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The Schneider Technologies AG (formerly Schneider issue Werke AG and Schneider Electronics AG) was a manufacturer of consumer electronics and computers in Untertürkheim.

The origins of the company date back to 1889 in Türkheim, Swabia, Germany, when Felix Schneider founded a company that manufactures industrial tools for woodworking. In 1965, the business entered the audio electronics market through the manufacture of radio cabinets.

During the 1970s and 1980s, the Schneider name became associated with audio systems; the company was unusual for a German audio systems manufacturer because it focused on low-cost products rather than the luxury sector.

In 1984, the Amstrad company computers were marketed under the Schneider brand in Germany and central Europe. In 1987 the partnership with Amstrad ended, and the company produced PC-compatible machines since 1988.

The Gebrüder Steidinger company, (manufacturer of the Dual turntable line) and the brand were acquired from Thomson in 1988, in part to obtain a marketable brand in France, where the large and established company Schneider SA was already present. In the 1990s, the company name was changed to Schneider Electronics.

In 2002 the company went bankrupt. It was acquired by TCL Corporation for € 8.2 million in 2002

Information

Founders of the company:

  • Felix Schneider (Founder-1889)

The Schneider Computer Division was created in the 1980s as a department of the Schneider Rundfunkwerke AG at the Türkheim factory. It began by manufacturing and distributing in Germany under license from Amstrad the Amstrad CPC range of home computers (such as the Schneider CPCs), then the Amstrad PCW range and finally the first IBM compatible Amstrad Amstrad 1512 and Amstrad 1640, in addition to all its peripherals and official printers.

Following the knowledge acquired, Schneider launches its own range of compatible PCs, which causes the termination of the agreement with Amstrad. His first team, the Schneider Euro PC, is clearly reminiscent of the Schneider CPC 6128 by integrating the motherboard and a 3.5 Double Density floppy drive on the right into the keyboard.

It is followed by several computers with Intel 80286 and Intel 80386 processors that are sold in two box formats: an elongated one that reminds of current SFF computers (it is called Euro AT and manages to sell well in places where space is vital, such as small workshops) and another one that is cubic, reminiscent of the modular appearance of the Acorn Risc PC.

As it happens to Amstrad, the arrival of the Asian competition with computers with Intel 80486 processor and especially that each computer store begins to mount its own brand of clones makes the mother company (which although founded in 1889 by Felix Schneider com a factory of wooden washing machines, it had become with the 20th century a manufacturer of stereo equipment and radios like Amstrad itself) decided to abandon a field where profits plummeted. The experience gained will be used later in some equipment such as digital recorders or set-top-boxes.

At present, equipment is marketed in Germany under the Schneider brand, but with different logos, so it is possible that during the 2002 suspension of payments the computer brand was sold. Any reference on the official Schneider website to computer equipment (previously it had a BBS and a support area on the Web for compatible PCs) has disappeared.

Schneider Computer Division

To market its computers in Germany, Austria and Switzerland, where Amstrad had no distribution structure, Amstrad partnered with Schneider Rundfunkwerke AG, a German company that, much like Amstrad itself, was only known for its price. audio products In 1984, Schneider's subsidiary Schneider Computer Division was created specifically for the task, and Amstrad's entire line of CPCs was branded and sold as Schneider CPCs.

Although they are based on the same hardware, the Schneider CPC models differ from the Amstrad CPC models in several details. Highlights, the Schneider CPC464 and CPC664 keyboards featured gray keys instead of colored keys, but still in the original British keyboard layout. To achieve a German “QWERTZ” keyboard layout, Schneider marketed a small software program to remap the keys, as well as the stickers for the keys. To comply with the strictest German EMC regulations, Schneider's complete CPC line is equipped with an internal metal shield. For the same reason, the Schneider CPC6128 features micro-ribbon type connectors rather than edge connectors. Both the grayscale keyboard and micro-ribbon connectors made their way into the design of later Amstrad CPCs.

In 1988, after Schneider refused to market Amstrad's line of AT-compatible computers, the cooperation ended. Schneider went on to sell the remaining stock of Schneider CPC models and used its now well-established market position to introduce its own PC designs. With the formation of its German subsidiary company Amstrad GmbH to distribute its product lines, including the CPC464 and CPC6128, Amstrad tried, but was ultimately unable to establish its own brand in the German-speaking parts of Europe.

Bankruptcy

The traditional company Schneider Technologies (formerly known as Schneider Rundfunkwerke) seems to have come to an end. As the company, known among computer geeks for the CPC464 or EuroPC, announced in a message, creditors rejected the restructuring plan presented in early April. According to the company's board of directors, “the last option to save shareholders' assets has failed.” The board of directors concluded and resigned: Ralf Adam and Hans Szymanski resigned from their positions on May 8.

The LfA 19 percent share of Förderbank Bayern of the largest shareholder in Schneider Technologies and the largest creditors of the company. Now it seems to have been the deciding factor in rejecting the restructuring plan. “Creditors have the expectation that if the subsidiaries are sold, eventually more money will come out for them,” the insolvency administrator told the Financial Times Deutschland. No investor has yet been found for the subsidiary Schneider Electronics; There are already 27 stakeholders in the subsidiary Schneider Laser Technologies, which is responsible for the development and commercialization of laser display technology. Among other things, the company was developing new planetarium technology. Carl Zeiss involved.

Schneider Technologies, formerly known as Schneider Rundfunkwerke, was founded in 1889. The long-established company established its own computer division in 1984, causing a sensation with the CPC464 or the EuroPC. In 1988 Schneider bought DUAL. In 1998, the company wanted to increase sales again with an Internet set-top box and then in 2001 with a digital video recorder. However, all the new projects were of little use and the company continued to experience financial problems.

en/companias/schneider.txt · Last modified: 2021/01/14 15:22 by jevicac