ABB is a multinational corporation headquartered in Zurich, Switzerland. The forerunner of the ABB multinational corporation is a combination of two well-known brands ASEA and BBC. ABB is one of the largest corporations in the world, operating in about 100 countries, with about 145,000 employees (as of June 2012) and revenue of $ 40 billion (2011).

About ASEA

The forerunner of ASEA was Elektriska Aktiebolaget, which was founded in 1883 in Stockholm, Sweden, specializing in DC transmission technology, and then developed into electric motors, trams and trains.

Since 1950, the company has invested in nuclear power and since 1968 has built turbine machines for nuclear power plants. On February 15, 1953, the company announced its achievements in diamond making.

Important milestones in corporate history are just that. In fact, it has the biggest and most significant influence on the history of the entire electrical engineering industry in Sweden. The ASEA is considered a symbol of Sweden abroad.

About the BBC Company

How is the ASEA for Sweden the same for the  BBC for Switzerland? Brown, Boveri & Cie. Charles Eugene Lancelot Brown and Walter Boveri founded in Baden (Switzerland) in 1891 specializing in electric motors, electric turbines and electric locomotives. Both Brown and Boveri are heads of departments in the Oerlikon Machine Manufacturing (MFO) division, setting up their own company. Less than 10 years after the BBC's development, both of them have become one of the leading companies in both Switzerland and the world in the field of electrical engineering, enough to buy the MFO.

Like the ASEA, the strength of the BBC is innovation and invention. In 1893, the BBC built the first AC power plant in Europe - but not in Germany - nor did it produce the first thermo- Power trains are now popular, and include the first gas turbine. From the beginning of the twentieth century, the BBC was the largest conglomerate in the Swiss motor manufacturing industry and equated with the well-known Siemens Group .