“ABB Cup” winners of China Standardization Paper Award announced

Xi’an, China, April 7, 2009 – ABB, the leading power and automation technology group, today announced the close of the “ABB Cup” China Standardization Paper Award in conjunction with the 6th China Standardization Forum. The contest, solely sponsored by ABB, has selected 10 papers for the Top Awards and 20 papers for Awards of Excellence. All the winning papers will be assembled in a book and published.

Mark W. Reid, Senior Vice President and Head of the Product and System Business Unit of the Process Automation Division of ABB China, said on the forum, “ABB actively supports the event of the China Standardization Forum. We aim to facilitate exchange and communication in the field of standardization in order to bring Chinese standards in line with international standards. Such progress will not only standardize the development of relevant industries, it will also further improve the overall strength of these industries.”

ABB has actively promoted the domestic certification process conforming to international practice and acknowledged by the global community. To date, ABB China’s experts are on the board of 19 different councils of national and industrial standardization committees in China, playing an active role in the development and revision of national standards as well as promoting the adoption of international standards and advanced foreign standards.

To reinforce its support for China’s standardization efforts, the Coordination Group of ABB Standardization in China was established in August 2006. The Coordination Group, headed by ABB senior executives, has initiated active interaction with the Standardization Administration of the People's Republic of China (SAC) and built up a network for experts from the Automation and Power Products divisions.

ABB Group consistently leverages its worldwide presence to initiate and update technical standards for technologies, products and solutions relevant to ABB’s operations through active involvement in public standardization technical committees, working groups and the like.

With 236 people working on various international technical committees, ABB employees currently occupy important posts on over 200 international standardization committees including the IEC, CIGRE and IEEE. ABB has contributed significantly to the development and implementation of a number of international standards. For example, since IEC 61850 (connectivity and interchangeability in substation automation systems) has been implemented, the function of motor soft starters has been well defined, resulting in more controllable product quality as well as rapid and healthy industrial growth.

Standards reflect market demand. Standardization is a process including standard development, issuance and implementation. It is very significant for improving applicability of product, process and service, preventing trade barrier and promoting technological cooperation. Hosted by the SAC, the China Standardization Forum is the largest and highest academic exchange platform on standardization, aimed at communicating knowledge, enhancing public awareness, and discussing the direction of development in various fields against the backdrop of the globalization of the world economy. The event focuses on exchanging international, national, industrial and corporate research findings so as to improve overall standardization levels within China. Since the inception of the 1st China Standardization Forum in 2003, the forum has attracted extensive attention from home and abroad and exerted great influence on the science and technology community and the standardization field.

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 120,000 people. ABB has a full range of business activities in China, including R&D, manufacturing, sales and services, with 15,000 employees, 27 joint ventures and wholly owned companies, and an extensive sales and service network across 60 cities. To find out more about ABB in China, visit www.abb.com.cn.