Could you briefly share Lauritz Knudsen’s journey and current positioning in the Indian switchgear market?
Lauritz Knudsen brings over seven decades of rich heritage to India’s electrical landscape. Our journey began with 70 years back, and following our acquisition by Schneider Electric, we evolved into the Lauritz Knudsen brand while retaining our deep-rooted understanding of the Indian market. Today, we hold a strong position in India’s switchgear market, built on three key pillars: our extensive local expertise, comprehensive product portfolio, and unwavering commitment to energy efficiency. We serve the market through a complete range of solutions spanning low-voltage and medium-voltage switchgear, advanced automation systems, and cutting-edge digital energy management platforms. What truly differentiates us is our ability to combine global innovation with local insights, making us a trusted partner for India’s rapidly expanding infrastructure needs. Our focus remains on delivering solutions that not only meet today’s requirements but also support India’s sustainable energy transition.
How does Lauritz Knudsen differentiate itself in an increasingly competitive low-voltage and medium-voltage segment?
In today’s competitive market, Lauritz Knudsen stands out through three key differentiators that align with India’s evolving energy needs. First, our technology is purpose-built for India’s demanding conditions, delivering reliable, efficient performance in extreme temperatures, humidity, and industrial environments. Second, we go beyond product supply to offer integrated solutions. Our smart switchgear systems interface seamlessly with renewable energy, smart grids, and emerging technologies supporting India’s clean energy goals and smart city vision. Third, our deep customer partnerships set us apart. With local technical expertise and global R&D, we provide end-to-end support and tailored solutions from powering critical industries to enabling e-mobility infrastructure. Ultimately, by embedding intelligence into our systems, we’re helping customers meet today’s challenges while preparing for tomorrow’s energy landscape making us the trusted partner for future-ready projects.
How are Lauritz Knudsen products designed to meet the evolving needs of modern construction and smart infrastructure?
Modern construction and smart infrastructure require electrical solutions that can adapt, communicate, and optimize performance beyond traditional power distribution. Lauritz Knudsen has redesigned our approach to meet these evolving demands. Our products integrate seamlessly into smart building ecosystems through IoT connectivity and real-time diagnostics. The Omega UZ ACB and Dsine DZ MCCB function as intelligent nodes within building management systems, providing continuous monitoring and predictive insights that optimize energy consumption and prevent failures. We’ve also expanded into comprehensive smart home solutions with our recently launched enConnect platform, which transforms homes into intelligent, connected living spaces. This platform integrates lighting, appliances, and security systems, allowing control through touch, mobile apps, or voice commands while ensuring robust cybersecurity. For smart city applications, our switchgear enables smooth integration between renewable energy sources, energy storage systems, and traditional grid power. Combined with our automation solutions – including VFDs, PLCs, and IoT-enabled Edge Gateways – we support the complex requirements of modern infrastructure projects. What makes our products particularly valuable is their modular, future-ready architecture that can adapt as building requirements evolve without requiring complete system overhauls.
What steps is Lauritz Knudsen taking to make its products more energy-efficient and environmentally sustainable?
Energy efficiency is central to our product strategy, with our next-generation automation solutions delivering up to 30 percent energy savings across industries, OEMs, utilities, and infrastructure projects. Our Variable Frequency Drives (VFDs) enable precision motor control that eliminates energy waste by optimizing motor speeds based on actual demand. We’re already demonstrating this impact at scale – powering 2 lakh TCD of sugar mills, automating 8K+ tons of rice mills, and driving 60 lakh textile spindles with energy-optimized solutions. Through IoT-enabled Edge Gateways and SMARTCOMM Process SCADA Software, we provide real-time energy monitoring and predictive maintenance that helps facilities identify inefficiencies before they become costly problems. This software-driven intelligence continuously optimizes energy consumption across operations. Our focus on enhancing productivity and catalyzing growth in ‘Deep India’ means designing solutions specifically for Indian industrial conditions while delivering measurable energy reductions. By combining automation, energy management, and intelligent software, we’re helping businesses across sectors – from pharmaceuticals to textiles – reduce their energy footprint while boosting operational efficiency. This approach supports India’s industrial transformation goals while delivering tangible cost benefits through reduced energy consumption.
How much emphasis does the company place on in-house R&D, especially for India-specific requirements?
In-house R&D is fundamental to our strategy, with well-equipped design and development centers alongside advanced tooling facilities ensuring precision in innovation and manufacturing. Our R&D addresses India’s unique challenges – extreme ambient temperatures, fluctuating power demands, and diverse environmental conditions. We’re continuously expanding our R&D footprint with state-of-the-art facilities across Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra, and Gujarat, reflecting our commitment to ‘Make in India’ and ‘Viksit Bharat 2047.’ Recent innovations developed specifically for Indian markets include our enConnect smart home platform and next-generation industrial automation solutions delivering up to 30% energy efficiency improvements. Our research priorities focus on digital transformation, smart energy management, and IoT-based automation systems. By combining global excellence standards with deep local insights, we create solutions optimized for Indian applications – from powering municipal corporations to India’s largest airports. This India-focused innovation strategy ensures our products meet international benchmarks while addressing specific local requirements.
With the Indian government’s focus on smart cities, infrastructure, and housing, what role does Lauritz Knudsen plan to play?
We are positioned to play a pivotal role in India’s smart cities, infrastructure, and housing development. As the government advances urbanization goals and the ‘Viksit Bharat 2047’ vision, we’re strategically aligning our solutions with these national priorities. Our smart switchgear and energy management systems integrate seamlessly with smart buildings, renewable energy installations, and electric vehicle charging infrastructure – all critical components of India’s smart city initiatives. We’re already supporting over 20 municipal corporations and powering major infrastructure projects, demonstrating our capability at scale. We aim to provide the intelligent electrical backbone that transforms India’s cities into energy-efficient, reliable, and future-ready urban centers, supporting the nation’s journey toward becoming a developed economy by 2047.
How do your solutions cater to the unique needs of large infrastructure projects, real estate developers, and EPC players?
We deliver scalable, customizable solutions specifically engineered to meet the complex demands of large infrastructure projects, real estate developers, and EPC players. Our comprehensive portfolio including low- and medium-voltage switchgear, smart automation systems, and intelligent energy management solutions ensures reliable, efficient, and future-ready power distribution across a wide range of applications. We recognize that large-scale developments often face tight timelines, regulatory complexity, and evolving sustainability targets. That’s why our solutions are designed not only for robust performance but also for seamless integration with renewable energy sources, smart grids, and building management systems. This enables optimized energy usage, reduced operational costs, and enhanced system resilience. Our deep technical expertise, supported by strong local presence and global R&D capabilities, allows us to provide tailored support throughout the project lifecycle from design and engineering to commissioning and maintenance. Whether it’s a residential township, commercial high-rise, industrial facility, or infrastructure corridor, we ensure compliance, adaptability, and long-term value.
Please take us through your dealers’ and distributors’ network?
We have built a strong and extensive dealer and distributor network that spans across India, covering Tier 1, Tier 2, and Tier 3 cities, as well as remote and underserved regions. With over our entire network of trusted partners, our distribution network plays a critical role in ensuring seamless access to our products and solutions, regardless of geography. Our distribution strategy is rooted in accessibility, responsiveness, and customer-centricity. Whether it’s for large-scale urban infrastructure developments or rural electrification initiatives, we are committed to delivering high-quality switchgear, automation systems, and energy solutions quickly and reliably.
What sets our network apart is the close collaboration we maintain with our channel partners. We equip them with comprehensive technical training, marketing support, and real-time product availability to help them respond effectively to customer needs. This localized presence enables faster service, more tailored solutions, and stronger relationships with end users and ultimately ensuring that our customers receive not only cutting-edge technology, but also dependable, on-the-ground support.
What kind of technical support or training programs do you offer for electricians, contractors, and OEM partners to address the growing need for skilled manpower in the switchgear and electrical installation industry?
We understand the growing need for a skilled workforce in the electrical installation sector. That’s why we invest heavily in training and capacity building programs aimed at electricians, contractors, and OEM partners.Our dedicated training centers, located across India, offer hands-on training in switchgear installation, maintenance, and troubleshooting. These programs are designed to ensure that industry professionals are well-equipped to handle the evolving needs of the sector, particularly as new technologies like smart switchgear, home automation, and IoT-based solutions become more prevalent. Through these training initiatives, we aim to bridge the skills gap, enabling professionals to stay updated with the latest industry standards and best practices, ensuring that the workforce is well-prepared to support India’s growing electrical infrastructure.
In what ways are technologies like IoT and AI enhancing the functionality and intelligence of your switchgear systems?
We are harnessing the power of IoT and AI to transform our switchgear systems into intelligent, adaptive, and future-ready solutions. By embedding these technologies, we enable advanced functionalities such as real-time monitoring, predictive maintenance, and automated fault detection resulting in significantly reducing downtime and enhancing system reliability. IoT connectivity allows for continuous data collection across critical parameters like load, temperature, and voltage, giving operators deeper visibility and control. Meanwhile, AI-driven analytics process this data to detect patterns, anticipate failures, and optimize energy flow. This ensures smarter energy distribution, improved grid stability, and better responsiveness to demand fluctuations. Machine learning algorithms further enhance our systems by enabling dynamic load balancing and self-adjustment in response to environmental and operational changes. This makes our switchgear more resilient, energy-efficient, and seamlessly compatible with smart grid infrastructure and renewable energy sources. The integration of IoT and AI elevates our switchgear from traditional hardware to intelligent energy management platforms delivering long-term performance, sustainability, and adaptability in a rapidly evolving energy landscape.
How do you see the future of switchgear evolving, especially with trends like renewable energy integration, electric vehicles, and automation? What role does Lauritz Knudsen aim to play in shaping this transformation?
The future of switchgear will be increasingly shaped by the rise of renewable energy, electric vehicles (EVs), and automation. As India and the world move towards a more sustainable energy future, switchgear will play a critical role in ensuring the stability and efficiency of smart grids. We are at the forefront of this transformation, developing advanced switchgear solutions that integrate seamlessly with renewable energy sources like solar and wind, electric vehicle charging infrastructure, and smart grid technologies. We are focused on providing energy-efficient, future-proof solutions that not only enhance energy distribution but also contribute to a sustainable energy ecosystem. Our role is to enable a more automated, decentralized, and smart energy infrastructure, where our switchgear solutions will ensure grid resilience, facilitate EV integration, and support renewable energy expansion. We aim to lead the way by offering innovative, scalable solutions that address the growing need for a connected, sustainable, and efficient energy grid.
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