ATLANTA GEORGIA, Wis., April 20, 2004 . . . Strong sales growth, a strengthening economy, and projections for a very strong 2004 were themes repeated throughout the U.S. National Sales Meeting of ABB Inc., Low-voltage Drives, held April 15-18 at the Evergreen Conference Resort, near Atlanta, Georgia, U.S.
A total of nearly 300 ABB personnel and sales partners who sell LV Drives and Controls to distributor customers participated in both general and breakout sessions, to review ABB's latest product mix and state of business.
Partners were recognized in the first part of the program, with SWC Industries, Inc., Warminster, Pennsylvania earning the 2003 Top Sales Award.
"Sales of low-voltage drives through Q1, 2004, at ABB U.S. are 16.4 percent ahead of last year's order volume," Joe Maloni, vice president, ABB Inc., LV Sales, reported, as part of the opening greeting of all guests. "And that that gain in business reflects a growth in our industrial business of 32.1 percent."
General manager of ABB LV Drives, New Berlin, Wisconsin, Rick Hepperla, noted, "We are in a climate of tremendous opportunity for growth. Take advantage of market improvement and our product portfolio," he said. "And, together, we can leverage these into market-share growth."
The mix of ABB's industrial drive, the ACS800 industrial drive, ABB's new standard drive, the ACS550 ? in addition to the launch of the new component drive, the ACS50, at the meeting --, and the ABB drive for HVAC, ACH550 units (for the commercial market), are very appealing to the market, Hepperla said ? "and, combined with further growth initiatives launched this year, provides the basis for very aggressive growth throughout the next five years."
Responding to the market demand for ABB drives includes increasing capacity from the drives factory in New Berlin, Wisconsin. That includes the addition of a third shift, for 24/7 drives production and shortened lead times.
This fast-rising demand in the U.S., along with similar growth in other markets, is exciting ? and fueling ABB's position as the world's leading manufacturer and supplier of drives and drive services, said Pekka Tiitinen, ABB Inc., Automation Technologies, Business Unit manager, LV Drives.
A commitment to strengthening this position, he said, is based on a very deliberate strategy for growth that includes: competitive products; channel development; and more focused market segmentation.
Worldwide, Tiitinen said, demand helped ABB attain a worldwide market share of 14 percent by 2000; and nearly 16 percent by 2002 -- #1 in the world.
ABB Inc., Automation Technologies, Drives, is a key provider of drives for industrial applications, and the #1 drives supplier to the U.S. HVAC market. In the USA, ABB, New Berlin, Wisconsin, supplies a complete line of energy-efficient electric drives and motors to industrial and commercial customers through an integrated channel of sales representatives and distributors. Products manufactured include AC and DC variable speed drives from fractional to 350,000 HP (www.abb-drives.com).