Schneider Electric rakes Eur20b in sales

2011-3-17 China Transmission News China Transmission Line News

Schneider Electric – global specialist in energy management, said it recorded 20 billion euro from sales last year and 37 per cent of the sales were achieved in new economies.

In a chat at the weekend in Lagos with reporters during the visit of the company’s Senior Vice President, Power EMEAS (Europe, Middle East and Africa), Mr. Guillaume Schoebel, the company reiterated its commitment to becoming a Nigerian company, its activities and efforts at developing indigenous capabilities.

Schoebel explained that electricity demand would double by 2030, which calls for efforts to ensure efficient management and drastic reduction of emission of carbon dioxide to avoid dramatic climate change.

He said Schneider Electric makes electricity delivered safe, reliable, efficient, productive and green and the company covers 72 per cent of world energy consumption and their equipment ensures that customers would be able to save 30 percent of energy consumption.

He said: "Our company improves business via metering, monitoring, control solutions and cost optimisation services. We also improve business via consultative services, technical and behavioural energy action plans and implementation services as well as through environmentally-friendly and energy reducing products. We operate in five markets including energy and infrastructure, IT, buildings, oil and gas and industry and covers Nigeria, Gambia, Ghana, Liberia and Sierra Leone.

"We operate integrated solutions in critical power and cooling and produce equipment that ensures power and surge protection and undertake consulting analysis, site audits design engineering and support, start-up/installation and commissioning, project management and on site technical assistance and training, among others.

The company’s Country President, Marcel Hochet, said: "Our focus is the competence and value added in the business. We want to provide for our customers hitech products and technology. What we bring must add value, and there will be no difference between what we do in other countries of the world, our equipment and services are of international standard.

"We have mostly Nigerians engineers in our employ in Nigeria. We also send overseas for training. We have long standing market presence in Nigeria through our agents and distributors since 1978 (Telemecanique and Merlin). In the oil and gas, we work for Shell, ExxonMobil, Total, NLNG and NNPC, among others.

"In power and energy, we have been in working relationship with the Power Holding Company of Nigeria (PHCN) on National Prepaid Metering Programme (NPPMP) and National Integrated Power Project (NIPP). Our equipment is used in hotels, office building, real estates, hospitals and universities.

In industry, we worked in Gas Supply Agreements (GSA) implementation projects for Unilever, Nestle, GSK Procter and Gamble and Lafarge as well as in telecoms infrastructure.

"We want to become a local company by developing local assets to enable us to produce our accessories in-country, increase our local capabilities in fabrication of equipment and panels and train people for services and maintenance in line with Nigerian Content Act. We partner with universities by training the students on how to design software to optimise electricity. We have done that in Yaba College of Technology, Universities of Ibadan, Lagos and Obafemi Awolowo. Increase our local capabilities in fabrication of equipment and panels, train people for services and maintenance in line with Nigerian Content Act."

On the ongoing privatisation of PHCN, the company said it doesn’t want to be a core investor but is willing to partner investors on technical basis and improve the efficiency of the grid, gas supply and maintenance of existing plants.

Hochet said the major challenge his company has in Nigeria is in the regulation of the Customs in terms of delay of imported materials, which in turn delays his company in meeting contract schedules.