Khaled Hashem, Minister of Industry, met with Sebastien Riez, President of Schneider Electric for North Africa and the Levant, to discuss the company’s expansion plans and opportunities to deepen local manufacturing.

The meeting shed light on opportunities for the company to participate in the Shams El-Sinaa initiative, which aims to install 1 gigawatt (GW) of rooftop solar capacity across around 7,000 factories nationwide in its first phase.

Hashem underscored the potential for Schneider to adopt the Energy Service Company (ESCO) model, which focuses on assessing factories’ energy consumption and providing technical support to improve energy efficiency, reduce operating costs, and optimize resource use.

Hashem and Riez reviewed the manufacturing capabilities of Schneider Electric Egypt’s plant in Badr City, which operates with 80% local content, exports around 50% of its output to more than 35 countries, and employs around 650 workers, noted a statement by the Cabinet.

The minister stressed the importance of raising local content across the company’s product portfolio to strengthen the competitiveness of the Egyptian industry and reduce imports through the ministry’s Local Supplier Development Program. He added that expanding the use of clean and renewable energy has become a strategic priority to reduce manufacturing costs and improve the sustainability of Egyptian products in international markets, where energy efficiency is increasingly a key factor in competitiveness.

Riez outlined the company’s plans to expand the existing facility to increase production capacity and sales while raising the local content of its products to 85% in the coming period. He highlighted the diversification of the company’s activities to include digital transformation in energy management, automation, and sustainability.

Schneider Electric, a global energy technology leader spanning over 100 countries, provides services in the field of electrification, automation, and digitalization of industries, businesses, and homes. Its portfolio includes smart electrical equipment, software-driven architectures, AI-enabled solutions, digital services, and energy management consulting.