A picture of the old ASEA headquarters building in Västerås, Sweden.
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ASEA
Allmänna Svenska Elektriska Aktiebolaget (English translation: General Swedish Electrical Limited Company; Swedish abbreviation: ASEA) was a Swedish industrial company.
History
ASEA was founded in 1883 by Ludvig Fredholm in 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 ASEA for short.
In 1987, it announced a merger with the Swiss company Brown, Boveri & Cie (BBC) to form ABB. The merge took effect on 1 January 1988. After this merger, ABB acquired several companies, including the power transmission and distribution operations of the Westinghouse Electric Corporation and the Combustion Engineering Group.
- 1889 - the partner Jonas Wenström creates 3-phased generators, motors and transformers.
- 1933 - The company removes the swastika from its logo, due to the symbol's association with Nazi Germany.
- 1953 - ASEA creates the first industrial diamonds.
- 1954 - HVDC Gotland project, first static high-voltage DC system
- 1960s - ASEA builds nine of 12 nuclear plants in Sweden.
- 1968 - ASEA’s elevator business gets acquired by Kone
- 1974 - Industrial robots are introduced by ASEA
- 1987 - Acquires Finnish Oy Strömberg Ab
- 1988 - Merges with Brown, Boveri & Cie, 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
- 1934–1942 – Arthur Lindén
- 1942–1949 – Thorsten Ericson
- 1949–1961 – Åke Vrethem
- 1961–1976 – Curt Nicolin
- 1976–1980 – Torsten L. Lindström
- 1980–1988 – Percy Barnevik
Chairman of the Board
- 1891–1891 – Ludvig Fredholm
- 1892–1909 – Oscar Fredrik Wijkman
- 1910–1914 – Oscar Wallenberg
- 1914–1933 – Sten Ankarcrona
- 1934–1949 – Sigfrid Edström
- 1949–1956 – Thorsten Ericson
- 1956–1976 – Marcus Wallenberg
- 1976–1991 – Curt Nicolin
Overview
Company type: Publicly traded aktiebolag
Industry: Electrical engineering
Founded: 1883
Defunct: 31 December 1987 (merged with Brown Boveri to form ABB)
Successor: ABB
Headquarters: Västerås, Västmanland, Sweden