Société Anonyme des Ateliers de Sécheron

Société Anonyme des Ateliers de Sécheron

Company type	Joint-stock company
Industry	Electrical engineering, Locomotive manufacturing
Founded	July 9, 1918 (1918-07-09) in Geneva, Switzerland
Founder	Alfred de Meuron (workshop originator)
Defunct	1989
Fate	Divided into ABB Sécheron SA, ABB Power Generation, ABB Systèmes de Transport, and Sécheron SA
Headquarters	Geneva , Switzerland
Products	Electrical equipment, locomotives, electrodes for arc welding, mercury-arc valves, equipment for hydroelectric power plants, speed regulation devices for trains

The Société Anonyme des Ateliers de Sécheron (SAAS) was a joint-stock company headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland, with a focus on electrical engineering, particularly the production of electrical equipment and locomotives.

In 1989, SAAS was divided into four distinct entities: ABB Sécheron SA, ABB Power Generation (which ceased operations in 1995), ABB Systèmes de Transport, and Sécheron SA.

History

Alfred de Meuron established a modest workshop in Geneva in 1879 dedicated to manufacturing electrical devices, which eventually evolved into the foundation of SAAS on 9 July 1918.

By 1919, Brown Boveri & Cie (BBC) had become the principal shareholder of SAAS. The company regained its independence five years later and operated autonomously until 1969, when increasing market competition led to strategic collaborations. In 1970, BBC acquired full ownership, and in 1982 the firm was rebranded as BBC Sécheron SA.

Following the 1988 merger of BBC with the Swedish company ASEA, resulting in the formation of ASEA Brown Boveri (now ABB Group), SAAS was segmented into four separate companies. ABB withdrew from traction manufacturing, prompting the establishment of an independent Sécheron SA in 1989 that resumed activities in this area. Meanwhile, ABB Sécheron SA continued focusing on transformer production.

By 1992, ABB Sécheron had vacated its original manufacturing premises, leaving Sécheron SA as the sole occupant of the site.

Products

The firm’s product range included:

• Electrodes used in arc welding;
• Mercury-arc valves;
• Electrical equipment designed for hydroelectric power plants;
• Electric locomotives developed jointly with BBC, SLM, and SIG, featuring models such as Re 4/4 I, Re 4/4 II, Re 4/4 III, and Re 6/6;
• Electric railcars and multiple units, also developed through collaboration;
• Speed regulation devices for trains, including those used in rapid transit systems, trams, and trolleybuses.

See also

• Bern-Lötschberg-Simplon railway
• Brig-Visp-Zermatt-Bahn
• Furka Oberalp Bahn
• Rhaetian Railway
• SBB-CFF-FFS

External links

• ABB Sécheron SA – official webpage
• Sécheron SA – official website