ABB Selects Huntersville, North Carolina For New Cable Factory
Expansion will bring more than 100 permanent jobs to meet growing need for power infrastructure and renewable energy
ABB, the leading power and automation technology group, announced recently that it has selected the city of Huntersville, North Carolina as the site for a new manufacturing facility.
The new plant, located in northern Mecklenburg County and the greater Charlotte metropolitan area, will manufacture high-voltage land power cables for use in AC and DC applications. ABB is investing approximately $90M in the new manufacturing facility, which will employ more than 100 people.
“Creating jobs is my top priority and this multi-county investment and expansion by ABB is a win for the regions and our state,” said North Carolina Governor Bev Perdue. “North Carolina’s commitment to education, custom training programs and an integrated transportation system has helped our state maintain the sort of top-rated business climate that will allow globally competitive companies like ABB and their employees to thrive in North Carolina.”
ABB already employs more than 770 people state-wide in manufacturing and other facilities. This includes its Corporate Research Center, as well as the Power Products and Power Systems divisional headquarters for North America, all on the Centennial Campus of North Carolina State University in Raleigh. The company’s North America corporate headquarters are located in Cary.
“We have a very good and long-standing relationship with the state of North Carolina,” said Enrique Santacana, region manager for ABB in North America. ”The combination of proximity to transportation, top-notch engineering talent and an attractive living environment made Huntersville an excellent choice for this facility.”
Initial site preparations are expected to begin early in 2011 with construction of the main facility—including an extrusion tower of over 350 feet—slated for completion in the second half of 2012.
The Huntersville factory will produce high-voltage and extra-high voltage cables that are increasingly being used to transport power over long distances from remote renewable energy sources such as wind and solar.
ABB has pioneered power transmission technologies since the 1950s, when it delivered the world’s first commercial HVDC (high-voltage direct current) power link. The company developed HVDC Light in the 1990s, enabling underground and undersea power transmission over long distances. ABB recently commissioned the world’s longest and most powerful transmission link, delivered the world’s longest underwater power link in 2008, is currently connecting the world’s most remote offshore wind farm.
About ABB
ABB is a leader in power and automation technologies that enable utility and industry customers to improve performance while lowering environmental impact. The ABB Group of companies operates in around 100 countries and employs about 117,000 people. The company's North American operations, headquartered in Cary, North Carolina, employ about 12,000 people in 20 manufacturing and other major facilities.
SOURCE: ABB Measurement & Analytics