ABB positioned to serve accelerating rural electrification in Africa.
Zurich, Switzerland, February 15, 1996 - ABB, the international electrical engineering company, has acquired York Enclosures (Pty) Ltd., South Africas largest manufacturer of plastic enclosures for electrical installations. The company has revenues exceeding US$ 30 million and employs over 550 people, with headquarters in Botshabelo, 60 kilometers east of Bloemfontein. It operates throughout South Africa with sales offices in eight major cities and has factories in Botshabelo and in nearby Thaba Nchu.
York Enclosures (Pty) Ltd. has particular strengths in the design and manufacture of plastic enclosures using dough moulding compound (DMC). DMC has better thermal distortion resistance, higher mechanical strength and higher resistance to degradation under ultra-violet light than most other materials currently in use.
Combined with ABB's advanced technology and global experience delivering total system solutions, this acquisition will significantly expand ABB's ability to supply installation material in South Africa. Through the increasing sales of York Enclosures products in many other African countries, ABB is well placed to support the accelerating electrification of rural dwellings throughout central and southern Africa.
ABB in central and southern Africa employs approximately 4,000 people in 48 countries. York Enclosures (Pty) Ltd. is now a member of ABB's Industrial and Building Systems segment which employs over 89,000 people worldwide with orders in 1994 of over US$ 13 billion. The ABB Group employs approximately 212,000 people with orders in 1994 of nearly US$ 32 billion.
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