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India is a vital market for Schneider Electric: Neil Elliott Smith
Articles- May 21,26
In this interview with Rakesh Rao, Neil Elliott Smith, Segment President, Consumer Packaged Goods, Schneider Electric, highlights the company’s solutions for CPG sector and India’s growing influence in the global market.
The consumer packaged goods (CPG) sector in India is undergoing rapid transformation, with automation, digitalisation, and energy efficiency driving productivity and sustainability. Speaking to Rakesh Rao during Hannover Messe 2026, Neil Elliott Smith, Segment President, Consumer Packaged Goods, Schneider Electric, based in Singapore, highlights the company’s solutions for CPG sector, the role of SMEs, and India’s growing influence in the global market.
How is Schneider Electric serving the CPG industry, which covers a vast range of products?
Within Schneider Electric, we focus primarily on food and beverages, household and personal care, and life sciences. Each of these categories has diverse requirements. Our solutions cover the complete value chain, from upstream ingredient processing—such as sugar, grains, edible oils, and bioethanol—to secondary processing for packaged foods. This includes snack foods, functional foods, and healthier options like protein bars, cereals, and natural nut bars. Dairy is treated as a separate segment in India due to its unique challenges, covering both liquid and solid products as well as nutritional items such as baby formula and adult protein powders. Beverages, including water, soft drinks, beer, and spirits, form another significant segment.
Additionally, we support pharmaceutical and biotechnology manufacturing, particularly in research-intensive environments. Across these segments, our focus is to enable efficiency, quality, and compliance in manufacturing processes.
Can you elaborate on the solutions and products Schneider Electric provides to this sector?
The industry is evolving rapidly, with trends such as smaller batch production, personalised products, and increased regulatory oversight, especially in life sciences. Our solutions span three primary areas: the facility, the manufacturing process, and enterprise-level integration.
At the facility level, we offer Building Management Systems (BMS), electrical distribution, and utilities management. These solutions are critical in regulated environments, ensuring quality standards and documentation are maintained meticulously.
For manufacturing, we provide comprehensive automation solutions. This includes process equipment such as pasteurisers, sterilizers, spray dryers, and cheese-making systems, as well as packaging, slicing, boxing, and palletising equipment. We also provide orchestration software to manage recipes and batches, integrate visualization and SCADA systems for real-time monitoring, and enhance operational efficiency through line performance metrics and Overall Equipment Effectiveness (OEE) calculations. These systems can be integrated with ERP solutions, allowing for seamless coordination across operations.
At the enterprise level, Schneider Electric’s holistic software footprint spans the Aveva and Wonderware portfolios, alongside our EcoStruxure energy management platform. This integration enables visibility from the plant floor to corporate headquarters, supporting decision-making at both local and global levels, while optimising energy consumption and process efficiency.
How do you view India in terms of customer demand and market potential?
India is rapidly modernising and is on a high growth trajectory. Initiatives like ‘Make in India’ encourage local production and self-reliance, creating significant opportunities. The Indian CPG sector benefits from urbanisation, a growing middle class, and openness to international products. This combination makes India a vital market for Schneider Electric, one where we are investing heavily in both manufacturing capabilities and market development.
Can you describe the manufacturing footprint of your division in India?
While I cannot provide exact figures, our India operations serve as a hub for global manufacturing. We produce household electrical components, irrigation solutions, telemetry systems, and distributed network products locally. Localisation enables us to meet pricing and availability requirements specific to the Indian market, creating products in India for India. This approach aligns with our broader strategy of providing cost-effective, high-quality solutions while leveraging local manufacturing expertise.
How do Schneider Electric solutions address SMEs in the Indian CPG sector?
SMEs often face capital limitations, making scalable and cost-effective solutions essential. We provide advisory services to identify opportunities for electrification, operational efficiencies, digitisation, and sustainability outcomes. Our tiered offerings include premium solutions for multinational corporations and locally tailored solutions for SMEs. The L&T acquisition and rebranding facilitate ‘design in India, make in India’ solutions, enabling competitive pricing while maintaining quality standards. This approach ensures that both large and small organisations can adopt automation and energy management solutions effectively.
What growth prospects do you foresee for India?
India’s life sciences sector, including generics and biotechnology, is expanding rapidly. Investment in CDMO, CMO, and biosimilar ventures is increasing. Schneider Electric anticipates significant opportunities to deploy automation and energy management solutions, supporting local manufacturers and enabling them to compete in global markets. Despite fragmentation and local diversity, our universal value proposition resonates, providing both technical expertise and global market access to Indian organisations.
Are there specific industries you are particularly bullish about?
Life sciences remain a key focus due to India’s leadership in generics and its growing biotech sector. Automation, energy management, and software solutions are essential in this space to ensure operational efficiency, compliance, and sustainability.
How does renewable energy integration create opportunities for Schneider Electric in India?
Behind-the-meter energy solutions such as rooftop solar, wind, and storage systems are increasingly adopted. Schneider Electric enables integration with plant operations to maximise energy efficiency, schedule activities based on energy availability, and optimise storage. This integration allows plants to manage production within energy constraints while leveraging renewable sources effectively. Microgrids and hybrid energy solutions are becoming standard in advanced manufacturing facilities.
How is software-defined automation transforming the CPG industry?
Open, software-defined automation enables scalable, flexible, and interoperable operations. By standardising open protocols, legacy systems can work alongside modern automation, enabling AI, predictive analytics, and energy efficiency without complete infrastructure replacement. This is particularly critical for long-lived electrical and automation systems, ensuring longevity and adaptability in manufacturing environments.
What is your outlook for automation in Indian CPG industry?
India’s CPG market offers immense opportunities due to population growth, urbanisation, and evolving consumer demand. SMEs and large manufacturers alike are adopting automation and energy management solutions to drive efficiency, compliance, and sustainability. Schneider Electric is committed to providing integrated, scalable solutions to support India’s emergence as a global leader in CPG manufacturing.
Neil Elliott Smith
Schneider Electric
industrial automation
Consumer Packaged Goods
Automation
Energy Management
Microgrids
Life Sciences
India Market
Smart Manufacturing
Renewable Energy
SMEs
Rakesh Rao
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