2004-05-26 -
New office in Raffles City highlights power and automation leadership
Shanghai, China, May 26, 2004 - ABB, the leading power and automation technology group, today opened new, state-of-the-art offices in downtown Shanghai, to better support rapid business growth in China.
“ABB has grown fast into a $1.6 billion business in China,” said Peter Leupp, chairman and president of ABB in China. “To better support our ever-expanding list of power and automation customers, we decided to expand our operations in Shanghai.”
ABB’s new offices are in the just-finished Raffles City building, located in the heart of Shanghai’s commercial district on Nianjin Road, within walking distance of People’s Square.
Leupp said clusters of important customers draw on ABB’s expertise in Shanghai and the Yangtze River Delta area. “Many of our metals, marine, petrochemicals and chemicals, crane and harbor system customers are located in this part of China,” he added. “As are many automotive and utility customers. We were bursting at the seams in our old location, and with new employees joining us every week, we decided to upgrade our operations to meet demand.”
Shanghai is considered the industrial, commercial and financial center of China. It is home to the world’s busiest port and attracts more foreign direct investment, with nearly 30,000 registered foreign enterprises, than any other city in the world.
Leupp says ABB’s strategy for the area has long been to support both multinational and local customers, and to branch out to help the central government develop infrastructure along the Yangtze corridor, particularly with regard to the Three Gorges power project in Hubei province.
“ABB started business in Shanghai in 1982,” added Veli-Matti Reinikkala, senior vice president and head of ABB’s Automation Technologies business. “Today, we have four companies here, with around 1,500 employees, a quarter of our total in China.”
Customers in the area include: Baosteel, SKS, SECCO, SVW, SGM, East China Power Grid Corporation, Shanghai Electric Power Company, Shanghai Metro, and many others. Volume generated in the Greater Shanghai region currently makes up about one-third of ABB’s total in China.
ABB (www.abb.com) is a leader in power and automation technologies that enable utility and industry customers to improve performance while lowering environmental impact. The ABB Group employs around 115,000 in about 100 countries. ABB in China (www.abb.com/cn) has around 6,500 employees in about 23 cities.