Powering Europe’s industrial competitiveness through efficiency, Schneider Electric SVP Power Products
17/04/2025 Schneider Electric UK Ltd
Operational Efficiency as the Catalyst for Industrial Leadership
Matteo Crespi, SVP Power Product Europe Hub, Schneider Electric
As Europe redefines its industrial future, the region faces a critical moment of transformation. With industry contributing over 20% of the European Union’s (EU) economy, providing employment for an estimated 35 million individuals, the success of Europe’s industrial revitalisation carries far-reaching implications. Recent efforts to streamline regulation and revitalize European industry mark promising progress—but for true, lasting impact, businesses must place efficiency and sustainability at the core of their strategies. While digital transformation continues to dominate boardroom agendas to achieve some of these goals, one of the most significant sources of industrial inefficiency hides in plain sight: outdated and underperforming electrical installations.
Most industrial leaders know the risks. They’ve seen how ageing contactors, starters, and relays can fail without warning, bringing production to a standstill and putting maintenance teams into firefighting mode. They’re aware that poor energy efficiency during peak loads chips away at margins. And they’ve likely experienced the subtle but damaging effects of harmonic distortion, where non-linear loads cause machines to run hot and inefficiently—quietly degrading equipment and inflating energy bills behind the scenes.
The reality is this: when electrical infrastructure is neglected, industrial businesses feel it. It may not always be the most visible problem, but it ticks away in the background. A report estimated that average energy savings between 10% and 75% are possible when using variable speed drives (VSDs) in variable speed applications such as pumps, fans, and compressors. When poor electrics lead to unplanned downtime, the manufacturing market loses up to $50 billion a year.
Even with new machine installations, complexity still creates drag. Retrofitting old systems is slow and labour-intensive, while commissioning delays (the final stages of setting up new equipment) tie up resources and, ultimately, postpone returns. All of this adds up to a kind of hidden friction—quiet, but significant.
If European industry is serious about staying competitive in a fast-moving, decarbonising world, we can’t afford to ignore the “last mile” of efficiency—especially when the solution is right there for the taking. Smarter, more modular, and IoT-ready electrical installations are the key: a core part of long-term performance in a world where every bit of efficiency counts.
The Impact of Electrical Inefficiency
Despite a relentless focus on efficiency, electrical installations are still too often treated as a secondary concern by many industrial business leaders and owners.
Studies show that inefficient installations can increase construction expenses by as much as 20%, thanks to outdated manual wiring processes, labour-intensive setups, and human error. Once up and running, the impact becomes even more costly.
One of the most expensive consequences of ill-conceived electrical installations is early equipment failure: when machines aren’t running efficiently, problems like overloaded circuits and harmonic distortion can reduce motor lifespan by 30–50%. Misconfigured or poorly maintained components bleed energy—often 2–5% lost as excess heat—which accelerates insulation breakdown, leading to more frequent, expensive maintenance.
Often, this doesn’t make itself known right away. It creeps in—through legacy panels, patchwork wiring, and outdated motor starters. And over time, it adds up: rising energy bills, shrinking margins, and less reliable assets. The longer it’s ignored, the steeper the cost.
Gartner puts the price of unplanned downtime at up to $5,600 per minute. Some sites lose up to 800 hours annually—so even back-of-a-napkin maths will give you some astronomical numbers. There’s a clear message: bad electrical systems aren’t just an inconvenience; they’re a compounding loss. Unfortunately, many machine installations are still far from optimised.
Industrial Innovation in Practice
While many industrial leaders will know where the inefficiencies are—in the wiring, the maintenance backlog, the time it takes to scale or upgrade—what’s changed is how much smarter the solutions have become.
For example, modular tools like Schneider Electric’s TeSys Deca Snap-In have changed the game. It’s a plug-and-play contactor for motor management that simplifies installation and optimises motor control through its tool-free modular components. By nature, the modular approach slashes wiring time by up to 96%, with no screws or ferrules required. Everything snaps neatly into place—faster, tidier, and with fewer chances for error. Once installed, it uses advanced electromagnetic design to ensure stable performance and avoid voltage mismatches, which can quietly waste energy. Built-in diagnostics monitor wear and detect anomalies before they become problems.
You can see this modular approach elsewhere too—like in EV charging infrastructure. Pre-assembled control cabinets and busbar systems are reducing on-site wiring time, making it easier to scale up and down without major rewiring projects.
These solutions are indicative of the wider movement in electrical installations: the smartest systems are modular, quick to install and set businesses up for the future. Indeed, anything that tracks contact wear, coil degradation, or load imbalance helps deliver more efficient and resilient production lines.
Electricity 4.0: Driving the Future of Industrial Operations Europe’s journey toward reindustrialization is closely tied to its ability to modernize and electrify its industries. The EU’s electrification goals aim to transition energy systems to renewable-based electricity to achieve climate neutrality by 2050—and much of this will depend on efficient energy use, the kind enabled by next-gen electrical tools.
While electrical installations have often been overlooked, they now represent one of the most powerful levers for driving performance, reducing downtime, and strengthening business resilience. In an era where time equals money, modern, intelligent installations can deliver both. Fortunately, the tools are already available to make this transformation. It’s time for industry leaders to shift focus and invest in electrical systems that not only drive efficiency but also future-proof their operations. The clock is ticking, and the opportunity to act is now.
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