The new innovation and education campus will be used to develop technologies for the factory of the future, in which smart, cloud-connected machines and robots based on ABB AbilityTM will produce largely autonomously. With this investment, ABB is consistently pursuing its next-level strategy, which defines innovation as the key driver of profitable growth. The company invests around 1.4 billion US dollars annually in research and development and employs around 30,000 people in R&D and application technology. B&R already has more than 1,000 employees working in these areas.

The new research and development site will cover 35,000 m². In addition to state-of-the-art R&D laboratories for developing and testing the latest automation technologies, from industrial control systems to machine learning and artificial intelligence, an "Automation Academy" will be used to train and familiarize customers, partners and employees with these technologies. The ground-breaking ceremony is already planned for this summer, with commissioning scheduled for the course of 2020. Once completed, the Eggelsberg site will be one of ABB's largest research and development centers.

This will enable the world's second-largest provider of industrial automation solutions to further expand its leading position in machine and factory automation. The development of disruptive technologies will help to better serve this highly attractive market segment, which is worth around USD 20 billion a year.

Until its acquisition by ABB in July 2017, B&R was the largest independent provider of product and software-based solutions for machine and factory automation. The company has since been integrated into ABB's Industrial Automation division and is managed as the global Machine & Factory Automation business unit. With the combined portfolios, ABB is now the only provider worldwide to offer the entire spectrum of technology and software solutions for all areas of industrial automation - from measurement and control, drives and robotics to digitalization and electrification - from a single source.

"B&R has made an excellent start under the ABB umbrella and is exceeding our expectations. We are well on the way to achieving our sales target of 1 billion US dollars very soon," said ABB CEO Ulrich Spiesshofer at a press conference held with the Austrian Chancellor in Linz. "With our 100 million euro investment, we are strengthening this momentum and the cornerstones of the B&R success story: Innovations and employees. In addition to the new research and development capacities, we are expanding the B&R Automation Academy, which offers customers, partners and employees from all over the world a unique education and training program."

"With a clear commitment to the location, ABB has established itself as the market leader in the field of automation in Austria," said Federal Chancellor Sebastian Kurz. "The company is making an investment that is particularly important for Austria's location policy and international orientation. This is the starting signal for a location offensive in the key segment of the digital industry. It is a significant impetus for the creation of highly qualified new jobs and the positioning of Austria as a high-tech location."

The country's educational institutions will also benefit from this. "Part of our innovation and research strategy is to further expand our good relationships with universities, universities of applied sciences and technical colleges. This will enable us to further increase the speed of our growth and innovation and rapidly expand our technological leadership," emphasized Hans Wimmer, B&R Managing Director.

"This is a great day for B&R," says Josef Rainer, co-founder of Bernecker + Rainer Industrie-Elektronik. "The smooth integration shows that the company founded by Erwin Bernecker and myself 39 years ago is in good hands. I am delighted that ABB will continue and further consolidate our success story with this historic investment." kp