State and local officials, alongside Schneider Electric of North America’s President and CEO Annette Clayton, cut the ribbon on the energy management company’s newest Nashville Hub.

Located at Two Franklin Park, the 158,000-square-foot campus is the largest Schneider office in the country.

Clayton opened the ceremony with the following remarks:

Throughout our history, Schneider Electric has been focused on one core belief: Life is On when energy is on, everywhere, for everyone, at every moment. It is our purpose and one that inspires us every day so our customers can solve the world’s challenges that they face.

Photo Credit: Schneider Electric

Today we live in an age of dramatic change: Urbanization and industrialization are growing in both speed and scale. At the same time, climate change consequences are happening faster.

This energy dilemma is reshaping economies and industries – challenging us to think and act differently.

We must be proactive. We must innovate. We must co-create our future.

This challenge to think and act differently is what brings us here today.

It’s the inspiration behind state-of-the-art facilities like our NashvilleHub that give us the infrastructure to better serve our customers, our people and our communities with solutions that meet the world’s future energy needs.

Our advanced EcoStruxure framework is integrated into the campus, enabling us to harness the power of the Internet of Things to achieve greater levels of efficiency, sustainability and energy savings. Everywhere you look, Schneider Electric products are doing everything from managing and optimizing energy use in our data centers, HVAC and power systems, to securing our building, and charging our electric vehicles.

For our customers, the NashvilleHub is the embodiment of innovation at Schneider Electric. It gives us a facility that fosters collaboration and growth. It will house engineering and research and development talent to become the birthplace of our next great solutions. The Hub is a perfect complement to the manufacturing facility in Smyrna where we manufacture highly efficient electrical panels and supplies.

For our people, we are now able to bring 850 of our employees together from multiple facilities in Middle Tennessee under one roof and into one collaborative and modernized environment.

The 158,000 square foot office, training lab and customer meeting space is one of the largest Schneider offices in the country. The building’s energy management and safety features are an example of the benefits that building codes can provide to work spaces and homes. It is also the latest within our global network that is purpose-built which allows our employees to select the workspace accommodations that best suit their workstyle by the day, or by the hour.

We have designed the space with employee well-being in mind, too. Employees now have purpose-built rooms on every floor for nursing mothers and prayer and meditation.

The campus includes a walking trail and complimentary fitness center, and the marketplace will include smart food choices to make prioritizing health easier for our people.

And for our Franklin community, this facility is our pledge to help make the greater Nashville area the hub for both technology and energy innovation.

Nationally, the advanced energy industry supports more than 3 million jobs.

And 325,000 Tennesseans are contributing $33.4 billion to the state GDP through these advanced energy related jobs.

We’re here to do more.

Strengthening our footprint in Middle Tennessee is a testament to the local talent we gain; the like-mindedness of the local officials who support clean energy, energy infrastructure, diversity and health; and the spirit of this great region that makes it an exciting place for our employees to live and work.

I want to thank the city of Franklin, its citizens and the commitment of our employees in the collective roles they have played in opening this world-class facility. Today, and in the years to come, Schneider Electric strengthens its presence and commitment in Middle Tennessee to deliver the products, services, and solutions to ensure that Life is On.

Thank you and again, welcome to the NashvilleHub.