Mexico. Schneider Electric, a global specialist in energy management, inaugurated its Development and Innovation Center in Monterrey (CDIM), Nuevo León, which represented an investment of 65 million dollars and will generate at least 300 high-specialty jobs during the first five years of operation.
The ceremony was led by the Secretary of Economy, Ildefonso Guajardo Villareal; the Governor of the State of Nuevo León, Rodrigo Medina de la Cruz, and the President and CEO of Schneider Electric for Mexico and Central America, Enrique González Haas. Also present during the event were José Antonio Elizondo Garza, Municipal President of Apodaca; Gustavo Treviño Elizondo, Secretary of Development and Economic Development of Apodaca, and Jaime Parada, Director of the Research and Technological Innovation Park (PIIT).
The event featured the following representatives from Schneider Electric's Partner Business Unit: Philippe Delorme, Executive Vice President; Jean Damarius, Senior Vice President of Research and Development; Mario Ramos, Vice President of Research and Development for North America, and Ignacio Dapic, Director of CDIM.
Enrique González Haas, President and CEO of Schneider Electric for Mexico and Central America said: "With the launch of this Schneider Electric Development and Innovation Center, the largest in North America for the organization, we reinforce our commitment to the community and the environment, by sustainably promoting high-level research and development activities. The combination of the valuable Mexican human resource with the creation and equipment of Research and Development facilities will strengthen a world-class center to solve the challenges in the efficient use of energy."
Mario Ramos, Schneider Electric's Vice President of Research and Development for North America, said: "This Development and Innovation Center has highly qualified human talent in processes of creativity, innovation and technology development. In addition to this, we have the most advanced technology in terms of communication, systems infrastructure and computing capacity for advanced simulation processes, which positions this center as a fundamental pillar in the development of global solutions for our customers".
Likewise, Ignacio Dapic, emphasized: "The Schneider Electric Development and Innovation Center in Monterrey is a clear example of a world-class Research and Development organization located in an advanced emerging economy."
The Schneider Electric Development and Innovation Center is located in the Research and Technological Innovation Park (PIIT) in Monterrey and has 17,200 m2 of total construction that houses two main buildings. On the day of its inauguration, the Center has a population of 230 professionals dedicated to R&D of which 30% have postgraduate studies, in addition to 35% are women.
The first building will house an office space equipped with state-of-the-art engineering computers to perform electromechanical, mechatronic and industrial design work, as well as calculation and simulation by finite element methods, including fluid dynamics (CFD) simulation, thermal, structural and electromagnetic simulation. In addition, it has a demonstration and exhibition hall to exhibit its solutions and products.
In the second building are located the electromechanical testing laboratories for distribution equipment and electrical protection of low and medium voltage, as well as a workshop of rapid prototypes. The laboratory is certified by Underwriters Laboratories (UL) to perform tests with official validity.
The facilities of the Development and Innovation Center have been equipped with more than 6,300 different Schneider Electric product lines that ensure optimal control and administration of the systems inside the building. The latter facilitated the obtaining of the LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) certification, "Silver" level, which guarantees efficiency in energy and resource management and consumption.
For the second phase of expansion, the CDIM will seek to be self-sufficient by starting up a solar farm that feeds energy into the office area. Likewise, the CDIM will contribute significantly in the generation of the more than 600 patents generated annually by Schneider Electric worldwide.
Additionally, the project contemplates the growing collaboration with higher education institutions such as the Instituto Tecnológico y de Estudios Superiores de Monterrey (ITESM), the Universidad Autónoma de Nuevo León (UANL), the Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (UNAM) and the Universidad de Monterrey (UDEM), among others, with the purpose of promoting the continuous incubation of new technologies, shared and complementary infrastructure, as well as the preparation of qualified human talent.
It should be noted that the Center also collaborates with Research Centers, members of the CONACYT network and with the I2T2 Research and Technology Transfer Institute.
