tons."
Tauno Heinola, General Manager of ABB Beijing Drive Systems, said, "ABB Beijing Drive Systems Co., Ltd. became the group's largest production centre for drive products outside of drives business headquarters in Finland. The latest expansion increases our production capacity and broadens our product line, which mean faster and reliable deliveries of products and better service to our customers. These efforts will better position us in China's expanding drive market, maintaining our competitive edge, while further accelerating our growth so as to meet the increased market demand both at home and abroad."
The newly commissioned 10000 m2 factory is mainly used for producing wind power converters and MV drives. The highly integrated drives cabinet testing system can conduct factory tests for thousands of units annually, helping to improve quality, efficiency and shorten delivery time. The 1,500 m2 Drive Service Workshop provides testing, repair and reconditioning, and spare part services for customers.
After the commissioning of the third phase facility, ACS800-67 air cooled doubly-fed converters, ACS800-77/87 liquid cooled full power converters and ACS5000 medium voltage drives are produced in the new factory. The company plans to gradually introduce several new product series for local production, including the ACS 2000 medium voltage drive and the ACS800-67 liquid cooled wind converter. The ACS 2000 is the world's first Voltage Source Inverter (VSI) MV drive that can be used without an input isolation transformer. It is widely deployed in industries such as power generation, cement, mining, metals, chemicals, oil, and gas, helping customers to maximize system efficiency while significantly reducing operating costs. The ABB ACS800-67 liquid cooled doubly-fed converter feature totally enclosed, compact cabinets protecting the internal electronics from dust, salt, sand and other environmental pollutants. Liquid cooling transfers the heat from the converter to outside of the turbine. ACS800-67 liquid cooled converter can be used for onshore or offshore wind power plants. All ABB wind converters meet the latest grid code requirements.
Energy efficiency has long been part of ABB's core business and a focus of its own operation. The adoption of energy efficiency equipment in the air conditioning system of the new workshop helps to raise the energy saving ratio by over 50% compared with conventional systems, while remarkably lowering environmental noise. In addition, the workshop collects and handles processed water, as well as uses recyclable and environmentally friendly materials for all product packaging.
Established in 1994, ABB Beijing Drive Systems Co., Ltd. has ranked among "China's Top 100 Electric Companies" for 6 consecutive years. The company's drive products have been extensively deployed in a number of key domestic projects, including the South to North Water Diversion project, the Beijing Olympic Games, the Qinghai-Tibet Railway, Shanghai Expo, and have also been shipped to overseas markets in Japan, Korea, Singapore, India and Australia, etc.
ABB (www.abb.com) is a leader in power and automation technologies that enable utility and industry customers to improve their performance while lowering environmental impact. The ABB Group of companies operates in around 100 countries and employs about 117,000 people. ABB has a full range of business activities in China, including research and development, manufacturing, sales and services, with 15,300 employees, 30 joint ventures and wholly owned companies, and an extensive sales and service network across 60 cities.
