Schneider Electric welcomed members of the Leeds Manufacturing Alliance to its smart factory and Innovation Hub in Hunslet, Leeds, for the latest in a series of ‘best practice’ visits allowing business owners and decision-makers the opportunity to share insights and learn from one another.
A £7.2m investment in Schneider Electric’s Leeds manufacturing facility, involving a 3,380sqm extension to the existing 18,000sqm facility where 550 people are employed, is now approaching completion.
Over 1,000 are employed across the company’s two sites in Leeds and in Scarborough, where further investment is also underway. Growth in the business, driven in particular by demand from the energy transition and electric vehicle market, is expected to create over 300 more jobs in the next few years.
Chris Gallagher and James Pickersgill, senior members of the company’s operations team, shared valuable insights into the energy transformation and digitalisation journey, highlighting the use of automation, cobots and digital technologies throughout the manufacturing process.
A global leader in energy transformation and decarbonisation, Schneider Electric is helping its customers to manage energy usage and reduce carbon emissions using AI enabled-software, services and products with built-in digital sensors and controls.
Power System vice president David Hall outlined the company’s plans to move from carbon neutral operations by 2025 to a net zero supply chain over the next two decades.
“We’ve made significant investments in the North of England. It's critical we think and act long-term, investing to modernise facilities, drive efficiencies, and boost job opportunities. We continue to address market needs and adjust our planning accordingly.
These investments reinforce our long-term commitment to support the UK’s move to decarbonisation and put us in prime position to support the increased demand we’re seeing for electrical equipment to drive the UK’s move to cleaner energy including renewable energy sources, electric vehicles, and intelligent, energy-efficient buildings.”
The Leeds factory specialises in design, development and manufacture of switchgear solutions that maximise energy efficiency for a range of sectors: distribution network operators, commercial and industrial building operators, healthcare, hotel, manufacturing, oil and gas, cloud and service providers, banking and finance.
The presentation and factory tour was the latest in a series of ‘best practice in manufacturing’ company visits organised as part of the Leeds Manufacturing Festival.
Textile firm AW Hainsworth, jukebox manufacturer Sound Leisure and advanced engineering firm LBBC have hosted visits which have seen teaching staff from UTC Leeds and Leeds City College school of engineering join employers in taking advantage of the opportunity to update their own knowledge and develop links with industry.
Chris Gallagher, said: “It was a pleasure to host the visit, meet members of the manufacturing alliance and share some of what we do here and the lessons we’ve learned. We all face many of the same challenges, particularly when it comes to attracting next generation skills and recruiting young people into our industry.”
