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Engineering centre doubles to service ABB VSDs and others

20 November, 2018

ABB has more than doubled the size of its UK Engineering Centre in Coalville, Leicestershire – from 830m2 to 1,789m2 – to meet a rising demand for variable-speed drive (VSD) servicing, customer training, and developing specialist test rigs (STRs). As well as repairing and upgrading ABB’s own low-voltage AC and DC drives and medium-voltage AC drives, the centre will upgrade MV drives made by third parties.

“Many operators across multiple industries are finding that their variable-speed drives are no longer supported by the original vendor,” explains Stuart Melling, manager of ABB’s Drives UK business. “ABB can integrate new variable-speed drives and control platforms to these systems, ensuring operators can continue to benefit from their substantial investment in equipment.”

Following the expansion, ABB has extended its services to include engineered upgrades, retrofits and tailored replacements. The site includes load-testing facilities for checking VSDs under realistic conditions.

It extends the scope of the ABB University campus in the UK and houses a VSD training school, which ABB claims is the UK’s biggest, offering certified courses for low-, medium- and high-power drives.

The centre currently employs about 40 electrical, mechanical, control system and software development engineers, and this number is expected to grow in the coming months. It is one of 17 ABB-certified workshops around the world.

At the opening ceremony for ABB's UK Engineering Centre, the ribbon was cut by apprentice Lucy Tudor

A new remote support centre will offer customers from around the world 24-hour access to drive and automation experts who will provide preventive and predictive maintenance services using cloud-based technologies.

The site includes a demonstration suite and also houses ABB’s STR business, which is developing a new class of test rig for electric vehicles, incorporating battery simulators and electric chargers.




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