Ohio Facility Identified as First Factory Authorized ABB Repair Center in U.S.; Europe and Asia to Follow
5 June 2000
Ohio Facility Identified as First Factory Authorized ABB Repair Center in U.S.; Europe and Asia to FollowPlans three global repair centers to support ABB customers, regardless of OEM COLUMBUS, Ohio, June 5 ABB Automation has opened the first of three global factory certified centers of excellence for industrial repair services. Beyond its existing factory repair facilities, ABB Automation is consolidating its testing, repair, and reconditioning centers into three strategic locations to better serve a worldwide customer base. The new centers will be located in North America, Europe, and Asia respectively. The grand opening took place on the 23rd of May at ABB's Ackerman Road location in Columbus, Ohio. The event marked the first repair center of its kind to be identified as a factory authorized repair center. With more than 18,000 square feet, the new facility has twice the space of the previous repair center. Products repaired at the facility include Automation Power Products such as drives and motors; Instrumentation and Control Products such as field devices for sensing, controlling, and actuating; analyzers; metering equipment; and control and information systems. "Our Columbus, Ohio facility was chosen as the repair center for the Americas because the location places the operation within 500 miles of 58 percent of the populations of both the U.S. and Canada," said Dane Maisel, vice president, Logistics and Repair Services, ABB Automation. "The breadth of our repair capabilities spans the full range of ABB Automation products as well as numerous third party equipment repairs." "The consolidation effort is part of ABB's overall strategy to provide both the quality and responsiveness that is paramount to automation customers." According to Maisel, "ABB has achieved a 75-percent reduction in cycle-time over the last two years, while processing an average of 1,200 repairs per month." To ensure the highest level of quality, ABB has developed rigorous testing to help customers eliminate the high cost of field failures and production downtime. Every repair undergoes a four-stage testing process, which includes testing the repair at both the component level and at the complete board functional level. The board is then tested in an operational system that simulates the customer's environment. Lastly, each repair is environmentally stress-tested to duplicate harsh industrial production environments. "Our customers are looking for a return on their capital investment, which in many cases is substantial. Consolidating our repair facilities makes us more responsive and enables the customer to achieve a financial return in two ways. Through the ABB Global Logistics Network, we are able to deliver spares within a matter of hours to keep their system up and running to maximize uptime. With our repair centers, they are able to send a malfunctioning component to a resource that has the processes, intelligence, and systems to complete the repair in one of the shortest cycle times in the industry," said Gary Pearsons, president, ABB Automation Service Group, U.S. ABB is currently repairing a broad range of technology that spans from up- to-the-minute technology that has emerged within the last month, to technology that was introduced 20 years ago. "Since we repair current generation products, we are key feeders of information to our manufacturing units because we are in the unique position to spot same or next generation problems," said Mr. Maisel. "Our strategy ensures the highest possible quality through a certification system for both the processes and the technicians. The opening of this repair facility represents our commitment to provide ABB customers with the long-term and high quality support they are requesting," said Jan Ehrengren, vice president, Global Logistics and Service Parts, ABB Automation Services. ABB Automation provides service for more than 14,000 different products in more than 100 countries. The ABB Repair Network has more than 30 years of experience in multiple industries including electrical and water utilities; petrochemical; metals and mining; pulp and paper; food and beverage; and marine. U.S. customers can call the ABB 24-hour call center at 1-800-HELP-365 (800-435-7365) for expert support regarding any automation product that is provided within ABB's logistics network. The ABB Group serves customers in power transmission and distribution; automation; oil, gas, and petrochemicals; building technologies; and in financial services. With novel IT applications, tailored software solutions, growing eBusiness and a fast expanding knowledge and service base, ABB is building links to the new economy. The ABB Group employs about 165,000 people in more than 100 countries.