French Schneider keen on possible mergers and business opportunities

The French electrics company is interested in potential buy-outs while expandings its own operations in the country.

Schneider Electric Vietnam country president Xavier Denoly told VIR at last week’s Xperience Efficiency 2014 exhibition that the firm would continue strongly expanding production in Vietnam.

“We are open to capable local partners for mergers and acquisitions (M&A) to further realise our global mission to maintain our position as a leading specialist in energy management,” he said, adding that Schneider Electric had conducted many M&As in the energy industry over the past 20 years, raising the number of its employees from 40,000 to 150,000 through both business growth and M&As.

“M&As are always an option for Schneder Electric on both a global and regional level as they’re part of our business development strategy. There are always opportunities to consider. In any markets that we have a business presence, we’re committed to continuing to introduce leading global technology in energy management,” he said.

The exhibition jointly organised in Hanoi by the firm and the Ministry of Industry and Trade showcased many of Schneider Electric’s energy efficiency products and solutions which offer 30 per cent cuts in power use and carbon dioxide emissions.

In May this year, the firm put into operation its second factory in Vietnam, producing smart wiring devices in the southern province of Dong Nai, joining another factory that began operations back in 1996. The products are sold locally and exported to Australia, Indonesia, New Zealand and South Africa. The new factory recent received ISO 50001 certification and became one of the few factories in Vietnam to receive the certification.

Schneider Electric Vietnam also began operations of a distribution centre at the northern Bac Ninh province’s VSIP Bac Ninh Industrial Park in June this year.

“Last year, Schneider Electric’s total revenue reached about $30 billion, of which 41 per cent came from emerging markets, including Vietnam,” Denoly said.

In terms of information technology, Schneider Electric works with strategic technology partners like IBM, VMware or Cisco to deploy cloud-based or IT applications.

In Vietnam, the company provides integrated physical data centre infrastructure solutions for business, comprising of racks, uninterruptible power supplies, precision cooling, and data centre infrastructure management software (DCIM). Schneider Electric has been recognised by IDC as global provider of DCIM in recent years.

In order to realise its plan to expand business and production in Vietnam, Schneider Electric Vietnam would continue focusing on training local workers with training courses in country and overseas, Denoly said. Schneider Eelctric Vietnam has also expressed an interest in industrial manufacturing.