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Schneider Electric Opens New Global R&D Center in Andover, Mass.
Andover, Mass. – Sept. 10, 2014 – Schneider Electric, a global specialist in energy management, today announced the grand opening of its new North American research and development center in Andover, Mass. The Boston One Campus, at 800 Federal St., will also serve as the company’s new North America headquarters and is built to house about 750 employees across all disciplines of Schneider Electric’s business segments. Laurent Vernerey, president and CEO of Schneider Electric’s North America Operations, will relocate to the new headquarters as part of the company’s mission to drive innovation and efficiency in North America.
“I am excited to welcome Schneider Electric’s new R&D Center and North American headquarters to Massachusetts,” said Gov. Deval Patrick. “We are committed to making Massachusetts the global hub of technology innovation, and companies like Schneider Electric are important to helping the Commonwealth continue its competitive edge.”
Designed to create an environment that encourages collaboration with customers, R&D engineers and employees, the new campus was also built with the company’s vision of sustainable design and energy efficiency. The Boston One Campus incorporates about $8 million of Schneider Electric’s own products and solutions and is expected to achieve about a 30 percent reduction in operating cost in its first year.
The facility is U.S. Green Building Council LEED Silver certified and leverages Schneider Electric’s SmartStruxure solution – a fully integrated building-management system; APC by Schneider Electric EcoAisle and EcoBreeze data center cooling systems, data center and server uninterruptible power supplies (UPS); Schneider Electric Altivar variable speed for HVAC control; a variety of ultra-efficient luminaires from Juno Lighting Group by Schneider Electric; intelligent IP security-management systems from Pelco by Schneider Electric; and much more.
“As we imagined the design of the new campus, it was important to us to leverage our own technology and create a facility that enhances our customers’ experience while exemplifying Schneider Electric’s core objective of making the most of our energy,” Vernerey said. “With the integration of a world-class R&D center and employees from multiple disciplines housed under one roof, the new Boston One Campus demonstrates Schneider Electric’s commitment to our North American customers.”
The Boston One Campus is made up of more than 240,000 square feet across two buildings with a design that focuses specifically on employee collaboration and innovation, as well as the needs of Schneider Electric’s customers. In particular, the campus’ fully immersive Discovery Center allows visitors to learn about Schneider Electric’s energy management and innovation story, as well as experiment with several of the company’s solutions through simulated demonstrations via 65-inch interactive panels. Boston One is also equipped with 53,000 square feet of engineering laboratory space that includes customer accessible, cross-discipline technology integration laboratories known as StruxureLabs, where Schneider Electric engineers test and validate products that go into real-world customer deployments.
“The new Boston One Campus will serve as Schneider Electric’s North American R&D hub, driving global innovation in collaboration with our four existing global R&D centers located in Bangalore, Shanghai, Grenoble, and Monterrey,” said Pascal Brosset, senior vice president of innovation and chief technology officer for Schneider Electric. “We look forward to working closely with our customers in the region to develop new classes of technology that advance efficiency and energy management.”
With the integration of engineering, sales, marketing, and customer-support employees across Schneider Electric’s multiple disciplines, and as one of only five global R&D centers around the world serving Schneider Electric’s 160,000 employees and customers, the Boston One Campus is expected to draw more than 10,000 visitors to the area in the first year it is open.
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