Power and automation technology group ABB inaugurated a new production facility in Malaga, north-east of Perth, Western Australia in February.
The facility produces distribution transformers up to 10 MVA and 33 kV, serving the power and distribution needs of utility and industry customers in the region.
Western Australian Minister for Energy, the Hon. Peter Collier and ABB county manager, John Gaskell were at the Malaga site as part of the inaugeration.
“Having a local manufacturing capability in ABB has clearly been important to Western Power who has maintained an alliance partnership with ABB since 1996. I say without any hesitation that together with its customers, ABB’s distribution transformer centre makes a significant contribution not only to the electricity security of the state, but to the overall prosperity of Western Australia,” Minister Collier said.
The new purpose-built manufacturing facility replaces two sites, one of which had been in operation since the late 1950s and will enable all ABB’s divisions to be represented in one location. The 9100 sq m facility is designed to optimise production efficiency, quality and ensures safety is built into the manufacturing process.
“Our investment in this state-of-the-art facility not only reaffirms our commitment to our local utility and industry customers, but also to manufacturing in Australia. It ensures we have a real presence in WA, in terms of power technology production capacity, project management and engineering capabilities to satisfy customers’ specific design requirements,” ABB Australia manager, John Gaskell said.
ABB has achieved energy savings through the incorporation of industrial oven technology and vacuum processing into the operation. Energy consumption has reduced the transformer manufacturing process by an estimated 45 per cent.
