ABB expands Indonesia footprint with high-voltage switchgear unit

ABB today inaugurated a new manufacturing facility for high-voltage switchgear in Tangerang, on the out-skirts of Indonesia's capital, Jakarta. This is part of ABB's continued footprint expansion in the country in-cluding the establishment of a new factory for medium-voltage products in 2015 at the same location.

Indonesia is the world's fourth most-populous country and one of the fastest growing economies in Asia. Its Annual Growth Domestic Product (GDP) growth rate averaged around 5.3 percent from 2000 until 2017. This has spurred the need for electricity, and according to PLN, the country's leading power utility, demand is projected to grow at around 8.5 percent per annum between 2015 and 2025. In response, the government has outlined a plan to add 35,000 megawatts (MW) of new power generation capacity between 2015- 2019.

"This new unit underlines ABB's commitment to Indonesia. It will support the country's efforts to strengthen its power transmission infrastructure, enhance grid reliability and help meet the growing demand for elec-tricity, benefitting millions of consumers" said Giandomenico Rivetti, head of ABB's High Voltage Products business, a part of the country's Power Grids division. "The move supports our global footprint approach and our philosophy of locating production units close to our customers."

The 1,300 square-meter plant will manufacture a range of high-voltage switchgear and equipment such as Live Tank Circuit Breakers and Disconnectors. With about a million high voltage switchgear installations across the world, ABB has an unparalleled track record. In a power system, switchgear controls and protects the network from system faults that may occur due to various reasons e.g. lightning strikes or short-circuits from multiple causes which could potentially lead to network failure. The new factory will deploy lean pro-duction concepts and is equipped with state of the art production and testing equipment to ensure preci-sion assembly and testing to meet the highest quality standards.

ABB has supported the development of Indonesia's power infrastructure for the past four decades and its installations include a range of electrical and automation solutions for industries such as oil and gas, pulp and paper and aluminum.

ABB offers a comprehensive range of high-voltage products up to 1200 kilovolts Alternating Current (AC) and 1100 kilovolts Direct Current (DC) that help enhance the safety, reliability and efficiency of power grids while minimizing environmental impact.

ABB (ABBN: SIX Swiss Ex) is a pioneering technology leader in electrification products, robotics and motion, industrial automation and power grids, serving customers in utilities, industry and transport & infrastructure globally. Continuing a more than 125-year history of innovation, ABB today is writing the future of industrial digitalization and driving the Energy and Fourth Industrial Revolutions. ABB operates in more than 100 countries with about 136,000 employees. www.abb.com