BENGALURU: French multinational Schneider Electric, which specializes in digital automation and energy management, has committed to invest Rs 3,200 crore in India by 2026 in a bid to expand its presence in the Indian market, which will not only drive its domestic operations but also help it respond to global opportunities.
As part of this road map, the company inaugurated a Rs 100 crore cooling factory in the city on Thursday. Covering about 6.5 acres, the new state-of-the-art facility will focus on developing innovative cooling solutions to meet exponential demand for the country's data centre ecosystem. Fully owned by Schneider, it will cater to both domestic and international markets.
The new facility incorporates cutting-edge technology, enabling it to manufacture cooling products and solutions tailored for telecom, commercial, and industrial applications, apart from its core target segment — data centres. The products that will roll out from here include, Latest generation in row cooling systems, High-efficiency chillers, and Primary Air Handling Unit (PAHU), Precision Air Conditioning (PAC), FANWELL systems.
DATA CENTRE BOOM
India, which has made significant strides in IT, connectivity, and digitization, is now emerging as a hub for data centres. According to Cushman & Wakefield, India’s data centre capability is set to exceed the 1-GW mark in 2024, with expectations of it touching 3 GW in the next five years, calling for integration of efficient, sustainable energy management systems. "The data centre business is currently facing numerous challenges, with the foremost being data volatility.
Buoyed by the high growth in AI, the demand for data processing is seeing an uptick, leading to increased demand for cooling solutions," said Schneider Electric EVP (Secure Power Division & Data Center Business) Pankaj Sharma, reiterating that the facility will not only address the cooling requirements of high-density computing environments, but also contribute to building resilient and sustainable data centre infrastructure.
INDIA AS A HUB
India is one of the four hubs of the Schneider group, the others being France, USA and China. Today, the country hosts about 6,000 R&D digital software engineers, out of a total 37,000 staff.
"A hub means that we are an empowered team that can design and manufacture products for the local market," said Schneider Electric India Zone President (Greater India) and MD & CEO Deepak Sharma.
"Once we grow as a hub, our next responsibility is to help other countries, which have environments very similar to ours. That's where India is becoming an export base for countries in the Middle East, Asia-Pacific, Africa, etc... while we also contribute to the North American market."
Accordingly, 85% of the products manufactured in the new cooling facility will be shipped to export markets, enabling it to play a crucial role in the company's global supply chain.
"India is a significant market for us. We are set to invest Rs 3,200 crore by 2026 to expand our presence in the country. The new factory, a part of that commitment, will go beyond manufacturing, creating jobs in Karnataka and fostering growth of the local economy," the CEO said, informing that the said investment will herald more developments, currently in execution stage, which will be inaugurated within this year.