ABB Traction Factory in Turgi Receives Industrial Excellence Award 2014
Image Courtesy of ABB
ABB Traction, part of ABBs Power Conversion business in Switzerland, received the Industrial Excellence Award 2014 for the best factory in the German speaking countries, which is shared with a German automotive tier 1 supplier. The prize is awarded by a group of renowned international business schools led by WHU in Germany and INSEAD in France.
The annual competition, first held in 1995, recognizes excellence in strategy implementation and processes along the entire value chain, from suppliers to end customers. Remo Ltolf, country manager of ABB Switzerland said The jury was impressed that a production plant in a high-wage country like Switzerland has, for more than a decade, reliably posted double-digit growth and steady market share growth despite fierce international competition.
ABB State of the Art Engineering
Along with state-of-the-art processes in engineering, supply chain management and production, the panel was especially impressed with the factorys close cooperation with vehicle manufacturers and rail operators, its strong combination of new business and service, and its quick implementation of innovations. ABBs production facility for generator circuit breakers in Switzerland was recognized as the best factory in Europe in the same contest in 2010.
In Switzerland, ABBs high-power semiconductor factory in Lenzburg, corporate research lab in Baden-Dttwil, and the power electronic products and systems in Turgi form a global competence center in this field.
The ABB unit in Turgi in the Swiss Canton of Aargau is a specialist in developing and producing traction converters and traction packages for propulsion and on-board electrical equipment of rail vehicles. It supplies various rolling stock manufacturers and rail operators in different countries.
Besides new trains, ABB Traction is also increasing its focus on the modernization of existing fleets. This includes a retrofit of the electrical systems on high-speed trains for SJ, Sweden’s state-owned rail operator. In September it received a contract from Swiss Federal Railways SBB to install highly energy-efficient traction converters in more than 100 SBB Re460 locomotives, also known as Lok 2000, extending the service life of the locomotives by another 20 years. The fleet of modernized SBB locomotives will save more than 27 Gigawatt hours of electrical energy per year.
Innovative power electronics enables excellent performance, reliability, and energy efficiency of ABB traction packages. ABB sees huge potential in power electronics as a key technology for further boosting energy efficiency in many different applications.