Shedding Light

Schneider Electric advances smarter ways of electricity consumption and distribution.

- Marella Putri

Modern development is increasingly powered by electrification and digitization, both of which nowadays take on a more strategic nature – and this is what Schneider Electric is involved in. The French global company made its mark 140 years ago in the steel industry and later refocused on automation and energy management. The two core businesses work in synergy, generating complete and integrated solutions by creating higher efficiency and generation capacity, connectivity, and reliable and renewable energy source for sustainability.

“The fact is that digitization is accelerating and that the world is becoming more electric, both of which are Schneider’s focused solutions that have become major factors behind the company’s higher performance,” says Chairman and CEO of Schneider Electric Jean-Pascal Tricoire, who has been leading the company since 2013. Schneider’s total revenue from energy management and automation in the first half of 2018 shows total growth of more than 7% over the same period last year to €12.3 million (about $14 million) – a large portion comes from low-voltage and industrial automation.

Asia-Pacific makes up about 30% of its global sales but large revenues are also generated by huge markets like China, India and East Asia, which in Schneider’s zoning scheme includes Southeast Asia, South Korea, Taiwan and Mongolia. According to Jean-Pascal, “Southeast Asia is the most booming market for Schneider. The need for electricity and digitization is very high and challenging, hence more potential for innovation. We are deeply rooted in those countries, and I see it as one of the company’s investment target growth areas.”