Electrified for 115 years
When industrial pioneer Carl Maier founded CMC in 1909, his vision was to provide an uninterruptible power supply. A century later, his pioneering work and ABB’s innovative products ensure the operation of critical infrastructure worldwide - and they are still “Made in Schaffhausen.”
The ABB site in Schaffhausen can look back on a period of strong growth: full order books, record-level investments, and a consistent focus on innovation and safety. “Our success is based on a well-coordinated team of around 400 employees and a clear strategic direction,” explains CFO Sebastian Moritz. With its circuit protection solutions for critical power applications, the site is ideally positioned in a rapidly growing market.
A young industrial pioneer with the right switch
ABB's roots in Schaffhausen can be traced back to the industrial pioneer Carl Maier. Even as a young engineer, Maier recognized the importance of control and protection devices for the rapidly growing energy infrastructure. With a small workshop in the city of Schaffhausen, he laid the foundation in 1909 for a company that shaped the industrial hub and, over 115 years later, ranks among the technology leaders in its industry.
CMC has been part of ABB since 1992 and is one of eight production and engineering sites in Switzerland. The Schaffhausen site specializes in low-voltage products for personal, line, and equipment protection. The Schaffhausen site provides leading solutions for an uninterrupted and secure power supply to critical infrastructure such as rail technology, hospitals, renewable energy, and telecommunications. This positions the site very well in a rapidly growing sector, explains Sebastian Moritz.
Innovation as a constant
What began with Carl Maier’s oil switch has been refined over the course of more than a century and adapted to new safety requirements and applications, emphasizes Thomas Wulf, Head of Research & Development, noting the company’s consistent reliability and commitment to the highest quality standards.
Innovation is part of our DNA and therefore a constant presence in our day-to-day operations. “Our developers work closely with our customers - we have several promising innovations in the pipeline,” Wulf adds. He won’t reveal any more details at this point, preferring instead to focus on the products currently in demand that we manufacture ourselves.
This includes the magnetic release, which was developed in-house and has been produced in the millions every year since the 1960s. The current MA7 version is the most sensitive magnetic release on the market and is installed in all ABB residual current circuit breakers worldwide. It detects residual currents before they can pose a risk to people or cause system failures in critical networks. With SMISSLINE, ABB has developed a product line in Schaffhausen that enables the load-free, safe installation and removal of protective devices under voltage without interrupting the power supply. In this way, the pluggable power distribution system ensures that critical infrastructures worldwide are safely supplied with power. With the S800 high-performance circuit breaker, ABB is expanding its product portfolio with a specialized circuit breaker. It is designed to very quickly disconnect electrical circuits in the event of short circuits or overloads. It is primarily used in areas where very high short-circuit currents can occur, such as in data centers, industrial facilities, or renewable energy systems (photovoltaic installations). In critical infrastructures, the S800 ensures that, in the event of a fault, only the affected area is shut down, while the rest of the system continues to operate without interruption. Just as company founder Carl Maier intended.
“Schaffhausen is known for its high level of vertical integration. This allows us to ensure the highest quality and efficiency.”
From concept to finished product
“What sets our Schaffhausen location apart is our vertical integration: from toolmaking to plastic injection molding and automated high-tech systems, right through to a development team with its own certified testing laboratory, we handle all functions in-house and can thus ensure the highest quality and efficiency,” explains Production Manager Daniel Stutz. The employees also play an important role in this, with their numbers having grown to nearly 400 in recent years. “We find well-trained skilled workers in the region and also train our own apprentices in seven trades. That goes without saying for us.”
Thanks to strong global demand, ABB was able to commission an additional production line for SMISSLINE circuit breakers in 2024. With this highly automated production facility, the final assembly and calibration of these circuit breakers can be carried out entirely in Switzerland - for the entire world. In the MA7 magnetic trip unit segment, production capacity is being expanded by an additional 50 percent.
A Look into the future
Further expansion projects are also underway in other areas. For example, the renovation of the large shed hall is planned for 2026. “The challenge here is the limited space. We’re spread across three buildings, which poses a challenge for our organization and our growth prospects,” explains Sebastian Moritz as he walks through the production area. “We’ve always managed to make it work so far, and I’m convinced that, given our current setup, we’ll continue to do so!”
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