Directorate of distance education

ABB Asea Brown Boveri Ltd.
I’d rather be roughly right and fast than exactly right and slow. 
The cost of delay is greater than the cost of an occasional mistake. [Percy 
Barnevik, president and chief executive, ABB Asea Brown Boveri Ltd.]
Guided by that kind of thinking, Percy Barnevik, in 1987, fashioned 
a merger between two prominent European firms: Asea AB (Sweden) and 
BBC Brown Boveri Ltd. (Switzerland). In typical Barnevik style the merger 
was quietly initiated and quickly concluded, deftly avoiding possible 
delays from government, union, or shareholder opposition. The result of 
this Swedish-Swiss merger, ABB, Found itself with 180,000 employees and 
annual sales of about $18 billion (Figure).
Effective october 1, 1993, abb reorganized into four business 
segments (power plants, power transmission and distribution, industrial 
and building systems and transportation) and three economic regions 
(europe, the americas, and six business segments: power plants, power 
transmission, power distribution, industry transportation, and various 
activities.
Each business segment is composed of distinct business areas (Bas). 
Under the new alignment ABB has fifty BAs. The bulk of its revenues 
is still generated by the power-related business segments (Figure). Chief 
competitors – GE (U.S.), Siemens (Germany), Hitachi and Mitsubishi 
(Japan) – have all diversified away from the power industry.

---

Notes
182
Power Plants
11.7
Transportation
3.9
Industry
8.9
Others
25.5
Power Distribution
12.8
Power transmission
19.4
Environmental controls
11.1
Financial Services
6.7
ABB annual sales percentage by segment (1987)
Power Plants
20.5
Transportation
7.8
Industry
13.1
Others
29.5
Power Distribution
9.9
Power transmission
16.8
Financial Services
2.4