In 1836, the Schneider brothers acquired mines and steel mills in Le Creusot, France, and invested in the Creusot foundry, thus opening Schneider's glorious chapter in the steel and machinery industry. Two years later, "schneider&cie" was officially established, and Schneider gradually became a leader in this field. In 1891, Schneider, which had become a professional weapons manufacturer, keenly captured the huge potential of the emerging electrical market, resolutely entered this field, and started its own reform and innovation journey, laying the foundation for the company's future diversified development.
Entering the 20th century, Schneider Electric's development pace further accelerated. In 1919, through the European Industrial and Financial Alliance, Schneider established bases in Germany and Eastern Europe, and then allied with the international electrical group Westinghouse to expand its business scope to the production and manufacturing of power stations, electrical equipment and electric locomotives, becoming one of the important players in the electrical industry at that time.
After World War II, Schneider gradually stopped weapons manufacturing and carried out a deep reorganization under the leadership of Charles Snyder, turning to the construction, steel and power industries, achieving a strategic transformation of the company's business and paving the way for its rapid development after the war.
In the late 20th century, Schneider Electric continued to strengthen its core competitiveness in the electrical field through a series of strategic mergers and acquisitions. In 1975, Schneider Group acquired shares of Merlin Gerin, one of the leaders in the field of power distribution equipment; in 1988, 1991 and 1992, TE Electric, RealFast Power and Merlin Gerin became members of the Schneider Electric Group respectively.
In 1999, Schneider Electric ushered in another important milestone in its development history. By acquiring Lexel, the second largest European power distribution giant, the group has made a huge breakthrough in the field of ultra-terminals and officially changed its name to Schneider Electric, clarifying the company's development strategy of focusing on the electrical field. Since then, Schneider Electric has adopted a strategy of accelerating development and improving market competitiveness, opening a new chapter of development.
Entering the 21st century, Schneider Electric keeps pace with the times and actively deploys energy management and digital transformation. From 2000 to 2009, Schneider Electric positioned itself precisely in new market segments, covering multiple fields such as human-machine dialogue, uninterruptible power supply, motion control, sound data image system, sensor technology, building automation and security.In 2006, Schneider Electric acquired Citect and owned the MES product Amparames; in January of the same year, it completed the acquisition of all shares of Clipsal Industrial in Clipsal Asia, and merged Clipsal into the company on February 1, 2007, integrating it into Schneider Electric Intelligent Terminal Division. On March 6, 2007, Schneider Electric successfully acquired American Power Conversion Company, further expanding its share in the global electrical market.
After years of development and accumulation, Schneider Electric's business has spread across more than 100 countries and regions around the world, with more than 140,000 employees, becoming a leading company in the global power and industrial control fields and a leader in the global energy efficiency management field, providing users with overall solutions for energy and infrastructure, industry, data centers and networks, buildings and residential markets.
Looking back on the history of Schneider Electric, its success is due to continuous innovation, strategic mergers and acquisitions, and accurate grasp of market trends. From a steel foundry in the 19th century to today's global electrical giant, Schneider Electric has always insisted on being driven by technological innovation and guided by meeting customer needs, continuously expanding its business areas, improving product and service quality, and establishing an excellent brand image in the global electrical industry, and has made important contributions to promoting the development of global energy management and automation control technology.
