ABB Stotz-Kontakt
ABB Stotz-Kontakt is a German ABB company and product portfolio for electrical equipment and automation used in buildings, machines, and industrial installations.
Last updated September 25, 2026
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Overview
ABB Stotz-Kontakt is a German electrical-equipment and automation business associated with ABB AG. Its portfolio includes products for the electrical equipment and automation of buildings, machines, and installations. The range described in the supplied German-language company reference includes switching and control technology, circuit breakers, switches and switchgear accessories, installation devices, building systems, and connection technology. Its products serve both building-related applications and industrial or machinery environments. The business traces its origins to Moyé und Stotz, an electrical-installation firm founded in Mannheim in 1891. Over time it shifted from installation work toward manufacturing electrical apparatus and protective switching devices. A significant early product-development milestone was work on automatic circuit breakers to protect against overload and short circuit, followed by a patent application in 1924 and production of the S 11 circuit breaker beginning in 1928. The Stotz and Kontakt businesses combined in 1930 to form Stotz-Kontakt GmbH. The company became part of the BBC corporate group in 1918, and later became part of ABB following the 1988 formation of Asea Brown Boveri. Its operations and business areas were reorganized and integrated within ABB over the subsequent decades. The supplied company reference identifies Heidelberg as its headquarters. On 1 September 2025, the legal merger of ABB Stotz-Kontakt GmbH into ABB AG was completed. The ABB Stotz-Kontakt name and portfolio are therefore associated with ABB AG rather than an independent legal company after that merger. No current executive names, detailed market-by-market footprint, or independently verified sales figures are provided here.
History
ABB Stotz-Kontakt originated in 1891 as Moyé und Stotz, an electrical-installation business in Mannheim. The early company combined installation work with practical electrical innovation; the supplied history recounts that Stotz built a sequentially illuminated advertising sign at his house. In 1896, partner Moyé left and the firm was renamed Stotz und Cie. Elektrizitätsgesellschaft mbH. By 1912 it had branch businesses in several German cities and employed 300 installers. After selling its installation departments to Brown, Boveri & Cie (BBC), it adopted the name Stotz und Cie. GmbH, Fabrik elektrischer Spezialapparate and established a manufacturing building in Mannheim-Neckarau. In 1918 Stotz und Cie became a subsidiary of BBC. The company began developing automatic circuit breakers in 1923 to protect against overload and short circuit, applied for a patent in 1924, and began manufacturing the S 11 circuit breaker in 1928. It began producing auxiliary contactors in 1930. That year Stotz GmbH and Kontakt AG of Frankfurt am Main joined to form Stotz-Kontakt GmbH; production of explosion-protected equipment followed in 1935. The company’s sites and production were affected by wartime destruction and relocation. A warehouse at Neckarau burned in 1939. After a decision to build a new factory in Heidelberg, an aircraft-instrument factory was established as a branch in Eberbach in 1940. Assembly of circuit breakers, rotary and toggle switches, and socket outlets began in Heidelberg in 1943; apparatus production was also relocated after an air raid destroyed the Mannheim works. The supplied history states that prisoners from Buchenwald concentration camp were used as forced laborers in production for several months during the Second World War. It also notes that ABB Asea Brown Boveri AG in Germany participated in founding the Foundation “Remembrance, Responsibility and Future.” Postwar development included production of the S 111 screw-type circuit breaker from 1948. The Rheinhausen works opened in 1960, and a Waibstadt facility followed in 1964. Mechanized production equipment for component manufacture and assembly was introduced in 1968. In 1969, after the acquisition of Busch-Jaeger’s electrical division, Busch-Jaeger Elektro GmbH was founded. The business added a security-technology field in 1974 and built a new facility in Eppelheim that year. It took over an electronic-devices business area in 1978, which was integrated into automation technology in 1982; in 1981, finished-goods warehousing was concentrated at the Walldorf distribution center. Product and organizational development continued through the 1980s and 1990s. The SIGMA-i-BUS system was developed and first produced at Walldorf in 1983. A mechanized production line for the Adam miniature circuit breaker began operating in 1985, followed by production of Eva in 1988 and Lukas in 1991. Following the 1988 merger that created Asea Brown Boveri (ABB), business areas were allocated among ABB companies: explosion-protected devices went to CEAG GmbH, switching devices to ABB Schalt- und Steuerungstechnik GmbH, and security technology to ABB Installationen GmbH. Security technology was reintegrated in 1997. In 1998, an alarm-detection monitoring sensor was connected to EIB through a detector-group terminal, and production of the L208 intrusion-alarm control panel, with an optional EIB interface, began in 1999. The acquisition of Entrelec expanded the business with the Hornberg works in 2001. That year ABB Stotz-Kontakt presented the FieldBusPlug; a wireless proximity switch followed in 2002. In 2005, the company introduced the UMC22-FBP.0 Universal Motor Controller, a motor-protection controller for three-phase motors. Its equipment-construction operation moved from Eppelheim to a new building on the company’s Pfaffengrund site in 2005. The commercial and technical areas of the ABB Training Center also moved there in 2008, bringing training closer to production and supporting internal and cooperative vocational training as well as students at Baden-Württemberg Cooperative State University. ABB Stotz-Kontakt is described as headquartered in Heidelberg and belonging to the German ABB AG. The legal merger of ABB Stotz-Kontakt GmbH into ABB AG was completed on 1 September 2025. This marked a legal-entity consolidation within ABB; the supplied source does not state that the product portfolio ceased to be offered.
- 2025
Legal merger into ABB AG completed
- 2008
ABB Training Center departments moved to Pfaffengrund
- 2005
UMC22-FBP.0 launched and equipment operation relocated
- 2002
Wireless proximity switch introduced
- 2001
Entrelec acquisition and FieldBusPlug presentation
- 1997
Security-technology area reintegrated
- 1991
Lukas production began
- 1988
ABB formed; Eva production began
- 1985
Adam circuit-breaker mechanized line opened
- 1983
SIGMA-i-BUS developed and first produced
Products and positioning
An ABB-associated German supplier of electrical equipment and automation products for buildings, machines, and industrial installations.
S 11 automatic circuit breaker
An automatic circuit breaker whose production began in 1928.
S 111 screw-type automatic circuit breaker
A circuit breaker whose manufacture began in 1948.
Adam, Eva, and Lukas circuit-breaker types
Circuit-breaker types whose production began in 1985, 1988, and 1991, respectively.
SIGMA-i-BUS
A system developed and first manufactured at Walldorf in 1983.
FieldBusPlug
A fieldbus plug presented by ABB Stotz-Kontakt in 2001.
UMC22-FBP.0 Universal Motor Controller
A controller with motor protection for three-phase motors, introduced in 2005.
L208 intrusion-alarm control panel
Production began in 1999; an optional EIB interface was available.
Controversies
Forced labor during the Second World War
Brand decisions
- Legal merger into ABB AGOther
Sources6 sources
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