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 .
16-472: 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. The Creusot steam hammer was built in 1877. Somua , a subsidiary located near Paris, made machinery and vehicles, including the SOMUA S35 tank. Starting in 1911, Jacques Schneider offered
32-524: A company partly owned by King Louis XVI of France . Despite an investment of 30 million francs, the works had never prospered. Le Creusot went bankrupt and was sold at auction in 1835 for 1,850,000 francs. Adolph's younger brother Eugène Schneider had begun work as a clerk in Reims, then joined his brother at the Seillière bank. In 1827 the baron de Neuflize employed him as manager of a forge near Sedan,
48-540: A distance of at least 150 miles (240 km). The reward for the winner was 25,000 gold francs and a cup worth the same as the prize. If a nation won the trophy three times within five years, the cup would belong to them. The first Schneider Trophy competition was held in 1913 in the Mediterranean off Monaco and another competition was held the next year. The competition was suspended during World War I , then resumed in 1919. Nine more races were held until
64-608: A flight demonstration in Le Mans in August 1908. In 1911 he was given airplane pilot certificate number 409. At this time airplanes were lightly built of wood and canvas, and easily damaged. Forced to abandon flying after a severe accident, he became a constant financial supporter of various flight contests. Jacques Schneider was made a Knight of the Legion of Honor . Reduced to poverty, he died on 1 May 1928 at Beaulieu-sur-Mer on
80-546: A position he held for nearly ten years. In 1835 Schneider obtained financing and acquired the works at Le Creusot from the purchaser at a premium of one million francs. Adolphe brought in Eugène to run the works while he handled finance and sales. In 1838 the works built the first French railway locomotive, and since then Le Creusot supplied almost all locomotives in France. At that time the works employed about 2,000 men. In 1842
96-521: A share in the profits from supplies of wool, wheat and wood from the north and from marine insurance. In 1830 Schneider was the bank's agent with the French expeditionary force to Algiers , for which the bank was providing supplies. Schneider met the army's needs from Spanish suppliers, who were cheaper than the French. The project was a great success for the bank. Schneider received a 2% commission on all
112-533: Is buried in the cemetery of Père-Lachaise in Paris. The industrial empire of Schneider et Cie. based on metallurgy and armament manufacturing prospered with the development of railways, iron ships and modern weapons such as machine guns, tanks and artillery. At one time the Schneider-Creusot iron works were the world's largest. Adolphe's grandson Jacques Schneider inherited the family business, and
128-639: The Maison d'Ananie [ fr ] . Étienne et Monique de Ganay were part of the expedition of La Korrigane [ fr ] in 1934–36. Schneider had a taste for adventure, and took in turn to racing hydroplane boats, ballooning and piloting early airplanes. He became a balloon pilot with the Aéro-Club de France in 1908. He set a high altitude record in ballooning, at 10,081 metres (33,074 ft). His interest in engine powered heavier-than-air flights started when he saw Wilbur Wright performing
144-516: The Schneider Trophy . It was a competition for seaplanes, with a large and prestigious prize. Adolphe Schneider Adolphe Schneider (23 October 1802 – 3 August 1845) was a French financier and industrialist who developed a major metalworking enterprise at Le Creusot , the parent of today's Schneider Electric . Adolphe Schneider was born in Nancy, France , on 23 October 1802. He
160-632: The French Riviera. Schneider thought that seaplanes had a great future since so much of the Earth is covered by water, which could be used for takeoff by large, heavy aircraft without the need to build runways. On 5 December 1912, at the Aéro-Club de France he proposed an annual contest for seaplanes , the "Coupe d'Aviation Maritime Jacques Schneider" (Schneider Trophy), to support the technical progress of civil aviation. Participants had to fly
176-568: The age of nineteen, Adolphe Schneider entered the Seillière bank. Schneider had been recommended to François Seillière by his cousin Virgile. Seillière was from a Catholic family from Lorraine that had moved to Paris. The bank specialized in helping companies involved in iron-making and metallurgy such as Ignace-François de Wendel. Schneider quickly showed he had a strong business sense with exceptional qualities of listening, understanding, analysis and improvisation. In 1829 Seillière began to give him
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#1732791794002192-468: The inventor François Bourdon designed and built a steam hammer for the works, one of the first. Schneider entered politics in 1840, when he was elected to the municipal council of Creusot. On 29 March 1841 he became mayor. He became a member of the Chamber of Deputies in 1842. Adolphe Schneider died on 3 August 1845 from a fall from his horse. His brother replaced him in the Chamber of Deputies. He
208-470: The merchandise, which gave him enough capital to go into business on his own account as a cloth merchant. On 7 July 1831 he married Valérie Aignan (1812–1861) in Paris. They had three children: Camille, Marie and Paul Henry. Around this time Schneider formed a relationship with the owners of the Le Creusot ironworks, and loaned them money. The works at Le Creusot had been founded fifty years before by
224-445: Was a balloonist and aircraft enthusiast who created the Schneider Trophy . After World War I the arms business went bankrupt, and Jacques Schneider died in poverty. The parent company survived and prospered and today is Schneider Electric . Jacques Schneider Jacques P. Schneider (25 July 1879 – 1 May 1928) was a French financier, balloonist and aircraft enthusiast, who created the Schneider Trophy . Jacques P. Schneider
240-589: Was born near Paris on 25 July 1879. His father was Paul Henry Schneider (1841–1916), and his grandfather was Adolphe Schneider (1802–1845), founder of Société Schneider et Cie . Jacques Schneider was trained as an engineer at the Ecole des Mines . He married Françoise Bourlon de Rouvre (1885–1931), daughter of Charles Bourlon de Rouvre [ fr ] . They had two daughters: Monique (1908–1995), who married her cousin Étienne de Ganay (1899–1990), and Louise-Charlotte (14 July 1912 – 29 May 2012), co-founder of
256-462: Was the son of Antoine Schneider (1759-1828), Châtelain de Bidestroff, and Catherine Duran. His cousin was Antoine Virgile Schneider , who was known for his military service in Greece. Virgile married a Polish heiress who brought a considerable dowry. He was elected a deputy for Sarreguemines in 1834, became minister of war and was involved with construction of the fortifications of Paris. In 1821, at
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