Siemens Building Technologies is an Operating Division of Siemens AG. It provides automation technologies and services for commercial, industrial and public buildings and infrastructures. The division is headquartered in Zug, Switzerland, and employs more than 27’000 people worldwide.
History
Siemens Building Technologies resulted from the 1998 acquisition of the industrial activities of Elektrowatt Ltd., Cerberus Ltd., and of Staefa Control System Ltd. by Siemens. The newly built Siemens Building Technologies CPS Software House was opened in Chicago in October 2017, built for $20 million as an R&D facility. In 2018, the division made a number of acquisitions, including Comfy in Oakland, and the smart-building companies J2 Innovations and Enlightened. President of the Siemens Building Technologies division was Dave Hopping. The company is "a vertically-integrated company in relation to smart building design, construction and operation." The company division is still headquartered in Switzerland. The company's products are used in LaGuardia airport in New York. In early 2019, Siemens Building Technologies began working with Violet Defense.
CPS designs and manufactures systems for building automation as well as products for heating, ventilation, air conditioning applications, for lighting, blinds controls, fire safety and extinguishing systems.
Solutions & Service Portfolio (SSP)
The SSP unit offers integrated solutions for specialized areas of application or markets such as data centers, airports or life science. The SSP unit develops strategies, messaging and tools which support the digitalization of buildings and processes.
Controversies
Scandal about the merger with Landis and Gyr
In 2002 the Siemens Group sold seven subsidiary companies to the US financial investor Kohlberg Kravis Roberts. Most affected by this sale was the Swiss company Siemens Metering, located in Zug. 160 out of 360 employees lost their jobs. Siemens Metering was the result of the merger between Siemens and Landis & Gyr in 1998. The documentary “Verlorene Welt – Aus dem Innenleben des einstigen Konzerns Landis & Gyr” by Claudia Schmid and Michael van Orsouw involves the subject and had its first performance at the Solothurn Film Festival 2006.
Siemens sharpened 2006 the rules of conduct for its employees as a reaction of the financial scandal about disloyalty and assumed corruption. Peter Rüegg and Siemens Manager Roland Rümmeli found themselves in the sight of the investigations. Rümmeli was accused to have redirected kickbacks to his private accounts. The laid offportfolio manager paid back the illegal drawn money to Siemens,.
