Schneider Electric said it will construct a new 160,000sq.ft (14,900sq.m) manufacturing plant in El Paso, Texas in the United States as part of its US$100 million regional investment. Specifically, the company will employ its open software architecture and other industrial internet of things (IIoT) technologies to boost the plant’s efficiency.

In addition, the investment aims to increase production and speed the delivery of electrical products to customers in Canada, Mexico, and the United States. Moreover, the ‘engineer-to-order’ manufacturing facility will produce customized low voltage switchboards that distribute electricity to one or more sources in commercial settings. Expected completion of the facility is in late 2022 with approximately 400 new employees.

Taps Advanced Technologies

Patterned after other plants across its global manufacturing network, the El Paso facility will use the company’s EcoStruxure open software architecture. In addition, it will also utilize 4th industrial revolution technologies to drive energy efficiency, sustainability, and overall cost savings.

To illustrate, Schneider Electric’s EcoStruxure is a flexible portfolio that helps enterprises gain operational excellence to manage resilient, secure, and sustainable edge computing, data center, or colocation infrastructures. Enterprises can mitigate and anticipate risk of failures as the platform makes use of advanced monitoring, efficient planning, digital and on-site support. In addition, it enables proactive insights and actionable recommendations.

In short, EcoStruxure will connect everything from the shop floor to the top floor. Likewise, it can collect critical data, from sensors to the cloud.

The EcoStruxure Platform is the foundational technology backbone for Schneider Electric. Thus, this will help optimize infrastructure performance and savings across the lifecycle of devices.

Bolsters Manufacturing Capacity

Schneider Electric’s investment also expands its North American manufacturing capacity using company-owned land in Tlaxcala, Mexico to build a new manufacturing plant expanding its presence in the city. The company is also evaluating existing buildings in Mexico City, Mexico to renovate into a manufacturing operation. In November 2021, the company announced that beyond bolstering its manufacturing capacity, Schneider Electric has vetted and approved more than 100 new suppliers and secured strategic buys of raw materials to support increased demand and improve continuity of supply.

Located in the Northwest Corporate Center in El Paso, the new factory is Schneider’s fourth in the city and its 20th in the United States. Hence, the facility will make El Paso home to Schneider Electric’s largest manufacturing operation in the country. Furthermore, it will strengthen the company’s regional capabilities for its customers.

Annette Clayton, Chief Executive Officer and President, Schneider Electric North America, said the supply chain challenges demonstrated the importance of increasing its domestic manufacturing capacity as quickly as possible. “Our new, state-of-the-art manufacturing facility in El Paso will allow us to get products into the hands of our distributors and end users more quickly, and it will bring an estimated US$138 million in economic value to the local area,” said Clayton.

Meanwhile, Ken Engel, Senior Vice President, Global Supply Chain, at Schneider Electric North America commended the leadership of Borderplex Alliance in making the plant a reality. To illustrate, Borderplex Alliance is an independent economic development organization on the United States-Mexico border.

“The support and enthusiasm of the Borderplex Alliance, and the City and County of El Paso has led to our largest manufacturing center in the United States here in El Paso,” said Engel.