APC 1999 Annual Report Download - page 14

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12
Growth: a critical priority
Organic growth
One of the key drivers of organic growth is a
continuously renewed product lineup. In recent
years, Schneider Electric has consistently
allocated more than 5% of sales to Research
and Development, much of it earmarked
for new products in electrical distribution,
industrial control and automation.
Today, our customers are increasingly looking for
comprehensive solutions from a single supplier.
Schneider Electric has responded by reorganizing
its product marketing to offer tailored solutions
for targeted markets.T his approach, already
introduced for the construction market, is a very
important growth lever.
Organic growth was also strong outside Europe
in 1999. In China, sales have expanded fourfold
in five years. With seven production facilities and
a workforce of 2,300, our operations in China are
now profitable.
“In the past decade or so, many countries in Asia,
South America and the Middle East have opened up their
economies and seen their growth take off. Schneider Electric
is poised to benefit from this trend, thanks to our long-standing
presence in these countries, supported by a network of local
distributors. In 1999, the recovery in Southeast Asia
and continued strong growth in China amply offset the impact
of the South American crisis and economic
difficulties in Turkey.”
Jean-Louis Andreu
Executive Vice-President,
International Division