2008-01-11 - All this week ABB in the U.S. will host its biggest event for the power industry, showcasing the entire line of reliable, energy efficient ABB products plus a number of innovations. Power World is also a key annual training event for the 350 people who make up ABB’s sales force in the U.S. power sector.
By
ABB Communications
Hundreds of ABB employees and customers will gather in Jacksonville, Florida, for a week of seminars and presentations starting on Jan. 14. Power World will retain the dual-event format that was so successful last year, with a two-day customer seminar followed by the internal sales meeting.
Track training
Power World training courses this year will be organized into tracks to better serve the needs of the sales force. Track topics include power plants, public power, utility sales, sales support and industrial sales. There will also be a renewed emphasis on value-based selling to leverage ABB’s leadership position in the market.
On Monday and Tuesday, more than 100 customers will attend sessions led by ABB staff as well as the customers themselves. Companies including First Energy, Duke Energy and Florida Power & Light are among the leading utilities that will be attending.
The 1,700 square meter (18,000 square foot) exhibit area will provide opportunities to learn about ABB’s extensive portfolio of products, systems and services for the power industry. The tradeshow setting is also conducive to networking, both among the various businesses and between business units and salespeople.
ABB’s entire product line will be represented, and the exhibits aren’t limited to the show floor: The GIS and dead-tank breaker product trailers will be on hand for attendees to visit outside the exhibit hall.
Introducing PASS
Power World will see the North American debut of PASS (plug and switch system) switchgear, a hybrid, multifunctional product unique to ABB that integrates and combines several functions. It will be on display along with a long list of new offerings from across the power businesses. Some of these include:
- the new AutoLink single-phase sectionalizer, recently acquired from Argentinean company Cavenna
- FBS, a fused bypass switch used to isolate reclosers during maintenance
- the COM600 distribution automation platform, which includes control and monitoring functions, a communications gateway and substation computer
- the new REF615 feeder protection relay, which puts ABB back in the relay market with a highly robust offering
- Intelligent Data Sensor, which is designed to automate older meters and relays that do not have communications capability
- MCM800, a new condition monitoring module for System 800xA for power plant controls
- the introduction of overhead HVDC Light, which already has a customer implementation in progress in Africa
On Tuesday, the Second Annual Power World Walk ‘n’ Run fundraiser kicks off the sales meeting. The event this year benefits the North Florida Affiliate of Susan G. Komen for the Cure, the largest grassroots breast cancer foundation in the United States. More than 200 employees have signed up to complete a two-mile walk/run course along the Jacksonville riverfront.
Donations from employees and business units are being augmented this year by additional funds from the ABB Foundation, a U.S. entity founded in 2004 to channel contributions from employees to the needy and to the communities in which we live and work. The total amount will exceed $30,000 and Enrique Santacana, ABB’s country manager in the U.S., will join ABB Foundation President Julie Guarino for a ceremonial “big check” presentation to the Komen organization during the opening General Session.