Laurent Vernery, head of Schneider Electric, told an audience of business men and women at Bryant University's 24th Annual World Trade Day that companies need to be prepared to do business internationally because that's the way business is conducted today.

For example, he said, 75 percent of Europe's gross domestic product is linked to international trade.

American Power Conversion, a Rhode Island company that Schneider owns, announced in March that it would eliminate 75 jobs.

Vernery attrributed that cutback to a weakening in the market for server computers. He said those sales figures are an accurate predictor of business for APC, which makes equipment for protecting computers from power failures.

Schneider Electric, a French firm with 112,000 employees in 190 countries and 2007 sales of $25 billion, bought APC in 2007.

Full Story: APC chief: RI business people need to go global Source: Projo News Blog, May 21st, 2009 Author: Bruce Landis Added on May 21st, 2009 at 1:10 pm, by Matt Mikula