Schneider Electric’s Smart Factory in Plovdiv serves as a knowledge sharing hub for South-East Europe industries

Over the last year, the Plovdiv factory with the addition of its new Innovation Hub showroom is welcoming visitors from the South East Europe counties for a live showcase of the implementation of the company’s Industry 4.0 digital technologies.

The plant is one of the biggest cutting-edge facilities in Europe of the leader in digital transformation of energy management and automation systems. Unlike many industrial enterprises where technologies are kept for insiders only, Schneider’s smart factory is transparent in terms of knowledge sharing and presents the technological solutions it was built upon to all kind of audiences – other businesses, institutions, and students.

The main goal is to boost digital transformation across countries in South East Europe.

“As a leader in our industry we have the responsibility to support the adoption of digital technologies that reshape industries, buildings and infrastructure for a more sustainable future. By showing the digital solutions we already implemented and the benefits they are bringing in our daily work we want to encourage everyone to kickstart the process”, Peter Hermann, Cluster President, South-East Europe said.

This part of Europe already displays robust Schneider Electric operations with a lot of skillful and competent workforce. Some examples are the company’s Smart Grid Research and Development Hub in Serbia as well as the production sites, regional distribution center and Energy and Sustainability Services Hub in Hungary.

“At Schneider Electric we walk the talk, as we offer to the market solutions and services that already digitized our own operations for more sustainability and efficiency. All advancements in the region of South-East Europe serve this long-term goal.” Petr Hermann complemented.

The Schneider Electric Smart Factory in Plovdiv occupies an area of 12,000 sq.m. It manufactures 42 million circuit breakers per annum. Through them the company provides electrical distribution and protection to people from close to 30 countries. The processes of the factory are automated to more than 68% and the operations are digitized through a number of Schneider’s own applications. Productivity and efficiency are managed through data collection and visualization in user-friendly dashboards that enable quick and informed decision making. Maintenance is done with the help of augmented-reality-based solution to save hours of work for the staff and make the process completely paperless. As a result, the workforce is more empowered, and people’s knowledge is constantly advancing.

For Schneider Electric, recognized recently as the most sustainable company in the world, supporting its ecosystem of partners and customers to rely more on the digital technologies for moving towards more sustainable and efficient business practices is part of company’s mission for this geography.