New appointment at ABB

Neil Ritchie appointed as head of ABB’s Discrete Automation and Motion division in the UK

NEIL Ritchie has been appointed head of ABB’s Discrete Automation and Motion division in the UK following the retirement of Chris Withey.

The division encompasses ABB’s motors, generators, variable-speed drives, motion control, programmable logic controllers (PLCs), power electronics and robotics businesses.

‘I am looking forward to this new challenge,’ said Mr Ritchie. ‘ABB’s portfolio in Discrete Automation and Motion is more complementary than ever and offers our customers a great deal of choice and some real innovation to drive their businesses forward.

‘We have an excellent track record of energy-efficiency and productivity improvements using variable-speed drives and motors, and our discrete automation solutions, not only through robotics, but also PLCs and motion control, are stronger than ever before.’

Mr Ritchie previously ran the Drives and Controls business, a post he took over in 2011. Prior to that he managed ABB’s service activities for drives and motors, a post he held since joining the company in 1989.