Statement re Robot Sales

ABB Ltd
13 March 2002

ABB becomes first company in world to sell 100,000 robots 

Activities range from car production lines to chocolate making 

Zurich, Switzerland, March 13, 2002 - ABB, the global power and automation
technology group, said today that it had sold its 100,000th robot, becoming the
first company in the world to reach the milestone.

ABB's robots are used in a wide range of applications - from car production
plants, and the food, pharmaceutical and consumer electronics industries,
through to chocolate making.

'This is a big milestone for us as a company and sends a strong signal to our
competitors,' said Jouko Karvinen, executive vice president and head of ABB's
Automation Technology Products division. 'We are the world's first company to
sell this many robots, which means our customers from car-makers to medication
sorters - have tremendous confidence in our technology. It also means we have
the largest installed base of robots globally.'

ABB produced its first robot in 1974. At that time, the company's robots were
mainly used for machine tending and material handling. Nearly 30 years later,
that market accounts for some 30 percent of robots sold worldwide. According to
the International Federation of Robotics, welding, particularly in the
automotive industry, is today's largest robot application.

'In the mid-1980s we rounded out our portfolio of robots, adding special
painting robots, again geared to the automotive industry. We worked to innovate
with software specific applications,' said Karvinen.

ABB's robotics team, working in locations like Sweden, Norway, the United
States, Germany and Japan, has in recent years broadened its range of robots,
has in recent years broadened its range of robots. Among many other
applications, ABB robots pick chocolates for companies like Lindt and Nestle,
and sort pills for pharmaceutical giants like Novartis and Bayer. American-based
consumer goods companies like Harley-Davidson use ABB robots for building and
painting motorcycles and the U.S. postal service uses ABB robots to sort mail
and packages. 

ABB said its robots are ahead of the industry curve when it comes to software
packages for increasing efficiency and productivity. Last year, for example, the
company released a high-precision robot control system for laser cutting, which
is ten times more precise than any other robot on the market. The system,
popular with carmakers that need watch-making precision for door frames and
intricate parts, offered manufacturers cutting precision down to 0.1 mm using a
standard, medium-sized robot.

For more information and downloadable images, visit www.abb.com/robotics.

ABB (www.abb.com)is a global leader in power and automation technologies that
enable utility and industry customers to improve performance while lowering
environmental impact. ABB has 155,000 employees in more than 100 countries. 
 




                      This information is provided by RNS
            The company news service from the London Stock Exchange