ABB, as a Swiss industrial giant with over 140 years of history, is an undisputed and dominant national pillar
enterprise in the global field of electrical and automation.
If we compare the modern industrial system to a person, then the technology and products provided by ABB are the “blood circulation system (electrical power)” and “nerve conduction and brain system (automation control)” of this person’s entire body.
ABB
ABB’s absolute dominance in the industrial sector can be analyzed from the following four core dimensions:
1、 Industry competition pattern: one of the four pillars of the world
In the field of industrial automation and electrical engineering, ABB is on par with Siemens in Germany and Schneider Electric in France. In the field of industrial robots, ABB, together with FANUC from Japan, YASKAWA from Yaskawa Electric, and KUKA from Germany, are known as the “four major families of industrial robots in the world”.
Scale and size: Its business covers over 100 countries worldwide, with approximately 110000 employees worldwide. Long term market share in several key industrial segments has consistently ranked among the top three or even the first in the world.
Full industry chain coverage: * * Very few companies can have top market share in both extreme fields of “strong electricity” (high-voltage transmission and distribution, heavy motor conduction) and “weak electricity” (digital distributed control DCS, ultra high speed controllers, precision robots) like ABB.
2、 Monopoly and leading position of core business
ABB’s business structure has formed four vertical industrial empires:
Process Automation – The ‘Super Brain’ of Process Industry:**
In the continuous production industries such as oil, gas, chemical, mining, pulp and paper, and maritime, ABB’s DCS (Distributed Control System) market share has been ranked first in the world for more than 20 consecutive years. The AC 800PEC series and UNITOL excitation control system (also known as the UNS/XC/UFC series control board mentioned earlier), which are well-known in the industry, are the underlying hard cores that various large power plants and power grids rely on for operation.
*Electrification – the lifeline of global energy distribution:**
ABB is the world’s second-largest supplier of electrical equipment, ranging from medium and high voltage switchgear in substations to low voltage distribution protection and components in data centers, smart buildings, and industrial mother machines.
Motion – the unbeatable leader in industrial power drive:
ABB is the world’s largest manufacturer of industrial motors and frequency converters (transmission products). From ACS600/ACS800 to the latest series of frequency converters, almost all large pumps, fans, and compressors in factories around the world are powered by ABB’s transmission technology to provide precise speed and torque control, which is the absolute core of industrial energy conservation and emission reduction.
Robotics&Discrete Automation – synonymous with advanced manufacturing:
ABB has a high dominance in robot assembly lines in the fields of automotive manufacturing (especially body painting and welding), electronic semiconductors, and consumer goods palletizing. Its OmniCore controller, GoFa/YuMi/PoWa and other collaborative robot series represent the industry’s highest level of motion control accuracy and flexible manufacturing.
3、 The essence of industrial status: the maker of industry standards
The reason why ABB’s position is stable is not only because of how many devices it sells, but also because it is the founder and leader of modern industrial technology standards
1. Pioneer of High Voltage Direct Current (HVDC) Transmission: ABB was the developer of the world’s first HVDC transmission system. This technology has broken the bottleneck of long-distance and high-capacity transmission, making it possible for cross-border and cross regional clean energy (such as hydropower and wind power) to be connected to the grid on a large scale.
2. * * Extremely high ecological stickiness and technological threshold: * * In large heavy industry, nuclear power, and super ocean going ships, once ABB’s control and drive systems are selected, the equipment replacement and technology upgrade cycle usually lasts for 20 to 30 years. The highly closed loop between upstream systems and downstream components has formed an industry ecological barrier that is difficult for newcomers to overcome.
4、 Strategic frontiers for the future (new growth poles)
In the current wave of energy transformation and digitization, ABB’s position is further strengthened due to its close alignment with the two major global macro trends of electrification and automation
*The Wave of AI and Super Data Centers: With AI and big models igniting global computing power, the demand for electricity in data centers is experiencing explosive growth. ABB, with its deep expertise in medium and high voltage electrical and uninterruptible power supply (UPS) technology, has become the biggest core winner in microgrid and modern ultra large AI data center power infrastructure.
Autonomous Operations and Low Carbon: * * With the approaching global labor shortage and carbon neutrality requirements, ABB is fully committed to promoting “Autonomous Operations”. Through the integration of software, cloud platforms, and edge control boards, it enables previously extensive heavy industrial factories to achieve highly energy-efficient green operations.
