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Schneider Electric Deepens Strength of its Sales Force to Engage Channel Partners and Customers

Addition of 10 highly experienced automation and control sales organizations will achieve unprecedented customer service; expand sales coverage

RALEIGH, N.C., – January 31, 2012 — Schneider Electric, a global specialist in energy management, today announced significant investments in resources to enable the development of direct, deeper and more engaged relationships with its customers and channel partners.

“With this move, we are bringing unprecendented value to our industrial end user, OEM, HVAC mechanical representatives, consulting engineers, system integrator and panel builder customers,” said Matt O’Kane, Vice President, Best-in-Class Products, Industry Business, Schneider Electric. “We’re proud to have quickly and definitively acted on this unique opportunity to expand our sales function, as well as the fact that Schneider Electric was the first choice employer for these organizations.”

The company successfully negotiated the hiring of 10 new sales organizations and appointed them as Manufacturer’s Representatives, who will increase the company’s U.S. market share of motion, drives, control and signaling products. With an average of 25 years of experience in automation and control products, the nearly 100 individuals brought into the company bring unparalleled technical and market knowledge and deep relationships within the industry – giving Schneider Electric one of the most experienced sales forces among energy services companies.

These representatives will begin building and strengthening their relationships with Schneider Electric customers immediately, as they have recently culminated a week-long, on-boarding and training seminar to immerse them in the wealth and breadth of Schneider Electric’s products and solutions. This intensive integration into the company was designed to augment the representatives’ existing market intelligence and industry relationships, building upon these strengths to equip the representatives with a comprehensive platform to communicate and develop the best energy management solutions for Schneider Electric’s current and potential customers, as well as channel partners.

“In addition to extensive market knowledge and expertise of the motion, drives and control and signaling products, these new sales organizations will help us provide better service and local technical support for our customers by working closely with our existing channel partners,” said O’Kane. “We’re also looking forward to leveraging their vast industry tenacity to grow our business’ market share, as well as forge new relationships and expand our sales coverage. As they encompass the skills and experience to accomplish both of these goals, we are thrilled to welcome them into our company.”

For more information about Schneider Electric sales force and/or automation and control products, please visit www.schneider-electric.com/us.

About Schneider Electric

As a global specialist in energy management with operations in more than 100 countries, Schneider Electric offers integrated solutions across multiple market segments, including leadership positions in energy and infrastructure, industrial processes, building automation, and data centers/networks, as well as a broad presence in residential applications. Focused on making energy safe, reliable, and efficient, the company's 110,000 plus employees achieved sales of more than $26 billion in 2010, through an active commitment to help individuals and organizations “Make the most of their energy.”

www.schneider-electric.com/us

Schneider Welcomes Reps to Sales Force

Schneider Welcomes Reps to Sales Force

By Jim Lucy, Chief Editor, Electrical Wholesaling

Schneider Electric's decision to sign 10 independent reps to sell some of its control and automation products signals the company's confidence in industrial reps to tackle more technical sales roles.

Schneider Electric's recent decision to sell a basket of motion, drives, control and signaling products through 10 U.S.-based independent manufacturers' representatives is a departure from its typical sales strategy because the company most often uses factory salespeople to market its broad basket of electrical, control and automation products.

The reps, which each have an average of 25 years' experience selling automation and control products, have a combined total of 100 salespeople selling the Schneider package in their local market areas: Austin Brown Inc., Atlanta; Control Agency Inc., Salt Lake City; En-Sync Group Inc., St. Louis; Harold Wells Associates, Inc., San Ramon, Calif.; Lighting and Power Solutions, Inc., Little Rock, Ark.; RPM Control Corp., Syracuse, N.Y.; Ronald Ray & Associates, Inc., Indianapolis; Tulimieri Associates Inc.; Cromwell, Conn.; Western Automation, Inc., Laguna Hills, Calif.; and Zesco Inc., Cleveland.

Dennis Tulimieri of Tulimieri Associates Inc. said the reps Schneider selected had all previously carried the ABB control package, but lost that line in Sept. 2011 when ABB decided to use a single U.S. sales force to support its low- and medium-voltage industrial drives and Baldor industrial motors. ABB acquired Baldor Electric Co., Fort Smith, Ark., in 2010.

Tulimieri said he and the other reps worked together to find a similar product offering from other electrical manufacturers, but that Schneider Electric was always a top choice because of the breadth of its line. He said finding another broad line of industrial and OEM products to rep was an important move for his company because ABB had represented a large portion of his sales.

Tulimieri said Schneider Electric's executives were impressed with the passion of the reps for their local markets and their local business relationships with so many of its customers, end users and other buying influences. He said Schneider made the move based on the reps' market and product expertise and the benefits of the variable-cost sales model that reps provide.

“It was very much a business decision for Schneider,” he said, adding that if he and the other Schneider reps attain the success they expect, other electrical manufacturers that had previously gone to market primarily through their own factory salespeople might consider independent manufacturers' reps, too.

Michael Brown, director, motion and drives, for Schneider Electric Industry Business, said he was impressed with the unique selling experience these reps have, as well as their deep local relationships. He said the week of training the reps recently completed helped them learn about the products they would be selling, become integrated with Schneider Electric's sales and marketing organization, and learn more about the resources Schneider Electric will offer to assist them in their sales efforts.

A Schneider press release said the week-long on-boarding and training seminar was designed to augment the representatives' existing market intelligence and industry relationships, building upon these strengths to equip them with a comprehensive platform to communicate and develop the best energy management solutions for Schneider Electric's current and potential customers, as well as channel partners.

Before coming to Schneider Electric in March 2011, Brown was an executive with ABB for eight years and had worked with some of the same rep firms. He said Schneider traditionally relies on factory salespeople to market its products, but that the company does use reps to sell UPS systems in its APC business unit.

In a press release announcing its move to use reps for these products, Matt O'Kane, V.P., Best-in-Class Products, Schneider Electric Industry Business, said, “In addition to extensive market knowledge and expertise of the motion, drives and control and signaling products, these new sales organizations will help us provide better service and local technical support for our customers by working closely with our existing channel partners.

“With this move we are bringing unprecedented value to our industrial end user, OEM, HVAC mechanical representatives, consulting engineers, system integrator and panel builder customers. We're proud to have quickly and definitively acted on this unique opportunity to expand our sales function, as well as the fact that Schneider Electric was the first-choice employer for these organizations.”

From: ewweb.com/reps/electric_schneider_welcomes_reps/