Engineering giant offers products that cut cost and emissions

The figures convinced Peter Loescher, president and chief executive officer of Siemens, that the company’s products in the Infrastructure and Cities Sector will be the best for all cities, including a heavily industrialised town like Map Ta Phut in Rayong.
“I have heard about the environmental issues in Map Ta Phut,” he said in response to an e-mail questionnaire from The Nation. “Taking into consideration that we also offer the largest green portfolio, which earned us €28 billion (Bt1.2 trillion) revenue in 2010 (one-third of total revenue), I assume it is very hard to find another company like Siemens which is capable of offering as many green solutions for cities such as Map Ta Phut and others.”
Loescher noted that Siemens’ focus is on solutions to improve the living conditions of people around the globe and help minimise the harmful effects on the environment.
What supports the company’s claim of being a “green” company is its ranking as the world’s most sustainable company in the Dow Jones Sustainability Index. With the top ranking in the Diversified Industrials category, it stays above companies like 3M, General Electric, Toshiba and others.
“We offer unique products and we are well ahead of the curve due to our intense R&D,” he said.
 According to Siemens’ website, the company spent more than €3.8 billion, or 5.1 per cent of sales, in 2010 on R&D. Thanks to the R&D, Loescher said Siemens is now No 1 in offshore wind power and HVDC electrical highways. A latest combined-cycle plant with its turbine shows an efficiency of more than 60 per cent. A US customer in Florida bought six of these clean new turbines and has a positive net saving effect of about US$1 billion (Bt30 billion) over the whole life cycle because of the low gas consumption of these turbines.
The turbines are also sold to Korea and Germany. It is already in operation at Germany’s largest energy provider. “No other company offers such a powerful and efficient machine. Two of these turbines could easily supply enough power for the whole city of Bangkok. Sustainable products like these are not only good for the customer’s wallet but also for the environment – as CO2 emissions can be reduced significantly,” he noted.