
A new logistics building is being constructed covering an area of 1,000 m² at the Gilgenberg site in Upper Austria. An R&D center is also expected to be built at B&R headquarters in order to increase production capacities at the Eggelsberg facility by 40%. ABB CEO Ulrich Spiesshofer plans “a very considerable increase in the number of jobs”.
ABB wants to make B&R its center for machine and plant automation. Up until its being taken over, B&R was the largest independent provider with a focus on open product-based and software-based solutions for machine and plant automation in the world. Now, B&R should expand ABB’s competencies in the field of industrial Internet of Things as well as its portfolio of digital solutions. According to ABB, the acquisition of the Austrian company has closed its historical supply gap in the field of machine and plant automation. The combination of ABB and B&R created a unique global full-service provider in the field of industrial automation.