In 1836, brothers Adolphe and Joseph-Eugene Schneider took over an iron foundry in Le Creusot, France.[8] 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.[9][10] In 1871, following France's defeat in the Franco-Prussian War, the company significantly developed its capacity for weapons manufacturing.[11] 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.[11][12]
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.[13][14] In 1981, the Empain family sold its controlling stake to Paribas.[14] 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.[10][15] These acquisitions included Télémécanique in 1988,[10] Square D in 1991,[16] and Merlin Gerin[fr] in 1992.[17]
1999–present
In January 1999, Schneider acquired the Scandinavian switch-maker Lexel.[18][19] Later that year, the company renamed itself Schneider Electric, to reflect its focus on the electricity sector.[18] 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.[20]
In October 2006, Schneider Electric announced that it would acquire the data center equipment manufacturer American Power Conversion for $6.1 billion.[21][22] The following February, the move was finalized following its approval by the European Commission.[23] In June 2010, Schneider and the rolling stock manufacturer Alstom jointly purchased Areva's transmission and distribution businesses in a transaction totaling $2.73 billion.[24][25]
In 2016, Schneider acquired Tower Electric, a British company that manufactured fixings and fastenings for construction and electrical firms.[citation needed] In 2017, Schneider Electric became the majority shareholder of Aveva, a provider of engineering and industrial software based in the UK.[26][27] The next year, it acquired the Indian multinational Larsen & Toubro's electrical and automatic business in a cash deal for ₹140 billion (US$1.6billion).[28]
In February 2020, Schneider made a €1.4 billion takeover bid for German company RIB Software,[29] closing the deal in July 2020.[30] Also in 2020, Schneider Electric acquired ProLeiT AG, a supplier of industrial control and MES software.[31]
In January 2023, Schneider Electric's acquisition of Aveva was finalized.[32]
In November 2023, Schneider Electric finalized its acquisition of EcoAct, a company devoted to climate consulting and net-zero solutions.[33][34][35]
After 18 months in office, CEO Peter Herweck was removed by the board of directors and replaced with Olivier Blum in early November 2024.[36]
1838: "La Gironde", the first French locomotive
The Schneider logo in the 1950s
One of the first brochures for Telemecanique industrial control products. Telemecanique was acquired by Schneider Electric in 1988.
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€38.15 billion (2024) [1] 
