Schneider Automation Inc history

By 1838 Schneider had built the first French steam locomotive and it later expanded into building other large, complex mechanical devices.

Empain, founded in 1881 by Edouard Empain, was a pioneer in rail transit.

Two years later, they created Schneider & Cie.. 1891: Having become an armaments specialist, Schneider innovated by launching itself into the emerging electricity market.

The company installed the Paris Metro system in 1900 and later formed a successful rail-construction firm called Electrorail.

Square D--founded in 1902 and with sales of US$1.65 billion and operations in 23 countries--was a market leader in electrical distribution, industrial control, and automation products, systems, and services.

Founded in Grenoble in 1920 by Paul-Louis Merlin and Gaston Gerin, the company was a leader in industrial circuit breakers and switching gear.

After experiencing two world wars, Charles Schneider restructured the company in 1949.

In 1963, however, another family industrial group called Empain acquired a large financial stake in Schneider.

Modicon created the first programmable logic controller (PLC) in the United States in 1968.

1969 Modicon introduced the "084" PLC, so named because it was the 84th project of Bedford Associates.

By 1971 Empain-Schneider had become one of the most important industrial groups in the world, with interests in virtually every sector of heavy industry and infrastructure.

In 1972 Empain-Schneider took over the civil- and electrical-engineering group Spie-Batignolles.

1973 The "084" was upgraded and re-introduced as the "184". The workforce increased from 80 to 170 employees and sales reached $5 million.

1975 Modicon introduced the "284", the first controller with a microprocessor and distributed control and the "384, the first PLC with digitized process algorithms for continuous control.

1979 The company introduced History | Specifications | Modbus Organization">Modbus, the first industrial communications network, enabling users to interface computers to controllers.

In 1980, however, the Empain family divested itself of its interest in Empain-Schneider, forcing the reorganization of the company and reducing Empain's involvement in the group from 45 percent to about 5 percent of turnover.

Schneider's primary operating subsidiaries remained Spie Batignolles, with 55 percent of total revenue; Merlin Gerin, with 31 percent; and Jeumont-Schneider Industries, with 14 percent in 1987.

The takeover battle, launched in February 1988, involved many bitter and complicated legal and labor disputes, and finally government intervention.

In 1990 Federal Power, a maker of low-voltage distribution equipment and medium-voltage switchgear, was acquired.

Schneider's United States spending spree reached a peak, however, in 1991 when it acquired Square D Company, based in Palatine, Illinois, for US$2.23 billion in another hostile takeover.

In 1992 Schneider gained full control of Merlin Gerin through a merger.

Then in 1994, Schneider's corporate structure was further rationalized when a new Schneider Electric S.A. subsidiary, based in France, was created and both Merlin Gerin S.A. and Telemecanique S.A. were merged into the new subsidiary and ceased to exist as separate companies.

He did so by engineering a merger between the companies in July 1995, which also had the side benefit of garnering Schneider a large tax credit.

The case seemed to have made little progress even into early 1997, and Pineau-Valencienne, who stayed in charge of the company throughout the episode, and other Schneider officials continued to insist that the case was entirely groundless.

1998 Schneider Automation expanded its lineup both in hardware and software, with the Micro and Premium PLC platforms, the Momentum controller for distributed I/Os and Transparent Factory.

In May 1999 the Group was renamed Schneider Electric, to more clearly emphasise its expertise in the electrical field.

2010: Schneider Electric strengthens its lead in the development of the Smart Grid, with the acquisition of the distribution activities of Areva T&D.

Schneider Electric Infrastructure Ltd was incorporated on March 12 2011 with the name Smartgrid Automation Distribution and Switchgear Ltd.