Roca Group, Schneider Electric roll out ‘digital transformation roadmap’

COPENHAGEN—Roca Group makes toilets, basins, bidets, faucets, bathtubs, shower enclosures and trays and bathroom furniture in 80-plus factories worldwide, and they’ve begun on a digital transformation journey with the help of a Schneider Electric consulting practice.

At Schneider’s Innovation Summit here this week, the pair announced their collaboration, which following a pilot in Cantanhede, Portugal, is projected to roll out to additional industrial sites in Anadia, Portugal, Poland, Morocco, Brazil, Austria, and Switzerland.

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Roca Group owns numerous bathroom fixture brands such Roca, the company's flagship brand, Laufen, Parryware, Armani Roca, Johnson Suisse, and InteoCare, Antonio Lupi and Nosag.

Schneider Electric's Advisory Group, launched this month, helps organizations overcome complex challenges in energy efficiency, sustainability, and technology with its expertise in electrification, automation, and digitalization. And they helped Roca create an efficiency, connectivity, and operational resilience “roadmap.”

Launched in phases—diagnosis, strategy definition, global model design, implementation, and scaling—the project is already delivering results at the Cantanhede pilot site in, including a 2.1% improvement in operational equipment efficiency, a 1.86% reduction in energy consumption per ton produced, and annual savings equivalent to more than 4,400 work hours thanks to process automation and increased team autonomy, according to a release from the partners.

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“Partnering with Roca Group on this global digital transformation journey is a powerful example of how digitalization and sustainability can work in synergy to deliver measurable, scalable results in real industrial environments,” said Friedrich Richter, senior VP for services, industrial automation, at Schneider Electric.

“This collaboration highlights how strategic consulting and advanced digital solutions can drive meaningful progress, accelerating both operational efficiency and emissions reduction across Roca’s global footprint.”

Jacques Nieuwland, director of IT and digital transformation at Roca Group, added in the release: “This program not only improves our operational indicators but also reinforces our commitment to smarter, more responsible industry.”

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After strategic visits to Schneider Electric’s “Lighthouse” (a facility recognized by the World Economic Forum for sustainability and advanced manufacturing) in France and digital maturity assessments in Portugal and Germany, Roca Group defined a core digital model to be deployed in two pilot factories, the release said. At the Cantanhede faucet plant, advanced solutions were implemented that transformed operational and energy management.