Schneider Electric keeping Salisbury plant open
Published 6:43 pm Wednesday, October 4, 2017
- Schneider Electric's Salisbury plant. Jon C. Lakey/Salisbury Post
By Elizabeth Cook
ecook@salisburypost.com
SALISBURY — Schneider Electric has decided not to close its Salisbury facility on Summit Park Drive, as the company announced in June, according to Mayor Karen Alexander.
Alexander said at the close of a City Council meeting that she had been notified that Schneider will remain in Salisbury.
Rod Crider, director of the Rowan Economic Development Commission, confirmed that on Wednesday.
“It’s great,” Crider said. “That’s 63 jobs we thought we had lost.”
Manufacturing jobs such as those at Schneider are highly valued by communities, he said. “It’s a real positive.”
A global specialist in energy management and automation, Schneider announced in June that it would transfer Salisbury production to other locations by mid-2018. Since then, Crider said, the EDC has been working with Schneider and the building’s owner to find a new occupant. Then Crider got word that Schneider was withdrawing its WARN notice about the pending layoff and would stay.
Company officials were not available for comment on Wednesday.
Schneider Electric has stepped up to help hurricane victims this fall. In early September, the company announced it had delivered 1,000 units of its Mobiya TS170 S LED lighting systems to the American Red Cross to support disaster recovery efforts in Beaumont, Texas, and surrounding areas, as the communities dealt with the lack of electricity from the catastrophic effects of Hurricane Harvey.
Later, the company donated more of the Mobiya systems to the International Red Cross and SOS Attitude to support disaster recovery efforts in Caribbean islands affected by Hurricane Irma.
The solar lanterns provide up to 48 hours of lighting with one day of solar charge and can also charge mobile devices.
Schneider Electric Foundation further supported the American Red Cross’ relief and recovery efforts by pledging $100,000 and matching all U.S. employee personal donations, doubling their gifts to nonprofit groups supporting Hurricane Harvey disaster relief.
Locally, Schneider has been an involved corporate citizen. Its employees built a Habitat House and regularly volunteered for the United Way Day of Caring. Earlier this year, they put together bikes for the One Church One Child program. The company also has supported the Center for the Environment.
With revenue of $26 billion in fiscal 2016, Schneider has 144,000 employees serving customers in more than 100 countries.
