Schneider Electric moves corporate HQ to Massachusetts

Boston One campus in Andover will house new R&D center

By Bob Vavra Content Manager, CFE Media September 15, 2014

For its corporate headquarters, Schneider Electric is switching from hot dogs and deep-dish pizza to chowder. Or to look at it another way, the company is changing its Sox from White to Red.

Schneider Electric announced Sept. 10 it would move its North American headquarters from the Chicago suburb of Palatine to the Boston suburb of Andover as part of the opening of its new North American research and development center.

The new Boston One Campus ultimately will be the home for about 750 employees across all Schneider Electric’s business segments. Laurent Vernerey, president and CEO of Schneider Electric’s North America operations, also will move to the new facility “as part of the company’s mission to drive innovation and efficiency in North America,” company officials said.

The company said the new facility was designed to incorporate the kinds of energy-saving products the company currently sells, and operating costs would be reduced 30% as a result. The building also is U.S. Green Building Council LEED Silver certified.

 “As we imagined the design of the new campus, it was important to us to leverage our own technology and create a facility that enhances our customers’ experience while exemplifying Schneider Electric’s core objective of making the most of our energy,” said Vernerey in a press release. “With the integration of a world-class R&D center and employees from multiple disciplines housed under one roof, the new Boston One Campus demonstrates Schneider Electric’s commitment to our North American customers.”

 “The new Boston One Campus will serve as Schneider Electric’s North American R&D hub, driving global innovation in collaboration with our four existing global R&D centers located in Bangalore, Shanghai, Grenoble, and Monterrey,” said Pascal Brosset, Schneider Electric’s senior vice president of innovation and chief technology officer. “We look forward to working closely with our customers in the region to develop new classes of technology that advance efficiency and energy management.” 

“I am excited to welcome Schneider Electric’s new R&D Center and North American headquarters to Massachusetts,” said Governor Deval Patrick. “We are committed to making Massachusetts the global hub of technology innovation and companies like Schneider Electric are important to helping the Commonwealth continue its competitive edge.”

Company officials said employees at the Palatine, Ill. offices, which date back to the Square D brand at the company, would not be affected by the move of the corporate headquarters to Andover.