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Frost & Sullivan Names Schneider Electric European Building Technologies Company of the Year for 2007



    The building automation business unit of Schneider Electric, TAC,
    has been selected as the recipient of the 2007 European Frost &
    Sullivan Award for Building Technologies Company of the Year. By
    continuously acquiring dynamic companies and through creative market
    strategies, TAC has become a leading participant in the building
    technologies market over the past five years. The company has achieved
    solid growth of close to 20 percent in the first half of 2007, with an
    estimated turnover of around 1.4 billion EUR in 2007, after having
    grown similarly well in 2006 - a significant achievement in an
    increasingly mature market.

    "Following a string of acquisitions and mergers, Schneider
    Electric´s building automation business unit has been registering
    average organic annual growth of above 10 per cent year on year,"
    notes Frost & Sullivan Industry Analyst Reka Szanto. "Schneider
    Electric acquired TAC in 2003 followed by Andover Controls, Invensys
    ABS EMEA, including Satchwell, Invensys Building Systems and most
    recently Pelco."

    Pivotal to Schneider Electric´s success has been its acquisition
    of, and investment in, TAC, which has since become the core of its
    growth strategy in building automation. Following TAC´s vision - ´To
    be our customers´ preferred provider of building environment services
    based on Open & Integrated Systems for Building IT(TM)´ - the company
    provides complete building automation solutions. These range from
    product manufacture to design, installation and support services,
    including HVAC control and energy solutions as well as security and
    access control solutions.

    TAC has dominated the transformation of the building automation
    industry by continuously promoting the benefits of open systems.
    Through exhaustive internal training programmes and focused selling
    and promotion of open systems, the company is encouraging various
    industry participants to appreciate the advantages of integrating
    sub-systems in a building (such as HVAC, fire detection and light)
    even while changing the current market structure which is organised in
    terms of discrete channels (such as electrical, mechanical, and
    security).

    "Another major success factor has been the company´s global
    approach offer; in addition to the traditional products and services
    offered by its competitors, the company also addresses energy
    efficiency concerns with its electrical distribution and critical
    power businesses," observes Szanto. "Therefore, not only does the
    company have the ability to control the electrical distribution, it
    also provides customers with continuity of service."

    TAC is focused on sustaining growth - organically and/or
    externally through the acquisition of new companies. More importantly,
    the company is also positioned to leverage future opportunities within
    the industry, such as converging all building related solutions
    ranging from building automation to security on the same IT backbone,
    enabling its customers to realise tremendous savings in both capital
    and operating costs.

    The Frost & Sullivan Award for Company of the Year is presented
    each year to the company that has demonstrated unparalleled excellence
    - including business development, competitive strategy, customer
    satisfaction, and leadership - within its industry. This company is
    perceived to exhibit outstanding management and consistent growth,
    offers high quality products and/or services and has a positive social
    and economic impact on local and national communities. High calibre
    customer service offerings and performance, proven expertise in taking
    advantage of market changes by capturing and solidifying market
    presence, or through execution of innovative strategies within the
    existing competitive landscape are the other hallmarks of the award
    recipient.

    Frost & Sullivan Best Practices Awards recognize companies in a
    variety of regional and global markets for demonstrating outstanding
    achievement and superior performance in areas such as leadership,
    technological innovation, customer service and strategic product
    development. Industry analysts compare market participants and measure
    performance through in-depth interviews, analysis and extensive
    secondary research in order to identify best practices in the
    industry.

    About Schneider Electric

    Schneider Electric, who helps people and organizations make the
    most of their energy, anticipates and satisfies its customers´
    requirements in the residential, building, data centers and networks,
    industry, and energy and infrastructure markets. With 112,000
    employees, Schneider Electric generated revenue of EUR 17.3 billion in
    2007 through 15,000 distributor outlets in 190 countries.

    www.schneider-electric.com

    About TAC

    TAC is a leading provider of building automation solutions based
    on Open Integrated Systems for Building IT. TAC´s mission is to
    provide added value through building environment services for indoor
    climate, security and use of energy, delivered with advanced
    technology to end users and property owners throughout the world. With
    over 80 years of experience in the HVAC, building automation and
    security arenas, TAC employs more than 7,500 people worldwide, with
    partners and branches in 80 countries. TAC´s parent company, Schneider
    Electric, is the world´s power and control specialist with 112,000
    employees worldwide and operations in 106 countries.

    About Frost & Sullivan

    Frost & Sullivan, the Growth Consulting Company, partners with
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