Energy management major Schneider Electric on Thursday announced its second Indian acquisition in two months – that of Meher Capacitors from the family-run Meher Group, Bangalore.
Mr Olivier Blum, Country President of Schneider Electric in India, did not disclose the deal size. Meher had a ready technology platform for future PFC capacitors and would put Schneider in the lead in the fast-growing energy efficiency space, he told a news conference. Schneider acquired Conzerv Systems in June.
The Indian arm of the €18-billion French major grew 15 per cent last year and now expects to increase its revenue four-fold in five years and double its exports. Starting 2010, Schneider plans to take some of the Meher products to Spain, Italy and other markets.
Mr Mustafa Wajid, CEO, Meher Group, said the PFC domestic market of nearly Rs 200 crore was growing.
With Meher, Bangalore would be Schneider’s R&D and manufacturing hub for capacitors to primarily serve this region. Meher is a domestic leader in power factor correction market, with the second biggest domestic market share in low-voltage capacitors. It generated Rs 40-crore revenue in this business last year.
Mr Blum said, “We now have a unique and comprehensive offer portfolio in this field including measurement, power quality correction, automation, and monitoring. Our recently formed Energy Management Business unit can address the full lifecycle of EE needs for industrial set-ups, commercial buildings, electrical utilities or in the infrastructure sector.”
Mr Russell Stocker, Executive Vice-President of Schneider Electric’s Asia-Pacific Operating Division, added: “We will grow the PFC business of Meher five times in the next four years, with nearly half of it in the export markets of Asia-Pacific, West Asia, South America and Europe.”
Source: The Hindu Businessline