APC 2010 Annual Report Download - page 27

DESCRIPTION OFTHEGROUP, ANDITSSTRATEGY, MARKETS ANDBUSINESSES
1
LEADER IN AN INDUSTRY OF THE FUTURE
The Buildings business
Number 4 worldwide in building automation
andvideo security systems
In the last few years Schneider Electric has become one of world’s
leading players in technical building management.
The Group offers a comprehensive, innovative range of automation
solutions backed by design and supervision software to manage
building utilities, based on open and integrated systems. These
solutions make it possible to optimise installations, modernise
them cost effectively, and reduce maintenance costs and energy
consumption. They also enhance comfort and security, an area in
which the Group has strengthened its activities, with the acquisition
in 2007 of Pelco, a worldwide leader in the design, development
and manufacture of video security systems.
Growth in this business will be driven by the expansion of urban and
industrial areas in emerging economies, the adaptation of existing
buildings to comply with new energy regulations in developed
regions, the development of energy effi ciency for all buildings, which
is subject to increasingly stringent regulations, and the important
role that they will play in the smart grid.
2. 4 Enhancing the integrated solutions and services portfolio
Services
Customers are looking for increasingly effective solutions that meet
their performance and reliability needs. When it comes to services,
local presence is a major strength.
Around the world, Schneider Electric’s 6,000 Services Experts listen
carefully to customers’ specifi c needs and, as long-term partners,
offer a single, comprehensive line up of life cycle services. These
include:
•audit and consulting: engineering, installation and energy
audits, energy effi ciency solutions, etc.;
•solutions engineering: project deployment and management,
site upgrades, tailored projects for critical applications, process
simulations, energy management, etc.;
•installed base services: troubleshooting and repairs,
maintenance and renovation to enhance the reliability of existing
equipment and processes;
•job training: personalised or general, in one of the Group’s fi fty
training centres or online through Energy University by Schneider
Electric.
Schneider Electric’s ability to industrialise services offers customers
guaranteed results, thanks to its:
•knowledge of applications and factory fl oor reality in fast-
changing industries;
•practical, innovative contracts that leverage leading-edge
technologies;
•ongoing support, from the initial assessment of specifi c needs
and constraints to project completion.
Schneider Electric has what it takes to provide safe, reliable and
effi cient services that help customers enhance performance
throughout the life cycle of their installations.
Energy efficiency solutions
Energy effi ciency means using less energy for the same level of
performance or service, and is the fastest, cheapest and most
effective way for governments, fi rms, and individuals to reduce CO2
emissions. According to the International Energy Agency (World
Energy Outlook 2010), 53% of the reduction in CO2 emissions
needed over the next 20years will have to come from more effi cient
energy use.
Taken together, industry, infrastructure and buildings – Schneider
Electric’s traditional markets – account for more than half of the
world’s energy consumption. Since 2005, Schneider Electric has
been working on energy effi ciency issues, and now has the know-
how, skills and technologies to meet the energy challenge of the
21stcentury.
The acquisition in 2009 of Conzerv Systems, the leader in the
Indian energy effi ciency market, enhanced the Group’s line up and
considerably strengthened Schneider Electric’s position on the
Indian market.
2010 REGISTRATION DOCUMENT SCHNEIDER ELECTRIC 25