Optimising energy management

Schneider Electric is a European multinational corporation that specialises in electricity distribution, automation management and the manufacture of installation components for energy management. Philip Yorke looks at a company that leads the field in its many chosen disciplines and discovers how it plans to meet the environmental challenges facing the energy sector of the future.

Schneider Electric was founded in France in 1836 by the Schneider brothers who acquired the Creusot foundries in order to make armaments and heavy machinery. Innovation played a key role in its fortunes and by 1891 Schneider had become a major player in the emerging global electricity market. Today the group leads the field in its key market sectors including UPS (Uninterruptible Power Supply) Movement Control and Building Automation. Furthermore, it has continued to strengthen its lead in advanced ‘Smart Grid’ technology. Schneider is headquartered in Rueil-Malmaison, France and is also based at the World Trade Centre in Grenoble, Switzerland.

Currently the Schneider Group is represented in over 100 countries and employs more than 140,000 people worldwide. In 2014 the leading multinational electrical group recorded sales of over €25 billion.

Innovation driving sales

Schneider Electric develops technologies and solutions to make energy safe, reliable, efficient, productive and green. The company’s huge investment in R&D is designed to sustain its programme of innovation and differentiation, with a strong commitment to sustainable development.

Innovation drives Schneider’s strategy for growth and dictates the research and development priorities designed to solve the planet’s energy dilemma and to make the IoT (Internet of Things) and the Smart Grid a reality. Having a deep understanding of its customers’ needs the company’s R&D teams create comprehensive, scalable and flexible solutions for both energy and operational efficiency. Every year Schneider invests around 5 per cent of its revenues in its various R&D programmes.

Today the company’s biggest markets are energy management, automation and control products for the metals, mining and water management industries. This is where Schneider’s programmable PLCs and validated architecture makes it easy for it to be much more energy efficient. All Schneider’s latest energy management products, including its revolutionary Modicon M580 automation controller, were showcased recently at the SCA Trade Fair held in Gothenburg, Sweden.

RS Components

We’ve been serving engineers and procurement specialists for more than 75 years

Whenever you need high-quality parts on time and on budget, you can count on RS Components to deliver. We’re the world’s leading high-service distributor of electronics, automation and control components, tools and consumables, serving over 1 million customers globally.

With operations across 32 countries and a global network of distribution centres worldwide, we ship more than 44,000 parcels daily. With an extensive range available in stock and our fast, reliable service and support, we make it easy for you to find and buy what you need.

Mitsubishi Engineering-Plastics

As key supplier to Schneider, Mitsubishi Engineering-Plastics (MEP) has successfully distinguished itself over the last decades from competition in the Power Distribution segment.

Whether it involves challenging applications such as circuit breakers, residential & industrial controls, HVAC, energy metering and building management, its multiproduct portfolio of PC & Blends, PBT, POM, m-PPE and high temperature PA- MXD6 is cutting edge in meeting the demanding industry-specific requirements.

At the same time, MEP has been able to quickly adapt to upcoming development wishes and challenges, enabling key differentiators to a vast number of successful actors active in the field of Power Distribution.

www.xantar.com www.m-ep.co.jp

Most ethical company

For the fifth consecutive year Schneider Electric has been honoured as one of the world’s most ethical companies for its unswerving commitment to the protection of the environment. As a result, the company’s leading ethical business standards ensure long-term value to key stakeholders including customers, employees, suppliers, regulators and investors.

To underscore this, every year the Ethisphere Institute recognises companies that have had a positive material impact on the way their business is conducted by fostering a culture of ethics and transparency at every level of the company.

“Schneider Electric is delighted to have been selected by Etisphere for the fifth consecutive year. The challenge for the group consists in living up to the expectations of its stakeholders every day,” said Emmanuel Babeau, deputy CEO in charge of finance and legal affairs at Schneider Electric. “This is why Schneider Electric has been developing an active strategy of empowering its associates through the implementation of a range of processes and dedicated tools.”

At Schneider Electric ethics and governance are considered key elements of growth and enhance the company’s competitiveness.

Ar fl ex is an engineering solu on provider that specializes in building and consulta on of turnkey systems by integra ng components from diff erent vendors.

Ar fl ex is dedicated to providing comprehensive and innova ve solu ons to meet your expecta ons. Only high quality products are used providing you with reliable systems and is the fi rst system integrator worldwide to implement a PES project. Ar fl ex is a pioneer for the Fuzzy control systems in the water industry and was awarded the GLOBAL Alliance partner of 2013 for Schneider Electric as well as the award for GLOBAL Technical Exper se 2013 and 2014 from Schneider.

A passion for creative engineering

Analog Devices

Analog Devices enables our customers to create the most secure, reliable and robust systems utilizing our intelligent silicon sensor solutions that interpret data at the physical node to efficiently transmit and aggregate mission critical information. We leverage 50 years of expertise in the highest performance analog and mixed signal technologies that sense, measure, and connect in complex industrial environments to help our customer create an Internet of Things that is Ahead of What’s Possible™.

Come learn how our innovation can drive your own technology advances at www.analog.com.

Weidmüller connect people, markets and industries around the globe

Proud to be a Schneider Electric preferred supplier and global partner with a strong presence in the new economies, Weidmüller develop innovative, sustainable and useful products, solutions and services. Recognized market leader in Machinery, Process, Energy Transportation and Device Manufacturer industries, Weidmüller offer more than products and excellent services, Weidmüller practises its values and take responsibility to guaranty sustainable growth, environmental protection and social commitment.

Weidmüller – Your Partner in Industrial Connectivity and application-specific solutions.

Let’s connect.

Advancing IT technology

Schneider Electric is dedicated to the development of new products that are smarter and more cost-effective than those currently on the market. This is being achieved through a continuous investment in R&D and changing the architecture of the company’s products.

Schneider Electric is growing the market in a number of key areas such as its advanced power breakers and PLCs and by matching these to existing IT networks. This means that there is now a seed change in the way that Schneider allows its software compatibility to be integrated into third party systems and software.

In addition, when it comes to solutions, the company utilises its own products and tests them in its own factories to make them more reliable and cost-effective.

City of the future

The ‘Solar Decathlon’ international ‘City of the Future’ competition was launched in 2002 by the US Department of Energy (DoE) and has been supported by Schneider Electric since 2007. Universities across the world were involved in the project to design, build and operate energy-efficient solar powered houses.

As a diamond partner in the 2014 European event, which attracted more than 200,000 visitors, Schneider Electric supported the competition organisers by installing a smart-grid system that connected the entire solar village. Schneider Electric also presented their most innovative home energy management solutions during the event.

As one of the leading stakeholders in the Solar Decathlon project, Schneider Electric presented a world exclusive – an entirely new concept in sustainable social housing that blends comfort with energy efficiency. This innovative concept is backed by the La Varappe social inclusion group and is in line with the company’s foundation programme dedicated to combat fuel poverty. n

For further details of Scneider Electric’s latest innovative products and services visit: www.schneider-electric.com