I’m working on a story now. More details to come. I just received word that Schneider Electric has added 10 manufacturer rep firms (these are details I need to firm up) to its sales force for “motion, drives, control and signaling.”

Modicon, pre-Schneider, had some impressive rep companies. Right about the time I became an editor was the purchase and merger of distribution with Square D distributors–who were by and large not automation houses. I really don’t know what happened to most of the old Modicon houses.

After the Schneider acquisition of APC (power quality and UPSs mainly for large IT infrastructure) and the overall marketing effort moving to the APC group, I’ve heard only a little about automation.

If Schneider is showing renewed zeal in the automation space and if ABB truly puts together its discrete automation portfolio, then things could get interesting in North America. But Schneider’s news release touts energy management, not manufacturing. So, we’ll see. But it’s interesting.

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