ABB To Supply Drives For Hemisphere's Largest Seawater Desalination Plant.

Business Editors

NORWALK, Conn.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Sept. 1, 2000

ABB will supply drives to Ionics, Incorporated for use at the largest seawater desalination plant in the western hemisphere, under a contract worth more than $4 million to ABB.

The plant is under construction in Trinidad through Desalination Company of Trinidad and Tobago (Desalcott), a joint venture between Ionics, Incorporated (NYSE:ION) and Hafeez Karamath Engineering Services Ltd. The $120 million facility will have the capacity to produce 28.8 million gallons of potable water per day.

As part of the agreement, ABB will supply 12 ACS 1000 medium-voltage drives and 27 low-voltage drives from the ACS 600 series, to optimize control of the variable-speed water pump motors to be used throughout the plant.

"The ability to provide a total solution that exceeded Ionics' specifications for the project helped ABB secure the contract," said Stephan Bondy, medium voltage drives sales manager, ABB Automation Inc. "Success of a project of this magnitude will justify similar, or even larger, desalination plants in the future."

Desalcott will build, own and operate the new plant under a 23- year contract with the Water and Sewerage Authority of Trinidad and Tobago (WASA). The joint venture will supply water to Trinidad's Point Lisas Industrial Park, enabling the water currently being used by the park to be made available for municipal purposes.

Motors for the project are being supplied by Siemens; pumps by David Brown Union Pump.

ABB, the global technology company, is the world's largest manufacturer of electric motors and drives. In the United States, an integrated channel of sales representatives, distributors, and system integrators allow ABB Automation Inc., Drives & Power Products Group in New Berlin, Wis., to supply a complete line of energy-efficient electric drives, motors, and engineered drive systems to a wide range of industrial and commercial customers.

ABB, with U.S. headquarters in Norwalk, Conn., serves customers in automation; power transmission and distribution; oil, gas, and petrochemicals; building technologies; and financial services. ABB's U.S. operations employ over 16,000 people at manufacturing and other facilities in 40 states http://www.abb.com/us.

Worldwide, ABB reported revenues of $25 billion in 1999. With novel IT applications, tailored software solutions, growing eBusiness, and a fast-expanding knowledge and service base, ABB is building links to the new economy. ABB employs about 160,000 people in more than 100 countries.