Self efficient - Interview wth Eaton's COO

Energy efficiency is a hot topic in the Middle East.
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Eaton COO Thomas Gross talks to Utilities Middle East about the company’s new structure, its regional approach and energy efficiency.

When a senior executive enters the office, everyone sits up and pays attention. So when Thomas Gross, the chief operating officer and vice chairman of Eaton’s electrical division is on his way to the Middle East, it’s no surprise the atmosphere in the firm’s Dubai office is one of anticipation.

Last year the company went through a drastic structural rethink, with the firm now organised on a regional basis rather than a product focused one. But regionalised or not, when a top boss from the US visits, the local staff are always keen to impress.

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As Gross enters the office, together with a supporting entourage, it’s clear any staff anxieties are misplaced. Appearing laid back, warm and genuinely excited to be visiting Dubai, it quickly becomes apparent that Gross is a man with a passion for his job.

“The thing that unifies Eaton is that almost the entire company, nearly 100%, is involved in power of some type. So there is electrical power, fluid power with the hydraulics and aerospace and there is the mechanical power so we are typically involved in engines and valve trains and things that generate power,” enthuses Gross.

“My responsibility is to run the electrical side of the business,” he continues,

“The electrical sector is broken into three pieces which are completely regional and so we have an Americas business, an Asia Pacific business and we have a Europe, Middle East and Africa business.

So we have a pretty simple organisation structure. We changed from having a technology organisation where we were organised by various product attributes and we changed in 2009 to a complete regional structure.”

The new structure has given the company many benefits, chief of which is the self sufficiency enjoyed by each regional hub in the various parts of the globe. The changes are also designed to make the firm quicker and more responsive to a client’s needs.

Gross admits the change was a big task, but believes the hard work is now completed: “We have had a big upheaval as a result of that, but it has gone very well so we are now essentially finished with all those organisational changes in the firm,” he states.

The Middle East represents an important part of the Eaton business, Gross says. “World figures for the electrical sector stood at $6bn with$3.5bn inside the Americas and $2.bn outside. And the Europe, Middle East and Africa region is bigger than the Asia Pacific region, but that’s all we can tell you.

The Middle East has been a good growth region for us and we are expanding our capabilities and that expansion is coming through normal product development but also through acquisitions.”