Advancing energy technology: Schneider Electric New Zealand

Schneider Electric’s products have a long history in New Zealand’s electrical industry. Since opening offices in Tāmaki Makaurau Auckland, they have taken New Zealand innovations global, as well as bringing the latest in energy management innovation to New Zealand.

Although Schneider Electric opened a New Zealand office only in 2001, its story here is built on much earlier roots, through brands such as Merlin Gerin and Telemecanique and the local engineering companies behind them. Today, that mix of global technology and homegrown expertise still shapes the business, including taking Kiwi PDL technology to the rest of the world.

“The best way to look at our story in New Zealand is the footprint,” says Schneider Electric’s New Zealand Country President, Ollie Hill. “Walk around almost any commercial or residential building in this country and there’s Schneider gear. And not just buildings. You’ll find it across infrastructure, such as power stations, rail and tunnels and, more recently, data centres.”

From hardware to software: digitalising New Zealand infrastructure

As energy systems evolve, Schneider Electric’s role has expanded well beyond supplying equipment. The focus is now on how energy moves, how it is controlled, and how it can be managed more efficiently as industries, businesses and homes become more digital.

Data centres are a clear example. As computing density increases and energy efficiency becomes more critical, Schneider works across the entire energy chain – from where power enters the building through to the server itself – covering electrical distribution, automation, software and cooling. That includes both traditional air cooling and newer liquid‑to‑chip cooling.

Water infrastructure is another area where energy management is key to more stable, predictable performance. Many treatment plants are under growing pressure to improve efficiency, manage risk and meet environmental standards, often while operating with ageing equipment. In these situations, Schneider Electric works alongside operators to support the modernisation of systems, bringing a combination of local expertise and global capability to the design and implementation of solutions.

 

When three seconds costs six hours

“We focus on being the most local of global companies,” says Hill. “We put as much effort into innovating locally and building solutions unique to New Zealand’s market as we do leveraging our global R&D capabilities and expertise.”

One example of local innovation that later scaled globally emerged through the company’s partnership with New Zealand’s dairy sector. A factory was losing entire production runs because of a three-second power fluctuation. When it happened, the whole operation stopped: all product had to be discharged, followed by six hours of cleaning, with the workforce put on standby.

Schneider’s solution, built in collaboration with the dairy factory, was continuous power conditioning: the power runs through a battery constantly, the battery is always charging, and the factory never has power fluctuation.

That flow of innovation runs in both directions. “When local companies approach us about building a data centre from scratch, they’re drawing on knowledge Schneider has developed for the world’s largest operators,” says Hill. “And with innovation moving so fast, businesses know they have access to the latest design and technology.”

A country where relationships move fast

Schneider’s reach in Auckland and New Zealand extends well beyond its in-house team. The company works through a network of partners – design firms, engineering consultancies, system integrators, electrical contractors, panel builders and electricians – who learn and take Schneider’s knowledge into projects around the country.

“We can’t do what we do alone,” says Hill. “We work closely with many consultancies and installers. They invite us to work with them on a solution design, where we bring all our local know-how and international experience and co-create a tailored solution for end customers.”

Auckland makes this density of collaboration possible in a way few cities can. “You can find the right person through one handshake, or bump into someone at a conference,” says Hill. For Hill, Auckland’s accessibility is one of the most underappreciated things about doing business here.

New Zealand has no state governments, just a central government. “If you’re trying to get something done, there’s basically one person you need to talk to,” Hill says. “Compare that with Australia, where state government, federal government and local council each add complexity. Or with a country in Europe, where the layers multiply further."

New Zealand offers speed and efficiency when doing business.

Building the next generation

Founded in France in 1836, Schneider Electric has grown into a global business with 160,000 employees and a team of executives deliberately dispersed around the world, creating a genuinely international company, deeply rooted in every market it operates in.

Universities such as the University of Auckland and AUT play an important role in creating a talent pipeline for Schneider Electric in New Zealand. Schneider employs two graduates per year, with fierce competition for those positions. “The quality of candidates is incredible,” says Hill. “Their knowledge, attitude, preparedness for work. It speaks to the quality of tertiary education here.”

That quality, combined with what Hill calls Auckland’s egalitarian character – “anyone can talk to anyone” – makes the city a distinctive base for a global business. “We are embedded in the New Zealand market."

The diverse pool in Auckland enables us to work with different customers and stakeholders, locally and globally.

Several New Zealand staff have gone on to senior global roles across China, the Middle East and Europe. “People do a few years here,” says Hill, “and then they can let us know which country they want to go to. Some people later come back to New Zealand and we welcome them and their expanded experience, knowledge and skills.”

Schneider Electric brings together deep local roots, long-standing partner relationships and a strong talent pipeline, enabling a global business to operate with genuine local depth.

That combination of local talent, ease of doing business, the ability to apply global solutions to New Zealand projects, and to take local innovation global, is part of what makes Tāmaki Makaurau Auckland a place international companies keep choosing.