Schneider Electric moving HQ to Boston area

Energy-management company Schneider Electric is relocating its U.S. headquarters from Palatine to the Boston area. The company’s U.S. research-and-development center is in Andover, Massachusetts.

The headquarters move “does not change the importance of our other locations in North America. Palatine, in particular, remains an important location and hub for various functions, talent and expertise,” a company representative said Thursday.

“The Palatine facility has 350 employees working in administrative support functions such as human resources, marketing, purchasing and strategy and Palatine-based employees and business leaders are not being asked to move from Palatine to Andover.”

Moving the headquarters is part of Schneider Electric’s effort to shed its reputation as an electronics gear maker and become known for putting together sophisticated systems used in data centers and other buildings, The Boston Globe reports.