With its presence in over 70 countries and a work force of 33,000, Legrand, a French multinational company, has a strategic focus: Creating a pool of Saudi talent within the organization to propel future growth in the Kingdom. “We are grooming this Saudi team not only for our industrial projects but also for technical support in view of our historical presence in KSA,” General Manager Nicolas Hobeilah tells Abdul Hannan Tago of Arab News at the inauguration of their new office
in Riyadh.
The inauguration was also attended by Legrand Vice President for Export, Michel Marion-Legrang and other Legrand executives based in Middle East.
Legrand, one of the 70 French companies operating in the Kingdom, is an internationally recognized specialist in electrical and digital building infrastructures. It does more than half its business in the commercial and industrial sectors.
Referring to its strategic plan, Hobeilah said: “We are investing in Saudi youth today and we’ll continue to invest in the future. Now we can build up this industrial base again with valuable support from our Saudi team members.”
Legrand, which achieved sales of 4,466.7 billion euros (SR 21,477.4 billion) in 2012, has acquired Seico recently, a Saudi leader in industrial metal cable trays that has three production plants in Saudi Arabia. It manufactures all its products and was responsible for clocking sales worth around 23 million euro (SR 110.592) last year.
“We invite professionals to our offices for a briefing, so that they can train Saudis on our products and solutions concerning energy efficiency issues, both technical and on the practical side. They will also learn how to use them properly for getting optimum result,” he said.
According to Hobeilah, Legrand, with an estimated market share of over 25 percent, enjoys a leadership position in the Kingdom. “We do a little over SR250 million sales every year in electrical products for buildings, one of the fields of our expertise, which also includes the data management field as well.”
On the question of Saudization program, Hobeilah said: “We’re fully in line with the goal of the government regarding hiring and training Saudis and fulfilling their aspirations for the future. In fact, we have many qualified Saudi candidates ready in our Legrand team here locally. They are getting technical support and also follow up with our distributors and partners locally to get a macro picture of our industrial base.”
With regard to quality control, he said: “We work closely with the Saudi Arabian Standards Organization (SASO), which has issued a booklet as part of its effort to raise public awareness on the proper electrical installations in the homes, apartments or villas. Legrand remains dedicated to promoting quality products and quality installations as well.”
On the subject of energy efficiency and the quality of the electrical supply and distribution network, the Legrand executive said: “We have specific products that enhance the quality of the networks and boost power supply. We also bring in monitoring and quality control equipment for the sake of energy efficiency.”
Speaking further, he explained: “We always operate through distributors and rely heavily on having a strong distribution network. It is because they ensure the local availability of our products.” The company also provides technical support in addition to technical information in order to complete their job as part of the whole eco-system.
The company also works closely with its clients and provides technical back-up in the form of training or technical information as and when required through its consultants, architects, interior designers and investors.
“Today, at Legrand, we have a solid position on wiring devices, being the most visible part within the installation, such as the switches and sockets. Luckily we have this leadership position in wiring devices and what we are looking for is to build complementary position on a power mainly power and electrical distribution and on cable management as well,” he said.
The executive said the Saudi market has responded favorably to their products and the quality that they stand for. “We have always been welcomed wherever we go as Legrand — with consultants, inventors and interior decorators who always welcome us because they know that we stand for quality and bring solutions that address their concerns.”
For these reasons, the company also invests in the training program. “We have been doing this for past seven years now here in KSA. It’s a program that we call Mini Seminars. We invite people to our offices, especially the professionals, to inform and train them on our products and solutions,” he added.
