ATLANTA— Siemens Energy & Automation, Inc. (SE&A) announced today that ongoing legal disputes involving its logistics suppliers have brought the U.S. tour of exiderdome to an end. Its remaining four stops in the United States have been cancelled.
exiderdome is a traveling automation technology expo and learning laboratory for Siemens customers in the manufacturing and commercial facilities segments that began its tour of North America in Mexico. After successfully attracting thousands of visitors in Canada, Mexico and four U.S. cities, legal disputes have prevented exiderdome from being transferred from a barge to land for the second half of its U.S. tour. Because it is now clear that these legal disputes will not be resolved in time for exiderdome to make its scheduled stop in Orlando, Siemens has been forced to reevaluate the rest of its U.S. tour.
“The inability of our suppliers to resolve these disputes has caused a loss in the momentum built up by the success of the first four stops,” said Thomas Varney, vice president of communications at Siemens Energy & Automation. “As a result, Siemens has decided to adjust its marketing mix to find more targeted ways to reach a broader set of customers and prospects with programs that are tailored to address their specific industry challenges.”
In reevaluating its marketing mix, Siemens took into account the changing economic situation. Many U.S. companies have begun to cut back significantly on discretionary travel, so Siemens understands the importance of bringing its technology, educational programs and best practice sharing to its customers’ backyard.
“We are an integrated technology company and while this setback has forced us to modify our approach, we continue to invest in technology and innovation to spur the gains in productivity and flexibility of our customers,” said Varney. “We will continue to find the means to bring our innovations to the market.”
To accommodate the needs of its customers, prospects and partners, Siemens will design programs and events for each of the remaining cities on the U.S. tour. They will be based on the events originally planned around exiderdome and the specific needs of the region. Siemens will also fully leverage all demonstrations, presentations and multi-media from exiderdome by packaging them for its solution providers, channel partners and the sales organization to use in educating customers and prospects.
In a similar action, Siemens will adapt its national Automation Summit users' conference to a regional format. This will enable companies to reduce travel costs without sacrificing education and best practice sharing opportunities because of the current economic landscape. Siemens is working on the details to accommodate this new regional format and is putting together an accelerated plan to begin these meetings as soon as April.
“By demonstrating flexibility and adapting quickly to the legal and changing economic situation, Siemens is focused on bringing continuity to its customers, prospects and partners by offering the same level of training, networking and best practice sharing that helps Siemens deliver technology innovations based on customer requirements,” said Varney. “Through flexibility and agility, Siemens and its customers will be well positioned to emerge stronger as the economy rebounds.”
About Siemens
Siemens Energy & Automation, Inc. is one of Siemens’ operating companies in the U.S. Headquartered in the Atlanta suburb of Alpharetta, Ga., Siemens Energy & Automation manufactures and markets one of the world’s broadest ranges of electrical and electronic products, systems and services to industrial and construction market customers. Its technologies range from circuit protection and energy management systems to process control, industrial software and totally integrated automation solutions. The company also has expertise in systems integration, technical services and turnkey industrial systems. For more information:
www.sea.siemens.com
Siemens AG (NYSE: SI) is a global powerhouse in electronics and electrical engineering, and operates in the industry, energy and healthcare sectors. For more than 160 years, Siemens has built a reputation for leading-edge innovation and the quality of its products, services and solutions. With 428,000 employees in 190 countries, Siemens reported worldwide sales of $116.6 billion in fiscal 2008. With its U.S. corporate headquarters in New York City, Siemens in the USA reported sales of $22.4 billion and employs approximately 69,000 people throughout all 50 states and Puerto Rico. For more information on Siemens in the United States, visit:
www.usa.siemens.com