Schneider Electric and Toshiba Form Joint Venture

Schneider Electric (France) and Toshiba Corp. (New York) announced they will form a joint venture to develop and produce speed drives up to 630kW for the industrial production and construction markets. The new company, Schneider Toshiba Inverter SAS (France), will be operational in 2001.By joining forces, the companies hope to reduce time to market and development costs, introduce more new products and meet customer needs more effectively worldwide.Schneider Electric will own 60 percent of the joint venture and Toshiba will own 40 percent. Schneider Toshiba Inverter SAS will have a level of activity of 400 million Euro and 470 employees. The headquarters and European subsidiary will be located in Pacy sur Eure, France. The company will also have a Japanese subsidiary in Mie and an American subsidiary in Houston, TX.