The local
chapter of an international story. The headquarters of giant Schneider Electric
is located in Pieve di Cento, Bologna. It is home to the Emergency Lighting
division and is powered entirely by green energy with a reduction of over 80%
of CO2 emissions in four years. For FARE INSIEME, Giampaolo Colletti
interviewed Davide Zanardo, General Manager of the “Emergency Lighting”
division of Schneider Electric who will take on the position of CEO of
Schneider Electric Italia S.p.A. as of 1st June
by Giampaolo Colletti
@gpcolletti
Photocredit: Giacomo Maestri e Francesca Aufiero
This story
takes us far away in time and space, but trust us: it will be worth it in the
end. It is a story made up of ingenious ideas, pioneering vision, teamwork,
plus innovation - a lot of it and sustainable. But let's proceed in an orderly
fashion. This time, everything started far away from the Emilian land, and far
back in time. We find ourselves in the lovely French region of Burgundy, a land
with an agricultural and metallurgical vocation. A land of excellent wine. Our
stop is Le Creusot, a town of 25,000 inhabitants. Here, in 1836, the brothers
Adolphe and Joseph-Eugene Schneider take over an abandoned foundry. It looked
worthless, but it revealed itself as quite precious. The two brothers decided
to specialize in the production of heavy machinery until they became the
Schneider Group, which expanded to Germany and eastern Europe in 1919 and was
deeply renovated after the Second World War. In 1975, the Schneider Group
acquired a stake in one of the leading producers of electrical distribution
equipment in France, and a new page in the life of the multinational began. A
centuries-old story spanning over 170 years that, from the mid-20th century
onwards, focused on energy management. The objective was to make energy
accessible to all in a safe, efficient, connected and sustainable manner.
Company
profile. The group now has 150,000 employees all over the world and an overall
turnover of €36 million. It deals with the best technologies linked with energy
production, cloud products, control solutions, and software and services for
the entire life cycle: this is how the integrated management of houses,
buildings, data centres, infrastructures and industries was born. The company
defines itself as “the most local of local businesses” and promotes the
adoption of open standards and the creation of alliance eco-systems in all
sectors. From the rest of the world to Italy. The Italian branch has 3,000
employees and boasts a world-class excellence centre when it comes to emergency
lighting technologies and a Packaging Solutions Competence Centre. But there is
more. One of the production sites is in
Pieve di Cento, a town of 70,000 in the Bologna area along the course of the
Reno river. This is where the Emergency Lighting division is located, with the
facility covering 26 thousand square meters, 17 thousand of which dedicated to
the production plant, test and certification laboratories. Over 150 people work
at the site, 57% of which are women. “In Pieve di Cento we specialize in the
design and manufacture of emergency lighting safety systems. We supply our
customers with the best energy management and automation solutions for
buildings, industries, infrastructures and data centres. In the era of
digitization, emergency lighting systems - which are crucial to the safety of
people in work and living environments - are changing, they become connected,”
reports Davide Zardo, General Manager of the “Emergency Lighting” division at
Schneider Electric. Over the years, the Pieve di Cento site has become an excellence
centre that enhances local competences and integrates them into those of the
group. “We have invested in industrial
resilience which, over the past few years, has come essential considering the
evolution of the market and of the supply chain. We started with reshoring
activities, verticalizing and integrating strategic production elements on the
Emilian site. We are in fact capable of producing electronic boards, printing
mechanical boards, as well as assembling and testing the finished products.
This characteristic is unique for our reference market. Our portfolio has
improved significantly over the past few years: over 80% of the current
production is made with products that have been launched over the past 4 years
thanks to unique innovation, technological, industrialization and
sustainability elements,” stresses Zardo.
Sustainable
innovation. The Schneider Electric emergency lighting offer boasts an entirely
Italian story or, actually, an entirely Emilian one. It started in 2006 with
the acquisition of OVA - Bargellini. There was a healthy obsession behind it,
i.e. enabling everyone to make the most of energy. That is why sustainability
is pivotal. “At Schneider, we help companies in their path towards
decarbonization and the optimization of energy management. Today, the Pieve
site is powered entirely by green energy with a reduction of over 80% of CO2
emissions in four years. We turn ambition into concrete actions with a
measurable impact on the world we live in,” concludes Zardo. Here is a lesson
from an excellent company: looking to the future with a clear vision.
https://podcast.confindustriaemilia.it/
Read the other interviews
