ABB Ability™ energizes and automates Africa with industry-leading digital solutions

With the commercial launch of more than 210 solutions and services in Johannesburg today, ABB is unlocking value for the African continent, enabling customers to take full benefit of accelerated growth helped by the Energy and Fourth Industrial Revolutions. ABB Ability™ creates powerful solutions and services that deliver opportunities to increase productivity and cut costs in countries that could leapfrog outmoded western models of industrialization and become true digital leaders.

ABB's Customer World Africa event takes place in Johannesburg, South Africa, between April 10-11

“Africa has a historic opportunity to accelerate growth and development and realise its full potential with the emergence of new technologies,” said Chunyuan Gu, ABB’s President for the Region Asia, Middle East and Africa. “As a pioneering technology leader, serving utilities, industry and transport & infrastructure providers, ABB is the ideal partner to help customers in Africa realize the tremendous productivity and performance improvements that digitalization delivers.”

Underlining Africa’s opportunities and ABB’s key role in unlocking value through for its customers through automation is the 40-percent rise in 2017 orders across all the divisions, sub-regions and channels.

“Africa has the world’s most youthful population. This combined with improving economic fundamentals, the continent is ideally positioned to take advantage of new technologies,” said Leon Viljoen, Managing Director of ABB South Africa. “Training and preparing the next generation of engineers is pivotal for the continent. That is why ABB has joined forces with the Wits University in Johannesburg and why we have a number of other projects across the continent.”

With ABB Ability™, businesses and entrepreneurs in Africa have the tools and the means to compete in global markets. By taking advantage of ABB Ability™, Africa will be able to build robust industries capable of competing with rivals in other parts of the globe:

On the power side, renewables, high-voltage transmission technologies, digital grids and microgrids are extending access to electricity. The microgrids can be monitored and controlled remotely via an ABB Ability™ wireless network.

Automation and robotics are driving productivity increases in the industry that help businesses to be competitive in regional and global markets, while digital technologies are providing access to those technologies and markets. The Mogalakwena platinum mine in the South-African province of Limpopo for example uses advanced remote diagnostic service (RDS) from ABB’s Center of Expertise in Zurich.

New technologies are improving transport links both within Africa and with the rest of the world, as well as making transport and infrastructure more sustainable and efficient.

ABB Ability™ works by gathering and analysing data from customers’ operations and then applying to that data, the knowledge and expertise gained from ABB’s vast global installed base of 70 million connected devices and 70,000 control systems.

“With the resulting intelligence, ABB’s customers not only optimize their operations, they can use the insights to develop new business models, for instance by using digital technologies to overcome distance and operate across borders,” Chunyuan Gu said.

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 history of innovation spanning more than 130 years, ABB today is writing the future of industrial digitalization with two clear value propositions: bringing electricity from any power plant to any plug and automating industries from natural resources to finished products. As title partner of Formula E, the fully electric international FIA motorsport class, ABB is pushing the boundaries of e-mobility to contribute to a sustainable future. ABB operates in more than 100 countries with about 135,000 employees. www.abb.com