In 1991, Schneider Electric marked its presence in Vietnam with the provision of electrical equipment for the 500-KV power line linking Hanoi to Ho Chi Minh City. “I am very proud for our company to win this historic bid which allowed a major breakthrough for Vietnam infrastructure. At that time, in spite of numerous difficulties, we were right to invest and develop our business here,” said Mr Olivier JACQUET, Country Manager of Schneider Electric Vietnam.
In fact, Schneider equipments were then luxury products for Vietnamese consumers. The Vietnamese economy had just unleashed the renovation process. In the early years, business was difficult to grow, but Schneider still kept seeking business opportunities for sustaining the country’s development - with much success so far!
After 17 years of steady growth, the Vietnamese economy has met the expectations of Schneider Electric. Easily seen, Schneider Electric’s products and solutions are present in a majority of high-rise buildings, hotels, residential areas, industrial zones, infrastructures and power plants across the nation. Each of its 5 major brands, namely Clipsal, Merlin Gerin, Telemecanique, Nu-Lec, and APC/MGE, are already positioned among the top 3 market players. With more than 300 staff in Vietnam and turnover over 40 million USD, Schneider is focusing its effort on supporting the business of its 80 official partners all over the country, having direct impact on more than 2000 jobs throughout Vietnam.
“The entrepreneurial capabilities of Vietnamese people are pretty impressive and are mostly contributing to our company growth. We strongly believe in our policy to provide relevant technical training and incentives to our partners in order for them to better sustain their own business growth,” said Olivier Jacquet. In the last 3 years, this strategy has enabled Schneider electric to raise its yearly business by more than 35 per cent, growing twice as fast as the market average.
Mentioning the business development plan of Schneider Electric Vietnam, Mr Olivier JACQUET said: “Of course, we will continue our actions towards the development of our own people as part of our staff retention program. I believe it is a necessary condition for achieving durable growth in Vietnam.”
“In the next decade, the annual electricity consumption in Vietnam is expected to rise by more than 15 per cent while electricity production will increase by only 13 per cent. This context, together with the expected increase of electricity price, will make energy efficiency a major and global stake for Vietnam, not only for solving shortages, but also for environmental purposes,” said Olivier Jacquet, adding: “This is the reason Schneider Electric Vietnam launched its new program for promoting energy efficiency solutions and technologies.” Today, the company can offer solutions enabling customers to reduce their consumption by 20 to 30 per cent, with return on investment in less than 3 years.
“Schneider Electric is the first electrical equipment manufacturer in Vietnam to focus its company policy on energy efficiency solutions. We intend to rapidly grow this new business and become a leader for all applications in building, residential, Industry, Energy and infrastructure markets,” states Olivier Jacquet. The first step will be to raise awareness among business communities at top management levels in order for them to allow such investments for their companies.
Energy Efficiency solutions proposed by Schneider Electric consist of audits and assessment, measurement and analysis services, and implementation including lighting control and efficiency, variable speed drives for motors, fans and HVAC systems, power quality correction, load shedding, peak shaving, process control and SCADA systems, building automation systems, voltage regulation, hydrocarbon refrigerant, oil additives for HVAC, and refrigeration optimization control systems. Such solutions will be presented extensively during Schneider Electric Energy Efficiency Symposiums, organised in Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City and Da Nang on the 27th, 4th, 16th of June 2008.
Phan Thanh – Duc Tien
Vietnamese
