New venture set to create 100 jobs

NaviX Solutions will help firms to manage critical power assets without them forking out capital

Deputy Prime Minister Heng Swee Keat (centre) during a visit to Schneider Electric in Kallang yesterday. With him were (from left) NaviX Solutions chief executive Simon Claringbold, National Research Foundation deputy CEO Beh Kian Teik and Mr Tommy L
Deputy Prime Minister Heng Swee Keat (centre) during a visit to Schneider Electric in Kallang yesterday. With him were (from left) NaviX Solutions chief executive Simon Claringbold, National Research Foundation deputy CEO Beh Kian Teik and Mr Tommy Leong (back to camera), Schneider Electric's zone president for East Asia and Japan. NaviX Solutions, incubated by Schneider Electric and the Economic Development Board, is set to create jobs in customer service, technical support, finance and logistics, among other areas. ST PHOTO: JASON QUAH

A new Singapore-headquartered company was unveiled yesterday by European multinational company Schneider Electric and the Economic Development Board (EDB), in a new venture that could lead to about 100 fresh jobs here.

NaviX Solutions will help firms to manage critical power assets such as medium-voltage switch gears, without them having to fork out capital for the tools. These assets will be launched in phases.

The new company will lead to job creation in customer service, technical support, finance, human resources and logistics, among others, said its chief executive Simon Claringbold.

Yesterday, Deputy Prime Minister Heng Swee Keat visited Schneider Electric's headquarters in Kallang, where he was shown some of the company's innovations, including a unified digital platform by NaviX Solutions. The platform provides customers with real-time and predictive analytics.

Commenting on the new venture, Mr Choo Heng Tong, EDB's executive vice-president of new ventures and innovation, said: "Through corporate venturing, Schneider Electric has been able to test new business models in a nimble manner and pursue opportunities that complement its core business.

"NaviX Solutions benefits from a strong entrepreneurial founding team that can drive growth with autonomy and agility, and at the same time leverage the deep competitive advantages of Schneider Electric in energy management, customer networks and global scale.

"We are confident that this will give NaviX Solutions a strong edge in the market."

NaviX Solutions was jointly incubated by Schneider Electric and EDB New Ventures, the EDB's corporate venture-building arm.

Schneider Electric and the EDB will co-invest to capitalise NaviX Solutions and will continue to provide support as the venture grows.

Schneider Electric's chief innovation officer Emmanuel Lagarrigue said: "The venture creation programme we have built together with the EDB is a great example of how corporations and governments can work together to create jobs, develop world-changing innovation, and build back better."

Mr Claringbold said NaviX Solutions will "address critical challenges in an evolving digital economy where power and cooling assets are now business-critical infrastructure". He added: "Our role and driving force are to support companies to keep pace with market change while balancing the need to transform sustainably.

"At the same time, we are driving a mindset change, bringing more visibility to the role these critical assets play and how to maximise the value they deliver."

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A version of this article appeared in the print edition of The Straits Times on April 14, 2021, with the headline New venture set to create 100 jobs. Subscribe