ABB – CHF 45 million investment in Switzerland: ABB opens new multipurpose building

November 16, 2023
ABB

  • New building underscores ABB’s position as an attractive employer
  • Strengthening the center of excellence for power electronics as a key technology of the future
  • Investment reaffirms ABB’s commitment to Switzerland as a business location

Today, ABB opened the new “Emotion” multipurpose building at its Untersiggenthal location in an event attended by employees, politicians and the media. The new CHF 45 million center of excellence is ABB’s largest investment in Switzerland in over a decade. Following a two-year construction period, employees from research and development, sales and service, and project management and engineering are now moving into the building. It offers 500 modern workplaces and is a shining example of collaboration, innovation and sustainability.

 

Attractive working conditions 

ABB is reaffirming its commitment to attractive, modern working conditions and responding to the increasing need for flexible office space and the desire to promote social interaction. Employees will be able to share ideas and information and enjoy productive encounters with colleagues during the course of everyday working life.

“This investment will help us reinforce ABB’s presence in Switzerland and invest in high-growth technologies of the future. The new multipurpose building is an important step in positioning us as the employer of choice and attracting the best talent and most experienced workforce in an age marked by skill shortages. We want to offer our employees a world-class environment that promotes innovation, pioneering spirit and sustainability,” said Nora Teuwsen, Country Holding Officer, ABB Switzerland.

Commitment to Switzerland as a business location

The new building underscores ABB’s 130-year presence in Switzerland and its investment in the key strengths of the Baden region. “ABB’s Untersiggenthal location is an impressive success story that clearly illustrates the constructive interaction between politics, business, education and research,” said Stephan Attiger, Councilor of the Canton of Aargau, Head of the Department of Construction, Transport and Environment. “This location is a prime example of the high-tech canton of Aargau’s ability to offer the most fertile ground for innovation and technological progress, and how global success can be a product of local origin.”

Global center of excellence for power electronics

Untersiggenthal is where ABB develops and manufactures efficient and sustainable solutions for motion technology in the areas of industrial processes, infrastructure and railways, as well as for applications in the field of renewable energy generation. “Our new building is not just a symbol of our connection to the Baden region, but also an important step in strengthening our global center of excellence for power electronics. This key technology will help us boost energy efficiency and sustainability in future-focused markets like mobility, industry and renewables. We are proud that our Motion business area will make a meaningful contribution to these efforts,” said Adrian Rothenbühler, Head of ABB Switzerland’s Motion business.

Power electronics are tailored to specific applications to enable the highly reliable and efficient conversion of power into the desired form. They are used in traction converters for trains, e-buses and trams as well as in converters for wind or hydropower stations or in variable speed drives for motors that enable significant energy savings and quality improvements. ABB has successfully built and expanded its Power Electronics business from Untersiggenthal over the years. The location’s success is clearly reflected in the close to 300 new jobs created over the past five years.

 

New construction in the spirit of sustainability

ABB aims to enable a low-carbon society, preserve resources, and promote social progress. The “Emotion” building shows ABB Switzerland’s commitment to implementing this strategy. It was built with more than 2,200 cubic meters of zirkulit®, a recycled concrete that also captures CO2. The building meets the Swiss Minergie standard and features modern building automation technologies to increase comfort and energy efficiency. The energy supply is provided by solar energy from photovoltaic systems installed on neighboring buildings and by hydropower from the region. Heating and cooling are ensured by heat pumps that can extract energy from the groundwater.

 

Gabrielle Krafft (Chief Financial Officer, Traction Division), Chris Poynter (President System Drives Division), Adrian Rothenbühler (Local Head of Motion Business Area, ABB Switzerland), Tarak Mehta (President Motion Business Area, ABB), Nora Teuwsen (Country Holding Officer, ABB Switzerland), Bernd Krainick (Chairman of the board of directors, ABB Switzerland Ltd), Stephan Attiger (State Councilor of Aargau, Department of Construction, Transport and Environment), Manuel Alberati (Architect, UC’NA)

 

Exterior view of the “Emotion” building

 

The new building offers around 500 modern workplaces for every type of work

 

For more impressions and additional information on the new building in Untersiggenthal, please visit https://new.abb.com/ch/multifunktionsgebaeude-in-turgi
 

SourceABB

EMR Analysis

More information on ABB: See full profile on EMR Executive Services

More information on Björn Rosengren (Chief Executive Officer, ABB): See full profile on EMR Executive Services

More information on ABB Motion: https://new.abb.com/about/our-businesses/motion  + ABB Motion keeps the world turning, while saving energy every day. Our pioneering drives, motors, generators products and integrated digital powertrain solutions are driving the low-carbon future for industries, cities, infrastructure and transportation. Through our global presence we are always close to our customers. We help them optimize energy efficiency, improve safety and reliability and achieve precise control.

ABB Motion portfolio: Drives, Motors and Generators, Services, Traction. 

21,100 employees, 23% of Global ABB Revenue / $ 6.7bn in 2022 at -3% with 7 Divisions.

More information on Tarak Mehta (President Motion and Member of the Executive Committee, ABB): See full profile on EMR Executive Services

More information on Nora Teuwsen (Country Holding Officer, ABB Switzerland, ABB): See full profile on EMR Executive Services

More information on Adrian Rothenbühler (Head of Motion Business, ABB Switzerland, ABB): See full profile on EMR Executive Services

More information on Gabrielle Krafft (Chief Financial Officer, Traction Division, ABB): See full profile on EMR Executive Services

More information on Chris Poynter (President, System Drives Division, ABB Motion, ABB): See full profile on EMR Executive Services

More information on Bernd Krainick (Chairman of the Board of Directors, ABB Switzerland Ltd, ABB + Chief Financial Officer, Motion Division, ABB): See full profile on EMR Executive Services

 

More information on Stephan Attiger (Councilor of the Canton of Aargau, Head of the Department of Construction, Transport and Environment, Switzerland): https://www.ag.ch/de/rr/gesamtregierungsrat/regierungsrat-attiger 

 

More information on Zirkulit Beton AG: https://beton.zirkulit.ch/ + The first circular concrete. Circular concrete combines maximum circularity with minimal carbon footprint.

For the first time, circular concrete combines resource conservation with a minimal CO₂ footprint and can be used throughout the house. The environmental properties are shown transparently and monitored by third parties.

Circular concrete combines the following four advantages in one product:

The circular concrete family includes kreislit® and zireco® concrete. While kreislit® concrete explores the limits of what is technically possible in favor of ecology, zireco® concrete is optimized within the limits of circular concrete in favor of economic efficiency. 

More information on Patrick Eberhard (Chief Executive Officer, Zirkulit Beton AG): https://eberhard.ch/kontakt/zirkulit-ag#:~:text=Gesch%C3%A4ftsf%C3%BChrer%20ist%20Patrick%20Eberhard.,Schweiz%2C%20den%20zirkulit%C2%AE%20Beton. 

 

More information on Minergie Swiss Standard: https://www.minergie.ch/fr/ + We are celebrating Minergie’s quarter century! More than 55,000 buildings are certified according to one of our three standards and thus contribute to pursuing the goal we have set for ourselves: a more climate-friendly future.

The association has been chaired since 2022 by Fabian Peter, State Councilor. It currently has around 350 members and 1,500 specialist partners. More than 30 employees work in the Basel and Sion agencies, with the support of the Bellinzona agency (Ticino Energia). In recent years, Minergie standards have maintained, and even increased, their reach on the Swiss market.

The overall energy requirement of a Minergie building is today at least 20% lower than that of a new conventional construction. With Minergie-P and Minergie-A, you even save up to 50%. The standards will be further strengthened in autumn 2023, which will further reduce energy needs.

More information on Fabian Peter (President, Minergie): https://www.minergie.ch/fr/lassociation/comite-directeur/ + https://www.linkedin.com/in/fabianpeter76/ 

 

More information on Manuel Alberati (Architect, UC’NA): https://www.ucna.net/office/team 

 

 

 

EMR Additional Notes:

  • Carbon Dioxide (CO2):
    • Primary greenhouse gas emitted through human activities. Carbon dioxide enters the atmosphere through burning fossil fuels (coal, natural gas, and oil), solid waste, trees and other biological materials, and also as a result of certain chemical reactions (e.g., manufacture of cement). Carbon dioxide is removed from the atmosphere (or “sequestered”) when it is absorbed by plants as part of the biological carbon cycle.
  • Biogenic Carbon Dioxide (CO2):
    • Carbon Dioxide released as a result of the combustion or decomposition of organic material, that is biomass and its derivatives. Examples include carbon dioxide released during the combustion of wood and biogas generated by decomposition.
    • Biogenic Carbon Dioxide (CO2) and Carbon Dioxide (CO2) are the same. Scientists differentiate between biogenic carbon (that which is absorbed, stored and emitted by organic matter like soil, trees, plants and grasses) and non-biogenic carbon (that found in all other sources, most notably in fossil fuels like oil, coal and gas).
  • Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS):
    • CCS involves the capture of carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions from industrial processes, such as steel and cement production, or from the burning of fossil fuels in power generation. This carbon is then transported from where it was produced, via ship or in a pipeline, and stored deep underground in geological formations.
    • CCS projects typically target 90 percent efficiency, meaning that 90 percent of the carbon dioxide from the power plant will be captured and stored.
  • Decarbonization:
    • Reduction of carbon dioxide emissions through the use of low carbon power sources, achieving a lower output of greenhouse gasses into the atmosphere.
  • Carbon Footprint:
    • There is no universally agreed definition of what a carbon footprint is. A carbon footprint is generally understood to be the total amount of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions that are directly or indirectly caused by an individual, organization, product, or service. These emissions are typically measured in tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2e).
    • In 2009, the Greenhouse Gas Protocol (GHG Protocol) published a standard for calculating and reporting corporate carbon footprints. This standard is widely accepted by businesses and other organizations around the world. The GHG Protocol defines a carbon footprint as “the total set of greenhouse gas emissions caused by an organization, directly and indirectly, through its own operations and the value chain.”