APC 2007 Annual Report Download - page 16

14
automation devices and customized sensors, and Positec,
a European leader in motion control.
Also in 2000, Schneider Electric created at 60-40 joint ven-
ture with Toshiba called Schneider Toshiba Inverter (STI) to
develop, manufacture and market both partners’ industrial
speed drives. STI now leads the global industrial speed
drive market.
That same year, the Group launched the Schneider Elec-
tric Ventures fund with a capital of 50 million to acquire in-
terests in innovative start-ups with technologies that can
enhance the lineup.
In 2001, Schneider Electric deployed its first three-year
company program, NEW2004.
The Group acquired installation systems and control leader
Legrand, but the European Commission vetoed the
merger. As a result, Schneider Electric had to sell its inter-
est in Legrand even though the Court of First Instance of
the European Communities overruled the Commission’s
decisions on October 22, 2002.
2002 - 2007: dynamic and
responsible worldwide
growth supported by strategic
acquisitions
Since 2002, Schneider Electric has pursued an assertive
strategy of organic growth and acquisitions to enhance its
geographic coverage, strengthen performance in its core
business and broaden its lineup to offer ever-more inno-
vative and integrated solutions.
Major steps were taken in 2005-2007 to further this strat-
egy. The Group made important acquisitions while reor-
ganizing its production base, thereby strengthening its
leadership in electrical distribution and automation and
gaining significant positions in new businesses with high
potential such as energy efficiency, critical power, building
automation and security and value-added services.
Schneider Electric now has an unrivaled lineup in terms of
breadth, synergy and related services.
A global leader cannot grow without a commitment to en-
vironmental stewardship. With this in mind, the Group cre-
ated a Sustainable Development Department in 2002 and
set up a quarterly Planet & Society Barometer in 2005 to
track and report on its performance in this area. In 2007, it
formed a new Renewable Energies Business Unit with a
special focus on solar power. Schneider Electric was also
the first manufacturer to sign French environmentalist Nico-
las Hulot’s pact for the environment and the sixth global
enterprise to join the Clinton Climate Initiative (CCI).
Electrical Distribution
In 2007, the Group finalized the creation of Delixi Electric,
a 50-50 joint venture with Delixi Group that manufacturers,
markets and distributes low voltage products in China. This
new partnership coincided with Schneider Electric's 20th
anniversary China. Since 1987, the Group has contributed
fully to China’s fantastic economic growth. Today, Schnei-
der Electric China has more than 10,200 employees, 32
regional offices, 18 production facilities, 4 distribution cen-
ters, a training center, 2 R&D centers, 500 distributors and
a large nationwide sales network.
The Group generated revenue of 1.2 billion in China in
2007.
1. From steel
to energy: 172 years
of history to become
a world leader
Schneider Electric’s history reflects the major industrial
and technological changes that have shaped today’s
world, as the company has moved from metal working,
heavy mechanical engineering and shipbuilding in the 19th
century to electrical distribution and automation in the 20th
and 21st.
Along the way, the Group has risen to ambitious chal-
lenges and made major strategic choices, bringing to-
gether such prestigious names as Schneider, Merlin Gerin
and Telemecanique in France; Square D, American Power
Conversion (APC) and Pelco Inc. in North America; and
many others around the world.
Each member strengthens the Group with its attractive
market positions and innovative know-how, as well as with
its people’s skills and diversity. Openness and diversity are
at the center of the Schneider Electric model as the Group
works to develop and promote high-quality multicultural
teams around the world.
Today, Schneider Electric federates a world of talent and
energy to meet the principle challenges in its industry: en-
ergy efficiency, network interoperability and critical power.
1836 - 1980: the gradual creation
of a conglomerate
In 1836, Adolphe and Joseph-Eugène Schneider acquired
steel founderies in Le Creusot, France. They founded
Schneider & Cie in 1838. The Company steadily built a
presence in heavy mechanical engineering and trans-
portation equipment, gradually becoming a huge, highly di-
versified conglomerate.
Merlin Gerin, a leading French manufacturer of electrical
distribution equipment, joined the Group in 1975, strength-
ening a position in electricity that had been established at
the end of the 19th century.
1981 - 2001: refocusing
and building on electricity
In 1988, Schneider Electric acquired France’s Teleme-
canique, a pioneer in remote control systems for electric
motors.
In 1991, the Group made a major acquisition in the United
States by bringing in Square D, the US electrical equip-
ment market leader with sales of $1.65 billion.
Schneider Electric completed its refocusing on electricity
in 1997 with the sale of building and public works com-
pany Spie Batignolles.
In 1999, the Group acquired Lexel, Europe’s second
largest supplier of installation systems and control solu-
tions.
This was followed in 2000 with the acquisitions of Crouzet
Automatismes, a French leader in electronic control, small