ABB

ABB Ltd. is an international technology company, headquartered in Zurich, Switzerland, that operates in the fields of electrification and automation. The company was formed in 1988 from the merger of two electrical engineering companies, ASEA of Sweden and Brown, Boveri & Cie (BBC) of Switzerland. ABB is dual-listed on the SIX Swiss Exchange in Zurich and the Nasdaq Nordic exchange in Stockholm, Sweden, in addition to OTC Markets Group's pink sheets in the United States. For 30 years, it has been a part of the Fortune Global 500.

Employees of ABB and its predecessor companies developed several technologies for generating, transmitting, and distributing electricity, as well as for enabling industrial automation. One is the miniature circuit breaker, invented by Hugo Stotz, which protects against fires and is found in almost every home. Predecessor ASEA was the first company to introduce a microprocessor into an industrial robot and it helped to develop the electric propulsion system "Azipod", which improved manoeuvrability by locating the propulsion system outside the hull.

The company's activities have been the subject of controversy on multiple occasions. US-based Combustion Engineering, acquired by ABB in 1990, exposed the company to asbestos-related litigation, which led to ABB’s first-ever loss in 2001. A final claims settlement was reached in 2006. ABB has also been subject to three US Foreign Corrupt Practices Act bribery settlements in 2004, 2010, and 2022. Additionally, in 2001, an ABB entity pleaded guilty to bid rigging.

During the 2010s, ABB largely focused its growth strategy on the robotics and industrial automation sectors. Before the sale of its Power Grids division to Hitachi in 2020, ABB was Switzerland's largest industrial employer.