Schneider Electric South Africa has announced the finalisation of its merger with Uniflair South Africa, and the latter’s complete integration into the Schneider Electric flagship brand.

The announcement follows the positive business outcomes of the 2010 acquisition of Uniflair S.p.A., a specialist in precision air conditioning and technical cooling systems, by Schneider Electric, a global specialist in energy management and cooling solutions.

“The local Uniflair entity will now be fully merged into a single Schneider Electric brand, positioning the organisation to better scale and serve the rapidly growing cooling industry in Southern Africa,” says Eric Léger, country president for Southern Africa at Schneider Electric.

The merger will provide customers with consistency through a stronger brand, a single and integrated offer, the simplification of day-to-day business, and an enhanced ability to create solutions, based on the products of a single brand. Importantly, customers will be able to deal with a single supplier, making commissioning, fault-finding and problem-solving a great deal easier.

According to Léger, the merger forms part of the company’s strategy to create a complete customer-centric company. “The integration is rewarding for both customers and Schneider Electric. Customers will have access to a superior holistic solution that is made up of complementary products all bearing the Schneider Electric name and logo, and the merger accelerates our local operation in terms of business opportunities and competitiveness in the cooling market,” he says.

With the merger, the Schneider Electric South Africa cooling portfolio will encompass a total range of precision cooling solutions. “In addition to its in-row cooling and hot aisle containment, Schneider Electric South Africa will also offer perimeter or room cooling and cold aisle containment, heat rejection through its condensers and chiller portfolio, along with various free cooling options and air distribution by means of the Ecoflair range of flooring options.

“Importantly, we’d like to give Uniflair customers peace of mind that we will continue to market, sell, service and support this well-regarded technology under the Schneider Electric brand, underpinned by our proven best practices, superlative technology and strong focus on energy efficiency. We look forward to the tremendous opportunities for this unified business.”

Bruce Grobler, Schneider Electric’s IT business director for Southern Africa, together with Ronnie Robberts, the cooling solutions sales manager at Schneider Electric South Africa, will head up the newly merged business.