Schneider Electric North America announced that it will integrate Citect, one of the world’s leading providers of industrial automation software into its complete automation and control solutions offering.

According to the compnay, the integration will encompass Citect’s field operations (sales, professional services and training) team with that of its parent company to further strengthen both companies’ ability to provide best-in-class Supervision Control And Data Acquisition (SCADA), human-machine interface (HMI) and Manufacturing Execution System (MES) solutions and services. The change will further accelerate the development of the Citect® software suite.

Citect was acquired by Schneider Electric in 2006. Since then the companies have achieved an average annual growth of 20 percent in the SCADA business, says the company. Utilizing a dual brand strategy, Schneider Electric and Citect have been able to offer continuity for existing Citect customers who are already familiar with CitectSCADA, while expanding the offer to include Vijeo™ Citect SCADA software for Schneider Electric customers.

“The dual brand strategy has been a tremendous success globally, allowing Citect to be the top HMI SCADA vendor in Asia, and increasing market share around the globe by providing both options for customers,” said Christopher Crowe, chief executive officer, Citect.

Vijeo Citect, Schneider Electric’s branded version of the CitectSCADA software, was developed by Citect and launched after the initial acquisition by Schneider Electric in 2006. According to the company, the interoperability between Vijeo Citect and CitectSCADA enables sales, support and service to be available from Schneider Electric and from Citect’s network of more than 500 partners located in Asia/Pacific, South Africa, Europe and the Americas.

“Since the acquisition of Citect, we have been working closely with the team here in the United States to align the advantages of the Citect offer with our complete range of automation and control products,” said Andy Gravitt, vice president, Automation and Control, Schneider Electric. “The inclusion of Vijeo Citect is an important addition to our offering, and the availability of Citect’s network of sales, support and service teams provides our customers tremendous advantages and further positions Schneider Electric as a one-stop shop for complete automation and control solutions.”

The new organization will come into effect Jan. 1, 2009. 
  
Source: Schneider Electric