Schneider Electric SE is a French

multinational corporation A multinational corporation (MNC; also called a multinational enterprise (MNE), transnational enterprise (TNE), transnational corporation (TNC), international corporation, or stateless corporation, is a corporate organization that owns and cont ...

that specializes in digital automation and energy management. Registered as a

Societas Europaea A (, ; "European society" or "company"; plural: ; abbr. SE) is a public company registered in accordance with the European corporate law, corporate law of the European Union (EU), introduced in 2004 with the Council Regulation on the Statute ...

, Schneider Electric is a ''Fortune'' Global 500 company, publicly traded on the Euronext Exchange, and is a component of the Euro Stoxx 50

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. In

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2024, the company posted revenues of €38.15 billion. Schneider Electric is the

parent company A holding company is a company whose primary business is holding a controlling interest in the Security (finance), securities of other companies. A holding company usually does not produce goods or services itself. Its purpose is to own Share ...

of Square D, APC, AVEVA, and others. It is also a research company.

History

1836–1963

In 1836, brothers Adolphe and Joseph-Eugene Schneider took over an iron foundry in Le Creusot, France. Two years later, they founded Schneider-Creusot, the company that would eventually become Schneider Electric. Initially, Schneider-Creusot specialized in the production of steel, heavy machinery, and transportation equipment. In 1871, following France's defeat in the

Franco-Prussian War The Franco-Prussian War or Franco-German War, often referred to in France as the War of 1870, was a conflict between the Second French Empire and the North German Confederation led by the Kingdom of Prussia. Lasting from 19 July 1870 to 28 Janua ...

, the company significantly developed its capacity for weapons manufacturing. Over the first half of the 20th century, Schneider-Creusot continued to grow, establishing manufacturing sites in France and abroad, including in pre-Soviet Russia and Czechoslovakia.

1963–1999

In the 1960s, following the death of Charles Schneider, Schneider-Creusot was absorbed by Belgium's Empain group, which merged Schneider-Creusot with its corporate structures to form Empain-Schneider. In 1981, the Empain family sold its controlling stake to Paribas. In the 1980s and 1990s, the company, once again operating under the Schneider name, divested from steel and shipbuilding and, through strategic acquisitions, began to focus on the electricity sector. These acquisitions included Télémécanique in 1988, Square D in 1991, and in 1992. In 1996, the company created the holding company Schneider Electric (China) Investment Company Ltd..

1999–present

In January 1999, Schneider acquired the Scandinavian switch-maker Lexel. Later that year, the company renamed itself Schneider Electric, to reflect its focus on the electricity sector. In 2000, Schneider Electric acquired the French controls-maker Crouzet Automatismes from Thomson-CSF and the Swiss motion control specialist SIG Positec from SIG Group. In October 2006, Schneider Electric announced that it would acquire the data center equipment manufacturer American Power Conversion for $6.1 billion. The following February, the move was finalized following its approval by the

European Commission The European Commission (EC) is the primary Executive (government), executive arm of the European Union (EU). It operates as a cabinet government, with a number of European Commissioner, members of the Commission (directorial system, informall ...

. In June 2010, Schneider and the rolling stock manufacturer

Alstom Alstom SA () is a French multinational rolling stock manufacturer which operates worldwide in rail transport markets. It is active in the fields of passenger transportation, signaling, and locomotives, producing high-speed, suburban, regional ...

jointly purchased Areva's transmission and distribution businesses in a transaction totaling $2.73 billion. In 2016, Schneider acquired Tower Electric, a British company that manufactured fixings and fastenings for construction and electrical firms. In 2017, Schneider Electric became the majority shareholder of Aveva, a provider of engineering and industrial software based in the UK. The next year, it acquired the Indian multinational Larsen & Toubro's electrical and automatic business in a cash deal for . In February 2020, Schneider made a €1.4 billion takeover bid for German company

RIB Software RIB Software GmbH, headquartered in Stuttgart, Germany, provides construction and building information modeling (BIM) software to customers in the Architecture, Engineering, and Construction (AEC) industry. In 2020, it became a subsidiary of Frenc ...

, closing the deal in July 2020. Also in 2020, Schneider Electric acquired ProLeiT AG, a supplier of industrial control and MES software. In January 2023, Schneider Electric's acquisition of Aveva was finalized. In November 2023, Schneider Electric finalized its acquisition of EcoAct, a company devoted to climate consulting and net-zero solutions. After 18 months in office, CEO Peter Herweck was removed by the board of directors and replaced with Olivier Blum in early November 2024. In December 2024, the company announced a partnership with

Nvidia Nvidia Corporation ( ) is an American multinational corporation and technology company headquartered in Santa Clara, California, and incorporated in Delaware. Founded in 1993 by Jensen Huang (president and CEO), Chris Malachowsky, and Curti ...

to design data center cooling systems. File:SE History-19cent-IC-900x500.jpg, 1838: "La Gironde", the first French locomotive File:Schneiderlogo1950.jpg, The Schneider logo in the 1950s File:Telemecanique brochure.jpg, One of the first brochures for Telemecanique industrial control products. Telemecanique was acquired by Schneider Electric in 1988.

Acquisitions

References

External links

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Schneider Electric global blogSchneider Electric eShop India
{{Authority control CAC 40 Companies based in Île-de-France Companies in the Euro Stoxx 50 Companies listed on Euronext Paris Conglomerate companies of France Electric transformer manufacturers Electrical engineering companies of France Electrical wiring and construction supplies manufacturers Electronics companies of France French brands Locomotive manufacturers of France Manufacturers of industrial automation MES software Multinational companies headquartered in France French companies established in 1836 Manufacturing companies established in 1836 Societas Europaea companies