ABB to invest $ 40 million in Saudi Arabia to strengthen power products footprint

18-07-2012: ABB will invest around $ 40 million, to construct a new manufacturing plant for high-voltage gas-insulated switchgear (GIS) and a transformer service workshop in Saudi Arabia, to serve the growing power infrastructure needs in the region.

The switchgear plant will initially manufacture 132 kilovolt (kV) GIS, with higher ratings to follow. The transformer service center will support ABB’s large installed base in the region and serve customers with a more complete portfolio. The two new facilities will occupy 40,000 square meters of space and will be located in the city of Dammam in the eastern part of the country and home to the largest port in the Arabian gulf.

“Local manufacturing of our GIS range in Saudi Arabia and our transformer service facility will enable us to respond to our customers’ needs more efficiently,” said Bernhard Jucker, head of ABB’s Power Products division. “This decision is in line with ABB’s regional and ‘in country for country’ approach and business philosophy to locate production and service facilities closer to our customers.”