ABB makes "first pour" for New Berlin greenfield campus

ABB is celebrating the “floor pour” of its newest US flagship campus at a greenfield location in New Berlin, Wisconsin, which will serve as the US headquarters, manufacturing facility and distribution center for its drives and motion-services businesses. The new facility is anticipated to open in late 2024 and will accommodate 720 ABB employees. Approximately $100 million is being invested in the project and is expected to create 100 new jobs over the next three years, per ABB.

“The US is a significant and crucial market for our drives and the services that support them,” said Tuomo Hoysniemi, president of ABB’s US Motion Business Area and Global Drives Products Division. “We are committed to local engineering, product design, and manufacturing as well as increased capacity and innovative production and warehousing processes. Our new campus will help us better serve our local customers by increasing the availability of market-specific solutions and decreasing the time it takes to serve our customers.”

The business manufactures a wide range of AC variable frequency drives and controls that reduce energy consumption in buildings and industrial applications in the US market. Currently, the business is divided between two smaller, separate campuses in New Berlin and Wauwatosa. The new campus will include 220,000 square feet of manufacturing space and support offices in addition to a connected 315,000-square-foot distribution center. The consolidation of all operations to one campus will add additional efficiencies and reduce overall time to deliver.

“While we make products that help our customers improve their energy efficiency, we are pleased to incorporate features into our campus that will help us reduce our own carbon footprint,” said Kelly Kling, site leader and vice president of finance for the US ABB drives and motion-services businesses.  “Geothermal heat pumps and modern HVAC systems will allow us to recycle wasted heat and reduce our energy usage by more than 45%. Improved insulation, rooftop solar panels and ABB advanced building controls will also ensure that our campus operates efficiently and sustainably over the long term.”