ABB expands Bartlesville automation technology, R&D hub in Oklahoma

By PRAMOD KULKARNI
Editor-in-Chief

BARTLESVILLE, Oklahoma -- ABB, the Zurich-based technology giant, dedicated its 100,000-sq-ft manufacturing and R&D facility today with community dignitaries and corporate officials in attendance.

The facility manufactures gas measurement and automation products for the upstream, midstream and downstream segments as part of the Oil & Gas Solutions division of ABB.

"Of the 100,000-sq-ft expansion, 65,000 sq ft are dedicated to manufacturing, 30,000 sq ft to office space and 5,000 sq ft to the engineering R&D lab," explained Gayle Lester, General Manager of the Bartlesville facility.

Originally known as Applied Automations Inc. (AAI), an R&D project launched in 1982 by the Phillips Petroleum Company, the Bartlesville facility is now part of the Totalflow product group in ABB's Process Automation division.

ABB acquired AAI and the associated Elsag Bailey company in 1999.

"The Bartlesville expansion is a great example of the renaissance of American manufacturing," said Greg Scheu, ABB Executive Vice President and Region Manager for North America.

"The opportunity going forward is tremendous in America," he added. "The underlying fundamentals are strong, especially in oil and gas and its downstream derivatives."

The Oil and Gas Solutions division has achieved 148% growth since 2009, primarily as a result of the dramatic increase in gas and liquids production in America's shale plays.

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