Siemens is one of the global giants and one of the most important companies operating in Romania. Since 111 years ago, when the company established its first representative office in Romania, its first projects were executed in the energy field. To this day, energy remains one of the strongest business segments for Siemens, be it oil and gas, electricity, automation or digitization. George Costache, Siemens Romania CEO, shared with us the projects that the company completed this year and the trends that will dominate the energy market in the coming years.

Dear George Costache, what are the most dynamic business segments in which Siemens is involved in Romania at this time?

The word that best describes the evolution of Siemens this year is “Development”. We continued to develop the activity of research-development centers in Romania, we completed the expansion of two of the four Siemens plants in Romania and, not lastly, we continued to invest internally in order to maintain and develop the skills of our teams in all nine divisions of the company. In addition to these areas of development, 2016 is an important year for Siemens, as it represents the anniversary of 111 years of presence on the local market. It is also the year we launched a new slogan: Ingenuity for life. These words are backed by engineering experience, entrepreneurship and the power of innovation.

Siemens has a complex portfolio, focused along three strategic directions: electrification, automation and digitization. All business segments performed as expected, each having its own specific dynamics. The dynamics of a sector like the energy industry is very different from the IT market, for example. Also, in the industrial segment we have daily sales opportunities, while in transport, for example, the projects are major and get developed over several years – and therefore opportunities are rarer.

In 2016, we started a new project in transportation, along with the Romanian Railroad Company, aimed at upgrading the electromechanical centralization facilities and at increasing the railroad traffic safety for 12 stations, on the Siculeni-Adjud section. Also, the IT&C market had a strong development, in particular in the software research and development segment, where Siemens teams in Brasov and Cluj-Napoca are constantly growing, with international projects.

In FY 2015, ended on 30 September 2015, Siemens SRL recorded EUR 157 million in revenues. In Romania, Siemens companies counts 1780 employees.

What are the challenges the local and regional energy industry is facing, from the perspective of a large provider of technical and professional solutions such as Siemens Romania?

In the energy industry, we are waiting for the energy strategy to be completed this year, and if this happens in a coherent manner and implementation will prove consistent, the entire market, and in particular Romania as a country will benefit. Energy is a key industry for the development of economy, and Romania needs major investments both in the distribution and in the transport infrastructure.

On the local market, energy efficiency projects continue to be an objective on the agenda of industrial consumers, and this trend is natural in a developed country. But in Romania, to reduce energy intensity is as important as energy efficiency. The cleanest form of energy is the energy that is not consumed, after all. To save energy and to use it more efficiently are targets that very technologically advanced countries have already undertaken. For example, engines use nearly two thirds of the electricity consumed in the industrial sector. With optimized solutions, the energy consumption for electrical drives may be reduced up to 70% – and the energy saved will allow a break even target of less than two years. Worldwide, 40% of the energy is consumed by buildings – and this is where we can also save: by using thermal insulation, smart building technologies or efficient lighting systems. On the market of smart building technologies, we have seen a positive evolution as developers, but also clients start to focus more on sustainability.

In the medium term, we expect a growing trend in the implementation of smart grid solutions.

In recent years, Siemens has been part of numerous projects relevant to the energy industry in Romania, in the generation sector, but also in improving energy efficiency. What are, in your opinion, the main projects of the year 2016?

This summer, one of Siemens’ factories in Romania was relocated to a new building, located in the “West Zone Industrial Park” in Sibiu. Electrical installation works in the factory were made by Semens SRL, with efficiency as a central piece. Energy losses are reduced through the use of high efficiency dry transformers, while lighting is modularly controlled, depending on the area and availability of natural light, with considerable benefits in terms of energy consumption.

Also in 2016, we conducted innovating local projects in the field of storing energy and automated load management systems, namely in the field of controlled interruption of supply to certain consumers, an innovating technology developed by Siemens, which allows the maintenance of optimum parameters in the operation of refinery installations, despite network instability.

Oil still has a major share in the current energy mix and it will remain important at least in the medium term. The Siemens portfolio provides integrated solutions for the entire oil and gas industry, and this was reflected, in 2016, in local projects and solutions implemented in the oil and gas fields, in refineries or in water treatment plants. Moreover, one of the largest facilities of Siemens in Romania is located at the very heart of Petrobrazi refinery, where our teams provide maintenance works for electrical equipment, instruments and automations in the most important installations in the refinery.

In addition to the national energy strategy, this year’s major themes were energy efficiency and new technologies, either imported or developed locally. What are, from your perspective, the main actions that both the authorities and energy companies should undertake to increase the sustainability of the energy industry under safe operation and financial consolidation conditions?

Romania needs predictability, consistency and continuity in its strategic projects, but also transparency and clarity in making and implementing decisions. Any reform must begin by taking ownership of the reform project both at individual level and at general level, by creating a clear schedule and complying with it. And to ensure the best implementation, a trust relationship also needs to exist between the private and the public sector.

Also, PPP could be the key to rapid development in certain areas where financing is insufficient.

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The full version of this article can be read in printed edition of energynomics.ro Magazine, issued in September 2016.

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