''Allmänna Svenska Elektriska Aktiebolaget'' (

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

translation: General Swedish Electrical Limited Company;

Swedish Swedish or ' may refer to: Anything from or related to Sweden, a country in Northern Europe. Or, specifically: * Swedish language, a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Sweden and Finland ** Swedish alphabet, the official alphabet used by ...

abbreviation: ASEA) was a

industrial company.

History

ASEA was founded in 1883 by Ludvig Fredholm in

Västerås Västerås ( , , ) is a city in central Sweden on the shore of Mälaren, Lake Mälaren in the province of Västmanland, west of Stockholm. The city had a population of 127,799 at the end of 2019, out of the municipal total of 154,049. Västerås ...

as a manufacturer of electrical light and generators. After merging with Wenström's & Granström's Electrical Power Company (''Wenströms & Granströms Elektriska Kraftbolag'') the name was changed to ''Allmänna Svenska Elektriska Aktiebolaget'', literally the "General Swedish Electrical Limited Company", or a ''ASEA'' for short. In 1987, it announced a merger with the

Swiss Swiss may refer to: * the adjectival form of Switzerland * Swiss people Places * Swiss, Missouri * Swiss, North Carolina *Swiss, West Virginia * Swiss, Wisconsin Other uses *Swiss-system tournament, in various games and sports *Swiss Internation ...

company

Brown, Boveri & Cie Brown, Boveri & Cie. (Brown, Boveri & Company; BBC) was a Swiss group of electrical engineering companies. It was founded in Zürich, in 1891 by Charles Eugene Lancelot Brown and Walter Boveri who worked at the Maschinenfabrik Oerlikon. In 1 ...

(BBC) to form

ABB Group ABB Ltd. is a Swedish-Swiss multinational corporation headquartered in Zürich, Switzerland. The company was formed in 1988 when Sweden's Allmänna Svenska Elektriska Aktiebolaget (ASEA) and Switzerland's Brown, Boveri & Cie merged to create ...

. ABB Group began operations in 1988. After this merger, ABB Group acquired several companies, including the power transmission and distribution operations of the

Westinghouse Electric Corporation The Westinghouse Electric Corporation was an American manufacturing company founded in 1886 by George Westinghouse. It was originally named "Westinghouse Electric & Manufacturing Company" and was renamed "Westinghouse Electric Corporation" in ...

and the Combustion Engineering Group. *1889 - the partner

Jonas Wenström Jonas Wenström (August 4, 1855 in Hällefors – December 22, 1893 in Västerås) was a Swedish engineer and inventor. the basis for ASEA (later ABB ABB Ltd. is a Swedish- Swiss multinational corporation headquartered in Zürich, Sw ...

creates 3-phased generators, motors and transformers. *1933 - The company removes the

swastika The swastika (卐 or 卍) is an ancient religious and cultural symbol, predominantly in various Eurasian, as well as some African and American cultures, now also widely recognized for its appropriation by the Nazi Party and by neo-Nazis. It ...

from its logo, due to the symbol's association with

Nazi Germany Nazi Germany (lit. "National Socialist State"), ' (lit. "Nazi State") for short; also ' (lit. "National Socialist Germany") (officially known as the German Reich from 1933 until 1943, and the Greater German Reich from 1943 to 1945) was ...

. *1953 - ASEA creates the first

industrial diamonds Diamond is a solid form of the element carbon with its atoms arranged in a crystal structure called diamond cubic. Another solid form of carbon known as graphite is the chemically stable form of carbon at room temperature and pressure, b ...

. *1954 -

HVDC Gotland The HVDC Gotland, on the Swedish east coast, was the first fully commercial static plant for high-voltage direct current transmission (HVDC) in the world. Gotland 1 The first HVDC Gotland link (Gotland 1) went into service in 1954. It could tr ...

project, first static high-voltage DC system *1960s - ASEA builds nine of 12 nuclear plants in Sweden. *1968 - ASEA’s

elevator An elevator or lift is a wire rope, cable-assisted, hydraulic cylinder-assisted, or roller-track assisted machine that vertically transports people or freight between floors, levels, or deck (building), decks of a building, watercraft, ...

business gets acquired by

Kone Kone Oyj (; officially stylized as KONE and trading as KONE Corporation) is an elevator engineering company employing over 60,000 personnel across 60 countries worldwide. It was founded in 1910 and is now headquartered in Espoo near Helsinki, F ...

*1974 -

Industrial robot An industrial robot is a robot system used for manufacturing. Industrial robots are automated, programmable and capable of movement on three or more axes. Typical applications of robots include welding, painting, assembly, disassembly, pick a ...

s are introduced by ASEA *1987 - Acquires Finnish Oy Strömberg Ab *1988 - Merges with

BBC Brown Boveri Brown, Boveri & Cie. (Brown, Boveri & Company; BBC) was a Swiss group of electrical engineering companies. It was founded in Zürich, in 1891 by Charles Eugene Lancelot Brown and Walter Boveri who worked at the Maschinenfabrik Oerlikon. In 1970 ...

, Asea Cylinda laundry appliances branch bought by Finnish furniture maker Asko, renamed Asko ASEA.

Business management

CEOs

*1883–1891 – Ludvig Fredholm *1891–1903 – Göran Wenström *1903–1933 –

Sigfrid Edström Johannes Sigfrid Edström (11 November 1870 – 18 March 1964) was a Swedish industrialist, chairman of the Sweden-America Foundation, and 4th President of the International Olympic Committee. Early life Edström was born in the tiny vill ...

*1934–1942 – Arthur Lindén *1942–1949 – Thorsten Ericson *1949–1961 – Åke Vrethem *1961–1976 –

Curt Nicolin Curt René Nicolin (10 March 1921 – 8 September 2006) was a Swedish businessman. He served as the chairman of ASEA and the Swedish Employers Association. Early life Nicolin was born on 10 March 1921 in Stockholm, Sweden, the son of Felix Nico ...

*1976–1980 – Torsten L. Lindström *1980–1988 –

Percy Barnevik Percy Nils Barnevik HonFREng (born 13 February 1941) is a Swedish business executive, best known as CEO and later Chairman of Asea Brown Boveri (ABB) 1988–2002, and for being the centre of a giant pension dispute that shook Sweden in 2003. He ...

Chairman of the Board

*1891–1891 – Ludvig Fredholm *1892–1909 – Oscar Fredrik Wijkman *1910–1914 –

Oscar Wallenberg The Wallenberg family is a prominent Swedish family, Europe's most powerful business dynasty. Wallenbergs are noted as bankers, industrialists, politicians, bureaucrats, diplomats and military. The Wallenberg sphere's holdings employ about 600,0 ...

*1914–1933 – Sten Ankarcrona *1934–1949 –

*1949–1956 – Thorsten Ericson *1956–1976 – Marcus Wallenberg *1976–1991 –

History

Business management

CEOs

Chairman of the Board

See also

References

Further reading