Schneider Rundfunkwerke AG was a German manufacturer of mass market audio equipment.
 | |
| Industry | Audio |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1889  |
| Defunct | 2002 |
| Headquarters | Türkheim , Germany |
History
The origins of the company trace to 1889 in Türkheim, Swabia, Germany, when Felix Schneider founded a company manufacturing industrial woodworking tools. In 1965 the business entered the audio electronics market through the manufacture of radio cabinets[1]
During the 1970s and 1980s the Schneider name became associated with audio systems; the company was unusual for a German audio systems manufacturer in that it focused on low cost products rather than the luxury sector.[1]
In 1984 computers from the Amstrad company were marketed under the Schneider brand in Germany and central Europe. Schneider sold the Amstrad CPC 464, Amstrad PCW and Schneider Joyce,[2] followed by the Amstrad PC1512 and PC1640.[3]
In 1987 the association with Amstrad ended, and the company produced PC compatible machines from 1988, like the Schneider Euro PC.[1]
The Gebrüder Steidinger company (maker of the Dual turntable line) and brand were acquired from Thomson in 1988, in part to obtain a saleable brand name in France where the large and long established company Schneider SA was already present. In the 1990s the company's name was changed to Schneider Electronics[1]
In 2002 the company was bankrupt.[1] It was acquired by the TCL Corporation for €8.2 million in 2002.[1][4]