Schneider et Compagnie, also known as Schneider-Creusot for its birthplace in the French town of Le Creusot, was a historic iron and steel-mill company which became a major arms manufacturer. In the 1960s, it was taken over by the Belgian Empain group and merged with it in 1969 to form Empain-Schneider, which in 1980 was renamed Schneider SA and in 1999, after much restructuring, Schneider Electric.
Origins
In 1836, Adolphe Schneider and his brother Eugène Schneider bought iron-ore mines and forges at Le Creusot (Saône-et-Loire). They developed a business dealing in steel, railways, armaments, and shipbuilding.[3]
The Creusot steam hammer was built in 1877.
Somua, a subsidiary located near Paris, made machinery and vehicles, including the SOMUA S35 tank.
Armaments
Vehicles
- Schneider CA1, the first French tank
- Schneider-Creusot 030-T steam locomotive
- Schneider Coast Defense Train
Ships
- Ferré-class submarines, a pair of 46 m long submarines in service with the Peruvian Navy
- FRENCH SUBMARINE Calypso, a Circé-class submarine
Mountain guns
- 75 mm Schneider-Danglis 06/09 (named after
Schneider Trophy
Starting in 1911, Jacques Schneider offered the Schneider Trophy. It was a competition for seaplanes, with a large and prestigious prize.
See also
- Forges et Chantiers de la Gironde, part of the Schneider group between 1882 and 1927
- Somua, a truck manufacturer acquired by Schneider in 1914 and sold to Renault in 1955
- De Wendel family, long-standing competitors of the Schneiders
- Société Métallurgique de Normandie
Further reading
- Grant, Jonathan A. Grant, Between Depression and Disarmament: The International Armaments Business, 1919-1939 (Cambridge UP, 2018). Online review
- Dirk Podevijn, S.A. Schneider: a giant of industry and finance. In: Hendrik Willem Ackermans. Notes of an industrial pioneer, 1887–1937. Antwerp, 2013.(ISBN:D/2013/012/55)
External links
References
- Schneider et Cie Bibliothèque nationale de France^
- Laurent Dingli. Schneider : de l'exode à la collaboration (été 1940) Le Site de Louis Renaut, November 2020^
- About us Schneider Electric, retrieved 21 January 2013